Terms of Service

Template for review by counsel before launch.

These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) are a binding agreement between you and Legally Owed (“Legally Owed,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). They cover your access to and use of our website, intake chat, and related services (together, the “Service”). Please read them carefully. They include an arbitration agreement, a class-action waiver, disclaimers of warranties, and limitations of our liability that affect your legal rights.

1. Acceptance of these terms

By accessing or using the Service—including by starting or completing the intake chat, submitting your information, or asking to be matched with an attorney—you agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated here by reference. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Service.

If you are using the Service on behalf of another person or an organization, you represent that you have authority to bind them to these Terms, and “you” refers to both you and them.

2. What Legally Owed is — and is not

Legally Owed is a technology platform that helps consumers describe a problem and, where appropriate, get connected with licensed consumer-protection attorneys who may be able to help. That is the whole of what we do.

Legally Owed is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice, legal opinions, legal representation, or any other legal service. We are not your attorney. Using the Service does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Legally Owed. Nothing on the Service should be relied on as a substitute for advice from a licensed attorney about your specific situation.

All legal work—evaluating your claim, advising you, and representing you—is performed by the independent attorneys you choose to engage, not by Legally Owed. Any attorney-client relationship is formed solely between you and that attorney, on terms you agree to directly with them. We do not control, supervise, or guarantee the work of any attorney, and we are not responsible for the advice they give or the services they perform.

This is attorney advertising. The Service helps connect you with attorneys who advertise through it. See our Disclaimer for additional notices, including California State Bar disclosures.

3. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract to use the Service. By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you meet these requirements. The Service is intended for residents of the United States and is generally oriented toward California consumers; we make no representation that the Service is appropriate or available for use in other locations.

4. How matching works

When you use the intake chat, you describe your situation and provide contact details such as your email address. Based on the information you share, we may share your intake transcript and contact details with one or more licensed consumer-protection attorneys or law firms that we believe may be able to assist you.

A match is an introduction only. It is not a promise that any attorney will accept your case, that you have a valid legal claim, or that any particular result is achievable. Attorneys independently decide whether to take a matter, and you independently decide whether to hire any attorney we introduce.

How we are paid. Attorneys may pay Legally Owed a flat marketing fee for the ability to advertise through and receive introductions from the Service. This fee does not depend on the outcome of your matter, and it is paid by the attorney, not by you. You are never charged by Legally Owed for being matched. Any fees for legal services are set and charged separately by the attorney you choose to engage, under a written agreement directly between you and that attorney.

5. Your responsibilities

When you use the Service, you agree to:

• Provide information that is truthful, accurate, current, and complete, and keep it up to date.
• Use the Service only for your own genuine consumer matter and only for lawful purposes.
• Not impersonate anyone, misrepresent your identity, or submit another person's information without their permission.
• Not submit content that is unlawful, fraudulent, defamatory, harassing, or that infringes anyone's rights.
• Not attempt to disrupt, reverse-engineer, scrape, overload, or gain unauthorized access to the Service or its systems.

You are responsible for the accuracy of what you submit. Submitting false or misleading information may harm your ability to get help and may cause an attorney to decline your matter.

6. No guarantee of outcome

Legally Owed does not promise any particular result. Whether you have a viable claim, whether an attorney will take your matter, and what the outcome of any legal matter may be all depend on facts and law outside our control. Past results do not guarantee or predict future outcomes. Any examples, case descriptions, or statistics shown on the Service are for illustration only and are not a promise that your matter will have a similar result.

7. Intellectual property

The Service—including its text, design, graphics, logos, the “Legally Owed” name and brand, and all underlying software—is owned by Legally Owed or its licensors and is protected by intellectual-property laws. We grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Service for its intended purpose. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, frame, or create derivative works from any part of the Service without our prior written permission.

You keep ownership of the information you submit. By submitting it, you grant Legally Owed a license to use, store, process, and share that information as needed to operate the Service and match you with attorneys, as described in these Terms and our Privacy Policy.

8. Disclaimer of warranties

The Service is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis, without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Legally Owed disclaims all warranties, including any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement.

We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free, that any defects will be corrected, or that any information available through the Service is accurate, complete, or current. We make no warranty regarding any attorney introduced through the Service, including their qualifications, availability, or the quality or outcome of their services. Your decision to contact or hire any attorney is made at your own discretion and risk.

9. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Legally Owed and its officers, directors, employees, and agents will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, data, goodwill, or other intangible losses, arising out of or relating to your use of (or inability to use) the Service or your dealings with any attorney, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, our total aggregate liability for all claims relating to the Service will not exceed one hundred U.S. dollars (US $100). Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, so some of the above may not apply to you; in that case, our liability is limited to the smallest amount permitted by law.

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Legally Owed and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to your misuse of the Service, your violation of these Terms, your violation of any law or the rights of any third party, or any information you submit through the Service.

11. Termination

You may stop using the Service at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service, in whole or in part, at any time and for any reason, including if we believe you have violated these Terms. Sections that by their nature should survive termination—including intellectual property, disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnification, and dispute resolution—will survive.

12. Arbitration and governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Subject to the arbitration agreement below, any dispute will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in California, and you consent to the jurisdiction of those courts.

Arbitration agreement. Except for disputes that qualify for small-claims court and except for requests for injunctive relief, you and Legally Owed agree to resolve any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service through final and binding individual arbitration, rather than in court. The arbitration will be administered by a recognized arbitration provider under its applicable rules, and may take place in California or another mutually agreed location.

Class-action waiver. You and Legally Owed agree that each may bring claims against the other only in an individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class or representative proceeding. If this waiver is found unenforceable as to a particular claim, that claim will proceed in court, but the rest of this section still applies. Nothing in these Terms waives any right you may have to file a complaint with a government agency or a bar association.

13. Changes to these terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last updated” date above and, where appropriate, provide additional notice. Changes take effect when posted. Your continued use of the Service after changes are posted means you accept the updated Terms. If you do not agree to the changes, stop using the Service.

14. Miscellaneous

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Disclaimer, are the entire agreement between you and Legally Owed regarding the Service. If any provision is found unenforceable, the rest remain in effect. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of it. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

15. Contact us

Questions about these Terms? Email us at hello@legallyowed.com and we will be glad to help.