Legal Services Shop User Agreement

This User Agreement ("Agreement") sets out the terms and conditions of Your use of the website legalservicesshop.com (This Website) and the referral and other services provided through this Website. By accessing this Website or purchasing a referral and/or other service through this Website, You are entering a legal contract with us on these terms and conditions. If You do not agree to these terms and conditions, or if You are under 18 years of age, do not use This Website.

Please note that You enter this Agreement as it exists each time You access This Website or purchase any referral or other service through This Website. Because we may amend this Agreement at any time by posting amended terms on this website, You should check this Agreement on each visit to the site. Unless stated otherwise, amended terms will be effective when posted but will not affect Your rights or obligations in respect of any services You have purchased previously. This Agreement was last revised on 1 January 2007. Please read the terms of this User Agreement carefully.

1. Disclaimers and Limited Warranty for Legal Advice and Legal Services
   
   The provision of any referrals and other services through this website will be subject to the conditions described in this Clause 1. These conditions do not affect Your statutory rights.
   
   
   1. Referrals
      If You are seeking legal services, we offer referral services through this Website. Provided You meet the conditions described below, the Referral Service will, based on the information You provide, match You with solicitors who hold themselves out as practising in the legal area(s) relevant to Your circumstances ("Referral Solicitors"). After we have supplied the Referral Service, the legal services will be supplied by the Referral Solicitors. Your contract for the provision of the services will be with the Referral Solicitors and You will enjoy all the rights and protection accorded to You by the Law Society of England & Wales.
      
      
   2. Written Legal Advice
      We offer access to a written legal advice service in relation to specific facts, as more fully described in the part of the site that deals with this service. Once we have taken payment from You for the written legal advice our obligation is to provide You through this website with written legal advice of between 400-750 words authored by a legally qualified person.

      Whilst we seek to fulfil all requests for written legal advice, it is not always possible to do this due to unusual or complex points of law that Your request may reveal. For this reason written legal advice service is not available in all circumstances and we reserve the right not to provide You with written legal advice. If You have requested written legal advice but we determine, in our sole discretion, that the complexity of these facts renders such advice inappropriate or that for some other reason we are unable to provide it, we will refund all monies paid for such advice.

      If written legal advice is available to You in Your particular circumstances, we will use our best efforts to provide You with the written legal advice within the Three Day Period.

      Please note that the written legal advice supplied through This Website may be subject to certain qualifications or limitations, and will necessarily be based solely on the information that You provide. This may mean that if You provide incomplete information, the written legal advice may be incomplete as to the applicable law.
      
      

   3. Telephone Legal Advice
      We offer access to a telephone legal advice service in relation to specific facts, as more fully described in the part of the site that deals with this service. Once we have taken payment from You for the telephone legal advice our obligation is to provide You with access to telephone legal advice given by a legally qualified person.

      Whilst we seek to fulfil all requests for telephone legal advice, it is not always possible to do this due to unusual or complex points of law that Your request may reveal. For this reason the telephone legal advice service is not available in all circumstances and we reserve the right not to provide You with telephone legal advice. If You have requested telephone legal advice but we determine, in our sole discretion, that the complexity of these facts renders such advice inappropriate or that for some other reason we are unable to provide it, we will refund all monies paid for such advice.

      Please note that the telephone legal advice may be subject to certain qualifications or limitations, and will necessarily be based solely on the information that You provide. This may mean that if You provide incomplete information, the legal advice may be incomplete as to the applicable law.
      
      

   4. Legal Services
      We offer access to a number of legal services provided by Referral Solicitors introduced to You through this website. Once we have taken a deposit payment from You for the legal service our obligation is to introduce You to Referral Solicitors who will provide You with the legal service You requested at the price displayed on the website. The deposit amount will be deducted from Your final solicitor's bill.

      Whilst we seek to fulfil all requests for legal services, it is not always possible to do this due to unusual or complex points of law that Your particular facts or circumstances may reveal. For this reason the legal service that You requested is not available in all circumstances and we reserve the right not to provide You with legal service. If You have requested a specific legal service but we determine, in our sole discretion, that the complexity of the facts or circumstances or any other reason renders the provision of that legal service inappropriate, we will refund Your deposit monies paid for such service.

      If the legal service is available to You in Your particular circumstances, the Referral Solicitors will contact You within one working day. The first time that You and the Referral Solicitors make contact You must decide whether the Referral Solicitors have suitable expertise in a specific area and/or satisfy any other criteria You may have and whether You wish to retain them.

      If You do not wish to retain the Referral Solicitors You must inform us of that fact on the same day that You and the Referral Solicitors first make contact. If You do not inform us on the same day, You will not be entitled to a refund of Your deposit.

      Please note that once You have retained the Referral Solicitors, any legal services supplied or failure to supply legal services will be the sole responsibility of the Referral Solicitors and, with the single exception of hourly fees, the services they provide will be subject to their terms of trade.
      
      

   5. Your Information
      We accept no responsibility for any information that You provide (including any inaccuracies therein) or any failure by You to provide all information required in connection with Your request for legal advice or legal services.
      
      
   6. After-Sales Service
      We do not provide any after-sales service in respect any Referral Services or other services. After-sales service in respect of legal services may at their discretion be provided by Referral Solicitors on such terms as they may specify.
      
      
   7. Limited Warranty
      Subject to the foregoing, we represent and warrant that we will use our best efforts to select as Referral Solicitors only solicitors who are qualified to practise in England and Wales and who hold themselves out as practising in the legal area(s) relevant to Your circumstances, but otherwise expressly disclaim responsibility for any advice or services provided by a Referral Solicitors, for any failure by the Referral Solicitors to provide such advice or services and for the level of expertise of any Referral Solicitors.
   
   
2. Performance of our services
   
   Once we have received confirmation of payment of Your deposit:
   
   
   1. we will forward Your contact details and the additional information You provide to the Referral Solicitors that we select
      
      
   2. You will be advised by the Referral Solicitors as to whether the legal service requested is available as set out in Clause 1 above; and
      
      
   3. if the legal service requested is available to You in Your particular circumstances the Referral Solicitors will then provide the service requested as set out in Clause 1 above; and
      
      
   4. if the legal services requested is not available to You in Your particular circumstances, Your deposit money paid for such service will be refunded as set out in Clause 1 above and Clause 3 below.
   
   
3. Cancellation
   
   
   
   1. Cancelation regarding legal advice
      Our obligations to You concerning legal advice services are concluded once we have given You access to either written or telephone advice in accordance with Your selection. Once Your request for advice has been sent by us to the persons who will provide the advice, the work is deemed to be in progress. The instant nature of the service means that Your payment in respect of such advice is non-refundable in accordance with Regulation 13 of the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling Regulations) 2000 ("Distance Selling Regulations").
      
      
   2. Cancelation regarding legal services
      Our obligations to You are concluded once we have introduced a Referral Solicitors to You that practices in the area of law that You requested and is prepared to offer his/her services at the fees displayed on the site. Once the Referral Solicitors and You have made contact You may decide not to retain the Referral Solicitors for any reason whatsoever. If You decide to cancel Your request and not to retain the Referral Solicitors You must contact us by telephone on the same day that contact was made and inform us of Your decision. Our contact telephone number is 0870 241 6465. Provided that You contact us on the same day, we will refund Your deposit paid with respect to the legal service requested.

      At any time subsequent to the initial day of contact between You and the Referral Solicitors You will have no right to cancel Your request to us in relation to legal services and Your payment in respect of such services will therefore be non-refundable in accordance with Regulation 13 of the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling Regulations) 2000 ("Distance Selling Regulations").

      At any time subsequent to the initial day of contact between You and the Referral Solicitors You may cancel the contract between You and the Referral Solicitors provided You pay for any professional fees, disbursements and other amounts owing to the Referral Solicitors in respect of services rendered up to the date of cancellation.

   
   
4. Prices and Payment
   
   The prices, including applicable taxes, for legal services and legal advice are set out at appropriate points throughout this website, usually adjacent to the title or description of the services to which the price relates.

   Payment for legal advice must be made in advance in full, and a deposit for legal services must be paid in advance. These payments can be made by credit/debit card only. No legal advice or legal services or other services will be provided until we have received confirmation of payment of these amounts.

   The remaining professional fees, disbursements and other amounts owing in respect of legal services will be incurred to the Referral Solicitors providing the legal service and invoiced by the Referral Solicitors and You are responsible for payment of all such amounts in accordance with the invoice.
   
   

5. Freelawyer Legal Information
   
   The free legal information provided on This Website does not constitute legal advice. It is only a preliminary identification of some of the legal issues that may arise in relation to particular situations. Because the legal information is not based on any analysis of Your circumstances, it may provide information which is inappropriate for You. In addition, the law is subject to the occasional statutory change, to constant changes brought about by case-law, and/or to 'reinterpretation' of existing precedents. This means that the information available on This Website may not always be up-to-date.

   For the reasons above, You must not place reliance on a the legal information supplied by This Website, where 'reliance' means the 'doing' or 'not doing' of any act due, in whole or in part, to the contents of any legal information provided by This Website. In other words, You must ensure that You first consult a legally qualified 'live' person before You decide to act or not act upon Your particular circumstances. Reliance upon the information provided by This Website as the basis for Your decision, either in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited.
   
   

   1. Licence over Freelawyer Legal Information
      We hereby give You a personal, non-transferrable and non-exclusive licence to: (a) Search, view, copy and print out the legal information for Your own personal use. (b) Bookmark any page or link to it so long as the page is presented within the frameset of This Website. (c) Using an industry standard Internet browser and Internet connection only, operate (but not view or copy) the software used in the operation of This Website for the purposes of viewing and searching the legal information.

      Unless we agree expressly in writing You must not: (a) Make print outs or copies of the legal information available to anyone else except to show to Your lawyer to discuss its contents. (b) Modify any of the legal information or any part of This Website. (c) Link This Website or any frameset in This Website to any website that You may operate or be involved in except in the event that You are operating an industry standard internet browser or search engine.

      If You would like permission to use any Materials on This Website in a way not covered or permitted by this Agreement, for example where You may be considering using the Materials in a commercial context, please contact us at leon@freelawyer.co.uk . In all other circumstances, such commercial use is strictly prohibited.

   
   
6. Disclaimer over freelawyer legal information
   
   We give You no warranty or assurance about the legal information on This Website. In particular: (a) Whilst we do everything we reasonably can to maintain the quality of the legal information on This Website, it may be incorrect or out of date, and may not constitute a definitive or complete statement of the law in any area. It is not possible for Us to provide a completely accurate statement of the law at any given time as the law changes from day to day. Therefore, You should not rely on the information on This Website as being up to date. (b) the legal information is not intended to constitute advice of any sort (legal or otherwise) in any specific situation but instead This Website merely provides general information in particular fields. It is not possible for a system such as Freelawyer to take into account all individual circumstances. Small differences in circumstances can have a large effect on Your legal position. We are providing the legal information on This Website for information purposes only. THEREFORE THE FREE LEGAL INFORMATION ON THIS WEBSITE CANNOT, DOES NOT AND SHOULD NOT REPLACE LEGAL ADVICE FROM A SOLICITOR. You should not place any reliance on the information provided and we strongly recommend that You seek legal advice in specific situations. (c) All implied warranties and conditions are excluded, to the maximum extent permitted by law.
   
   
7. Your Obligations when using This Website
   
   This Website is provided solely for Your own use and You will not, without our express written permission (which we may refuse in our sole discretion), transfer or sell or attempt to transfer or sell Your access to or use of This Website (or any part or facility of it) or any of Your rights or obligations under this Agreement to any other person. Further, You will not use the legal information for the purposes of trade or practising a profession or for any other activity for the purpose of making a profit or for commercial use in any way, unless expressly permitted by us in writing.

   You specifically agree that we are not responsible for: (a) unauthorised access to or alteration of Your transmissions or data; or (b) any material or data sent or received or otherwise communicated by You in connection with the use of This Website as made available to You.

   Unless permitted by these terms or if we agree in writing, You shall not: (a) use This Website fraudulently (including but not limited to the provision of Your Information), in connection with or for purposes of a criminal offence, or otherwise unlawfully; (b) use This Website in a way that does not comply with the terms of any legislation or any licence applicable to You or to cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety; (c) create a false identity for the purpose of misleading others as to Your identity; (d) attempt to gain unauthorised access to This Website or other networks connected to This Website, through any means whatsoever; (e) make print outs or copies of the Materials available to anyone else except You may show it to Your lawyer to discuss its contents; (f) modify any of the legal information or any part of This Website; or (g) fail to take reasonable steps to ensure that no-one else uses the legal information in Your name.

   You acknowledge that all intellectual property in This Website belongs to, or is licensed to us.
   
   

8. Exclusion of Liability
   
   Neither we nor our suppliers or affiliates will be liable to You in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise for any indirect, consequential, special or incidental damage or loss arising from Your use of or inability to use This Website (including any of its contents) and/or any Referral Service and/or other service obtained by You through This Website, including (without limitation) loss of business or profits or anticipated savings, loss or corruption of data, loss caused by a virus, loss of or damage to property, claims of third parties, fines or penalties levied by any taxing or other authority or any other loss or damage.

   You acknowledge that You are in a better position than us to foresee and evaluate any potential damage or loss that You may suffer in connection with This Website and that we, therefore, cannot adequately insure against such liabilities.

   Notwithstanding the foregoing, our liability (including that of our affiliates and suppliers other than Referral Solicitors) to You in respect of losses or damages arising directly or indirectly from Your use of or inability to use This Website (including any of its contents) and/or any Referral Service and/or other service obtained by You through This Website, irrespective of whether such loss or damage is based on contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise, shall be limited, in relation to any one incident or series of related incidents, to the greater of (i) 125% of the amount paid by You for the service, or (ii) £1000.

   Nothing in this Agreement limits our liability in relation to death or personal injury caused by our negligence.
   
   

9. Intellectual Property and Ownership
   
   "Legalservicesshop", www.legalservicesshop.co.uk and related words and logos are the trade marks or trade names of Judicium Legal Marketing Limited or its affiliates. The names of other companies, products or services referred to in This Website may be the trade marks or trade names of their respective owners. Any unauthorised use of any of these trade marks or trade names is prohibited.

   Judicium Legal Marketing Limited, its affiliates and/or their suppliers and/or licensors are the exclusive owners of This Website and all copyright, database rights, patent rights and other intellectual property rights relating to this website and its content, documents, data, design, text, images, graphics, layout, functioning, software (including applets) and source code. All rights relating to this website are reserved.
   
   

10. Other Disclaimers
    
    This Website may include hyperlinks to other websites. These links are provided for Your convenience only. We do not endorse any linked sites or accept any responsibility for the content of such sites. We make reasonable efforts to ensure that this website and its server are virus-free but cannot guarantee that this is the case. We recommend that You use virus protection software. You are responsible for the entire cost of any service, repairs or corrections required by You as a result of Your use of this Website. We also cannot guarantee that this Website (including its contents) will be compatible with Your browser or computer configuration or that Your access to this website will be uninterrupted.
    
    
11. Data Protection
    
    We respect the privacy of our users and will treat all personal information relating to You in accordance with our Privacy Policy. We will ensure that Your personal information is stored securely and we will not provide Your personal information to any third parties, except to one or more Referral Solicitors in order to provide the services under this Agreement. By agreeing to this Agreement, You are consenting to the following:
    
    
    1. We or parties acting on our behalf must store, host, transfer and otherwise process Your information in order to refer Your request for legal advice or legal services to Referral Solicitors. You explicitly consent to us handling Your personal information, which You have provided for delivery to one or more Referral Solicitors. We shall do our best to ensure that the Referral Solicitors also take adequate security measures in relation to Your information.
       
       
    2. Some of the personal information that You supply might include sensitive information, including matter relating to Your health, Your religious beliefs, sexual preferences, union or other memberships, political beliefs or affiliations and similar matters. You explicitly consent to the processing and/or handling by us and/or any Referral Solicitors for the purposes of this Agreement of all sensitive information supplied by You.
    
    
12. Suspension or Termination
    
    Operation of This Website may be suspended from time to time, whether for maintenance or repairs or other reasons. We may also terminate Your access to This Website at any time upon notice to You by email or by withdrawing this website, in which case this Agreement will terminate and any services You have purchased but not received as of the date of termination will be provided or, at our option, any monies paid in respect of such services refunded (subject to any right of set off we may have).
    
    
13. Effect of Termination
    
    If we terminate this Agreement for cause, You will cease all use of this website and its contents as of the date of termination, except that any rights You may have in respect of services You have already purchased will not be affected.
    
    
14. Effect of Invalidity
    
    If any portion of this Agreement is declared invalid or unenforceable, this declaration will not affect the validity or enforceability of the remainder of this Agreement providing the business purpose of this Agreement is not substantially affected.
    
    
15. Admissibility in Legal Proceedings
    
    A printed version of this Agreement will be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based on or relating to this Agreement to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form.
    
    
16. Law and Jurisdiction
    
    Your use of This Website and its contents will be governed by the laws of England and Wales and You submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England in respect of any legal disputes relating to this Agreement.
    
    
17. Entire Agreement
    
    This Agreement, together with our Privacy Policy, forms the entire agreement between You and Judicium Legal Marketing Limited in relation to Your use of This Website and the services available through it and supersedes any prior representations, inducements or agreements relating to its subject matter.

    Contacting Us and Referral Solicitors
    If You have any complaints relating to the Services provided pursuant to this Agreement, You may contact LegalServicesShop as follows:

    Judicium Legal Marketing Limited 4 City Cloisters 196 Old Street London, EC1V 9FR

    Email: enquiries@judicium.com Tel: 0870 241 6465 Fax: 020 7336 6989

    Complaints in respect of legal services should be sent directly to the Referral Solicitors providing the services, at the address for the solicitor given in their correspondence.

    Definitions
    "You" means the legal person entering this Agreement (whether an individual, a company or any other legal entity), and includes anyone reasonably appearing to us to be acting with Your authority or permission.
    "Three Day Period" means a period of 3 working days commencing on the day after You have provided all the information required in connection with Your request for written legal advice.
    "We/Us" means Judicium Legal Marketing Limited whose address is 4 City Cloisters, 196 Old Street, London, EC1V 9FR.
    
    

18. Copyright Notice
    
    Published by Judicium Legal Marketing Limited. All rights reserved. Text: © Judicium Legal Marketing Limited 1999-2007 Artwork: © Judicium Legal Marketing Limited 1999-2007 Hypertext links and screen layout: © Judicium Legal Marketing Limited 1999-2007