Terms & Conditions

1. Agreement to these terms

These Terms & Conditions ("Terms") are a legal agreement between you and TheAdvocatePath.com ("The Advocate Path," "we," "us" or "our") governing your use of theadvocatepath.com and the services offered through it (together, the "Service"). By accessing the Site, submitting a request or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy and SMS Terms, which are incorporated by reference. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

Please read Section 12 carefully. It contains an agreement to arbitrate disputes on an individual basis and a waiver of jury trials and class actions, with an option to opt out.

2. What the Service is, and is not

The Service is an attorney matching and advertising platform. It allows you to describe a legal matter and have that information forwarded to independent, participating attorneys or law firms ("Participating Attorneys") who have enrolled to receive inquiries in specific practice areas and locations.

We are not a lawyer referral service certified or sponsored by any bar association. We do not evaluate, rank, endorse or vouch for the qualifications, competence or results of any Participating Attorney, and we make no representation that any Participating Attorney is the right choice for you. You are responsible for evaluating any attorney before hiring them, including verifying licensure and disciplinary history with the relevant state bar.

3. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old, a resident of the United States, and able to form a binding contract to use the Service. By using it you represent that these things are true. You may submit a request on behalf of another adult only with their permission, and you are responsible for the accuracy of what you submit.

4. How matching works

When you submit a request, we review the practice area and location you provided and forward the request to up to four Participating Attorneys whose enrollment matches. Participating Attorneys pay us a marketing fee for the opportunity to receive inquiries; that fee is not charged to you and does not affect the fees an attorney may charge for legal services.

We do not guarantee that any Participating Attorney will contact you, accept your matter, offer a consultation (free or otherwise), or achieve any result. Attorney availability varies by location and practice area, and we may be unable to match some requests. If we cannot, we will tell you by email.

Participating Attorneys are independent contractors and not our agents, employees or partners. We are not responsible for their acts or omissions, their advice, their fees or their handling of your matter. Any agreement for legal services is solely between you and the attorney.

5. Your responsibilities

• Provide accurate, current and complete information, and update it if it changes.
• Use the Service only for a genuine legal inquiry on your own behalf or with the permission of the person on whose behalf you submit.
• Do not submit information that is false, misleading, defamatory, infringing or unlawful, and do not include Social Security numbers, financial account numbers or similar sensitive identifiers in free-text fields.
• Do not use the Service to solicit Participating Attorneys for marketing, to test the Service, to harvest data, or for any purpose other than seeking legal help.
• Do not interfere with the Site's operation, attempt to access it by automated means without our permission, or circumvent any security measure.

6. Consent to be contacted

By submitting a request and checking the required consent box, you provide your express written consent for TheAdvocatePath.com and matched Participating Attorneys (and their staff) to contact you about your inquiry at the phone number and email address you provided, by live call, prerecorded or artificial-voice message, text message and email, including through an automatic telephone dialing system, even if your number is on a federal, state or company do-not-call list. This consent is not a condition of using the Service; you may contact an attorney directly instead. Message and data rates may apply.

You may revoke consent at any time by emailing info@theadvocatepath.com, by replying STOP to a text message, or by telling the caller. Revoking consent with us does not automatically revoke it with a Participating Attorney who already received your request; notify that attorney directly. You represent that you are the subscriber or customary user of the phone number you provide and that you will notify us if it changes.

7. Text-message program

Enrollment in The Advocate Path Updates is optional and governed by our SMS Terms. In summary: recurring automated informational and marketing messages; message frequency varies (up to 8 msgs/month); message and data rates may apply; reply STOP to cancel and HELP for help; carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. Your text-message opt-in information is not shared with third parties or affiliates for their marketing or promotional purposes.

8. Time-sensitive matters

Legal claims are subject to statutes of limitation and other deadlines, some of which are very short. Submitting a request through the Service does not stop any deadline, preserve any right or constitute notice to any party. If you believe a deadline may apply, contact an attorney directly without delay. We are not responsible for any loss resulting from a missed deadline.

9. Intellectual property and permitted use

The Site and its content (text, graphics, illustrations, logos, page designs and software) are owned by TheAdvocatePath.com or its licensors and are protected by copyright, trademark and other laws. We grant you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access and use the Site for personal, non-commercial purposes. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works from, publicly display or exploit any part of the Site without our prior written permission. "The Advocate Path" and our logo are our trademarks; you may not use them without permission.

10. Disclaimer of warranties

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE OR SECURE, THAT ANY REQUEST WILL RESULT IN A MATCH OR CONTACT, OR THAT ANY PARTICIPATING ATTORNEY WILL MEET YOUR NEEDS. INFORMATION ON THE SITE IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND MAY NOT APPLY TO YOUR SITUATION OR JURISDICTION. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

11. Limitation of liability and indemnification

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THEADVOCATEPATH.COM AND ITS OWNERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS AND SERVICE PROVIDERS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA OR GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE, ANY PARTICIPATING ATTORNEY, OR THESE TERMS, HOWEVER CAUSED AND UNDER ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100). THESE LIMITATIONS APPLY EVEN IF A REMEDY FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN LIMITATIONS, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless TheAdvocatePath.com and the parties listed above from any claims, damages, losses and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your use of the Service, the information you submit, or your breach of these Terms.

12. Dispute resolution, arbitration and class waiver

Informal resolution first. Before starting a formal proceeding, you agree to contact us at info@theadvocatepath.com and give us 30 days to try to resolve the dispute informally.

Binding arbitration. Any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service that is not resolved informally will be settled by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, rather than in court, except that either party may bring an individual claim in small-claims court. The Federal Arbitration Act governs this section. The arbitrator's award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. Where the rules provide, we will pay filing and arbitrator fees for consumer claims under $10,000 unless the arbitrator finds the claim frivolous.

Class-action and jury waiver. YOU AND WE EACH AGREE TO BRING CLAIMS ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, COLLECTIVE OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING, AND EACH WAIVES THE RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL.

Opt-out. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by emailing info@theadvocatepath.com with your name, phone number and the words "arbitration opt-out" within 30 days after you first use the Service. Opting out does not affect any other part of these Terms.

Governing law and venue. These Terms are governed by the laws of the District of Columbia and applicable federal law, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Subject to the arbitration agreement, any court proceeding will be brought in the state or federal courts located in the District of Columbia, and you consent to their jurisdiction.

13. Changes, termination and general terms

We may modify these Terms at any time by posting the revised version with a new effective date. Material changes take effect 14 days after posting, or immediately for new users. Your continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance. We may suspend or terminate access to the Service at any time for any reason, including breach of these Terms.

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and SMS Terms, are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Service. If any provision is found unenforceable, the remainder will remain in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition or sale of assets. Notices to you may be sent to the email address you provided. Notices to us should be sent to info@theadvocatepath.com or TheAdvocatePath.com, 1802 Vernon St NW, PMB 2009, Washington, DC 20009.