Terms of Use

Last updated: 12th October 2023

1. INTRODUCTION

The APT LAWYER Site Terms of Use describe when and the conditions under which a User is allowed to access or use the Site. Please read these Site Terms of Use carefully before visiting our Site. If you do not agree to these Site Terms of Use, you may not visit, use, or access the Site or Site Services as a Site Visitor, User or otherwise, and you may not click to accept the Terms of Service when prompted on the Site.

2. ABOUT APT LAWYER

APT LAWYER, a digital product of Ella Solutions Limited, is a platform that allows Users who are seeking to discuss, communicate and ultimately hire a qualified lawyer for collaboration, possible employment, partnership and/or legal assistance to come together and connect on this platform. APT LAWYER provides collaboration between its Users and the lawyers through secure online chatting, direct emails, data storage and invoicing tools.
APT LAWYER is Not a Law Firm and does not offer legal representation. APT LAWYER does not offer any kind of legal advice, legal opinions, recommendations, referrals or counseling. APT LAWYER is not an employer of the lawyers nor does it take commissions/subscriptions/payments from them or other users on the platform. Lawyers are neither agents of APT LAWYER nor is there any joint venture, partnership or any kind of shared ownership between APT LAWYER and the lawyers on the platform. APT LAWYER is not involved in the representation of the lawyers featured on this platform.
At no point can APT LAWYER be held liable for any conduct, action or omission of the Lawyers and other users.
APT LAWYER is Not a Lawyer Referral Service or Employment Agency. APT LAWYER does not select or endorse any individual Lawyer or law firm to service a User. While APT LAWYER uses commercially reasonable efforts to confirm that registered lawyers are qualified, we do not make any warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the legal ability, competence, or quality or of any work performed or advice given, by any lawyers. APT LAWYER does not warrant or guarantee that lawyers are covered by professional liability insurance. Lawyers on the platform are responsible for obtaining and maintaining professional liability insurance if they so choose, which is independent of APT LAWYER.
APT LAWYER strongly encourages and recommends that Users independently research any lawyer before hiring them or before accepting any professional advice. Users can access the bar association where the lawyer is licensed to practice law.
APT LAWYER does not recommend one lawyer over another, nor does it vouch for any of its laywers or their performances in the work that they do. APT LAWYER simply provides a platform on which those seeking legal employment, collaboration, partnerships and/or legal assistance may communicate and transact with legal professionals. APT LAWYER does not endorse any of the listed lawyers and does not sanction statements that lawyers make on the platform. APT LAWYER makes no representation concerning the competency of the lawyer’s legal service.
APT LAWYER Does Not Guarantee Results.
Use of APT LAWYER Does Not Create A Lawyer-Client Relationship With APT LAWYER. APT LAWYER does not offer legal advice or services. Any use of the APT LAWYER service is not intended to, and does not create a lawyer-client relationship with APT LAWYER. Any lawyer-client relationship must be in writing and be directly between lawyers/law firms and Users. Communications made via APT LAWYER may not be held as confidential.
APT LAWYER is not liable for the actions or omissions of any lawyer performing consulting services for you.
The term APT LAWYER may be used interchangeably with Ella Solutions Ltd. where appropriate without changing the meaning of these Terms of Use.

3. USER RESPONSIBILITIES

You, and you alone, are responsible for your account and anything that happens while you are signed in to or using your account. Your security is your responsibility.
1. User Account Security: If you sign up for the Service, you will create a personalized account which includes a unique username and a password to access the Service and to receive messages from APT LAWYER. You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account, and you are fully responsible for all activities that occur under the account and any other actions taken in connection with the account. You agree to notify APT LAWYER immediately of any unauthorized use of User’s account, or any other breaches of security regarding your account. APT LAWYER will not be responsible for any liabilities, losses, or damages arising out of the unauthorized use of your computer, mobile device, or other computing device and/or account.
2. Compliance with Laws: You represent and warrant that: (i) you have the authority to, and are of legal age in your jurisdiction, to bind yourself to this Agreement; (ii) your use of the Service will be solely for purposes that are permitted by this Agreement; (iii) your use of the Service will not infringe or misappropriate the intellectual property rights of any third party; and (iv) your use of the Service will comply with all Uganda’s rules, laws and regulations, and with all other APT LAWYER policies and procedures.
Use and Conduct Restrictions: You are allowed to use the service as long as you follow the rules and restrictions as set forth in this agreement and as per the applicable law in the jurisdiction in which you reside. APT LAWYER is not responsible for the content our Users/Consultants post, and we have the right to close accounts that violate the terms of this agreement without notice if we believe or perceive the posts has violated APT LAWYER’s policies or procedures. The following are the Use Restrictions and Conduct Restrictions are the basic rules we expect users to follow while using the Service.

4. PROHIBITED SITE USES

You may not use, or encourage, promote, facilitate, instruct or induce others to use, the Site or Site Services for any activities that violate any law, statute, ordinance or regulation; or for any other illegal or fraudulent purpose or any purpose that is harmful to others; or to transmit, store, display, distribute or otherwise make available content that is illegal, fraudulent or harmful to others.

5. EXAMPLES OF PROHIBITED USES OF THE SITE

The following are some examples of uses that are prohibited on the Site by Users, lawyers or anyone who accesses or uses the Site, or when using the Site Services: Seeking, offering, promoting, or endorsing and services, content, or activities that:

are defamatory, illegal, profane, vulgar, threatening, unlawfully discriminatory, illegal, pornographic, obscene, or sexually explicit in nature;
would violate the intellectual property rights, such as and including copyrights, of another person, entity, service, product, or website;
would violate (a) APT LAWYER’s Terms of Service, (b) APT LAWYER’s other policies and procedures, (c) the terms of service of another website or any similar contractual obligations, or (d) the academic policies of any educational institution;
regard the creation, publication, or distribution of “fake news”, content or similar content, which is, in APT LAWYER’s sole discretion, determined to be intended to mislead recipients for personal, financial, political or other gain or advantage;
regard or promote in any way any escort services, prostitution, or sexual acts; or
are harassing toward another person based on the person’s inclusion in a protected class as defined by applicable law;
is pornographic, discriminatory, or otherwise victimizes or intimidates an individual or group on the basis of religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age, or disability;
defames, harasses, abuses, threatens, or incites violence towards any individual or group;

Fraudulent or misleading uses or content, including:

fraudulently billing or attempting to fraudulently bill any User, including by (i) falsifying or manipulating or attempting to falsify or manipulate the hours worked on a particular job or project, (ii) reporting, recording, or otherwise billing Clients for time that was not actually worked, or (iii) reporting, recording, or otherwise billing hours worked by another person as hours worked by you in a way that is misleading or false;
misrepresenting your experience, skills, or information, including by representing another person’s profile, or parts of another person’s profile, as your own;
using a profile photo that misrepresents your identity or represents you as someone else;
impersonating any person or entity;
falsely attributing statements to any APT LAWYER representative;
falsely stating or implying a relationship with APT LAWYER or with another company with whom you do not have a relationship;
allowing another person to use your account, which is misleading to other Users; or
falsely stating that one lawyer will perform the work on a job when another will in fact perform the work, including submitting a proposal on behalf of a lawyer that is unable, unwilling, or unavailable to do the work;
Expressing an unlawful preference in a job post or proposal or otherwise unlawfully discriminating on a protected basis;
Posting identifying information concerning another person;
Spamming other Users/lawyers with proposals, including by making unsolicited contact of lawyers off the APT LAWYER platform, or by posting the same job multiple times;
Making or demanding bribes or other forms of payments without the intention of providing services in exchange for the payment;
Requesting or demanding free services, including requesting lawyers to submit work as part of the proposal process for very little or no money or posting contests in which lawyers submit work with no or very little pay, and only the winning submission is paid the full amount;
Requesting a fee before allowing a lawyer to submit a proposal;
Duplicating or sharing accounts;
Selling, trading, or giving an account to another person without APT LAWYER’s consent;
Directly or indirectly, advertising or promoting another website, product, or service or soliciting other Consultants for other websites, products, or services, including advertising on APT LAWYER to recruit lawyers and/or Users to join an Agency or another website or company;

Interfering or attempting to interfere with the proper operation of the Site or Site Services or any activities conducted on the Site, including by:

bypassing any measures that APT LAWYER may use to prevent or restrict access to the Site or any subparts of the Site, including, without limitation, features that prevent or restrict use or copying of any content or enforce limitations on use of the Site or the content therein;
attempting to interfere with or compromise the system integrity or security or decipher any transmissions to or from the servers running the Site;
using any robot, spider, scraper, or other automated means to access the Site for any purpose without our express written permission;
attempting to or interfering with or compromising the system integrity or security or deciphering any transmissions to or from the servers running the Site;
collecting or harvesting any personally identifiable information, including Account names, from the Site;
attempting to or imposing an unreasonable or disproportionately large load (as determined in APT LAWYER’s sole discretion) on the Site’s infrastructure; Introducing any invalid data, virus, worm, or other harmful or malicious software code, agent, hidden procedure, routine, or mechanism through or to the Site that is designed to or known to cause to cease functioning, disrupt, disable, harm, or otherwise impair in any manner, including aesthetic disruptions or distortions, the operation of (or to allow you or any other person to access or damage or corrupt data, storage media, programs, equipment, or communications or otherwise interfere with operations of or on) the Site or any software, firmware, hardware, computer system, or network of APT LAWYER or any third party;
accessing or attempting to access the Site or Site Services by any means or technology other than the interface provided; or
framing or linking to the Site or Site Services except as permitted in writing by APT LAWYER.

Conduct or actions that could jeopardize the integrity of or circumvent the Site,

Site Services or APT LAWYER’s proprietary information, including:

attempting to, or actually reverse engineering, modifying, adapting, translating, preparing derivative works from, decompiling, interfering with the operation of, or otherwise attempting to derive source code from any part of the Site or Site Services unless expressly permitted by applicable law or APT LAWYER; or
accessing or using the Site or Site Services to build a similar service or application, identify or solicit APT LAWYER Users.
contains or installs any viruses, worms, malware, Trojan horses, or other content that is designed or intended to disrupt, damage, or limit the functioning of any software, hardware, or telecommunications equipment or to damage or obtain unauthorized access to any data or other information of any third party;

6. APT LAWYER’S PROVISION AND USE OF THE SITE

Users Must Be Over Age 18. You represent that you are 18 years or older, authorized by the jurisdiction that you live in to be able to bound by a contract agreement. APT LAWYER platform was not created for, and it does not target anyone under the age of 18, nor do we not permit any Users under 18 on our Service. If we learn of any User under the age of 18, we will terminate that User’s account immediately.

No Liability for User Interactions; APT LAWYER May Monitor Interactions. Any liability, loss or damage that occurs as a result of any User interactions, including, without limitation, Job Postings, that you input or receive through your use of the Service is solely your responsibility. At our discretion, we, or technology we employ, may monitor and/or record your general interactions with the Service, except for information protected by the attorney client privilege.
Right to Terminate Accounts. APT LAWYER has the right (though not the obligation) to, in our sole discretion, determine whether or not any User conduct is appropriate and complies with these Terms of Use, or terminate or deny access to and use of the Service to any User for any reason, with or without prior notice.
APT LAWYER May Modify or Remove Content. We have the right (though not the obligation) to, in our sole discretion, determine whether or not any User-Generated Content appropriate and complies with these Terms of Use, or refuse or remove any User-Generated Content that, in our reasonable opinion, violates any APT LAWYER policy or is in any way harmful, inappropriate, or objectionable. APT LAWYER further reserves the right to make formatting and edits and change the manner any User-Generated Content is displayed on the Website.

7. LAWYERS/LAW FIRMS/VENDORS

Lawyers/Law firms/Vendors are independent legal professionals/entities who offer to perform legal services for prospective Users/clients or hire/partner with other lawyers/law firms for legal services. They are not employees of APT LAWYER.
No Lawyer-Client Relationship through Website Use. The use of the APT LAWYER Website may not form an attorney-client relationship with lawyers and APT LAWYER that has not been hired by the User and therefore does not have a relationship with a lawyer to establish such a lawyer-client privilege.
Lawyer-Client Relationship through Service Use. A lawyer-client relationship may be formed through the use of the Service between Users and lawyers only. Users may post Jobs or enquiries through the Service. Lawyers may submit proposals and negotiate details of these Jobs prior to acceptance. Users should not rely upon information contained in a proposal as legal advice. Upon acceptance, the scope of a lawyer’s representation is strictly limited to the matter agreed upon. User will be required to describe what they are requesting legal services for, what they need, and what they are looking to receive; i.e. the deliverables of the project. This description, once discussed and mutually agreed upon by User and lawyer, will serve as an outline of the project and can only be revised by the mutual agreement of both parties. Additionally, User and lawyer are advised to subsequently formalize their arrangement via a signed engagement letter or other written agreement, in which case the most recent written agreement would take precedence over a previously accepted proposal. APT LAWYER takes every reasonable effort to ensure the privacy of proposals and other personal messages on our Service, but it cannot guarantee confidentiality. Communications requiring confidentiality should take place outside the APT LAWYER, such as via telephone or a direct email to the lawyer.
Lawyers/law firms are solely responsible for ensuring that any information, solicitations, or advertisements they post or place on the Website, including without limitation User-Generated Content, and any communications they may have with prospective clients through the Website or the Service, fully comply with all applicable laws and rules of professional conduct, particularly in the jurisdiction that they are licensed to practice law and including those concerning the unauthorized practice of law and those regulating the form, manner or content of communications with clients, advertising, or other matters.

8. PAYMENTS

Payment of lawyers/law firms. Certain specific terms govern lawyers/law firms and payment.
1. APT LAWYER is Not A Party To Contracts. Users may contract with lawyers/law firms through posting and acceptance of Jobs. Such contracts are solely between the User and the lawyer/law firm. APT LAWYER will not be a party to any contracts for Jobs submitted through our Service. APT LAWYER facilitates these contracts by supplying a platform for communication management tools.
2. All Legal Fees Are Paid To lawyers/law firms. APT LAWYER does not provide legal services and does not charge for legal services. Payments billed by lawyers/law firms via APT LAWYER billing platform must be paid directly to the lawyer/law firm as agreed with the User/client or other legal service provider.
Payment by a User to a lawyer/law firm shall be made outside of the service of APT LAWYER payment guarantees or dispute protections as discussed in the Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Agreement.

9. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Copyright Infringement Policy. If you believe that material located on or linked to by APT LAWYER violates your copyright, please notify APT LAWYER in accordance with the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act, 2006 of the Republic of Uganda.
1. Termination of Repeat Infringer Accounts. APT LAWYER respects the intellectual property rights of others and requests that our Users do the same. Pursuant to Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act 2006 of the Republic of Uganda, we will terminate a User’s access to and use of the Website if, under appropriate circumstances, the User is determined in Ella Solutions Ltd.’s sole discretion, to be a repeat infringer of the copyrights or other intellectual property rights of Ella Solutions Ltd. or others. We may terminate access for Users who are found repeatedly to provide or post protected third party content without necessary rights and permissions.
2. Take-Down Notices. If you are a copyright owner or an agent of a copyright owner and believe, in good faith, that any materials provided on the Service infringe upon your copyrights, you may submit a notification pursuant to the Act by sending a properly formatted take-down notice in writing to APT LAWYER at aptlawyer@ella-solutions.com
3. Response To Take-Down Notices. If Ella Solutions Ltd. takes action in response to an infringement notice, it will make a good faith attempt to contact the party that made such content available by means of the most recent email address, if any, provided by that party to APT LAWYER website. Any infringement notice may be forwarded to the party that made the content available or to third parties.
4. Counter-Notices. If you believe that your User-Generated Content that has been removed from the Website is not infringing, or that you have the authorization from the copyright owner, the copyright owner’s agent, or pursuant to the law, to post and use the content you submitted to the Website, you may send a properly formatted counter-notice to Ella Solutions Ltd. using the contact information set forth above.
5. Response to Counter-Notices. If a counter-notice is received by Ella Solutions Ltd., Ella Solutions Ltd. may send a copy of the counter-notice to the original complaining party informing such person that it may reinstate the removed content in 10 business days. Unless the copyright owner files an action seeking a court order against the content provider, member or user, the removed content will be reinstated on the Website in 10 to 14 business days after receipt of the counter-notice.
Intellectual Property Notice. Ella Solutions Ltd. retains all ownership of our intellectual property, including our copyrights, patents, and trademarks.
1. No Transfer. Ella Solutions Ltd. retains ownership of all intellectual property rights of any kind related to the Website and Service, including applicable copyrights, patents, trademarks and other proprietary rights. Other trademarks, service marks, graphics and logos used in connection with the Website and the Service may be the trademarks of other third parties. This Agreement does not transfer from Ella Solutions Ltd. to you any Ella Solutions Ltd. or third party intellectual property, and all right, title, and interest in and to such property will remain (as between the parties) solely with Ella Solutions Ltd. We reserve all rights that are not expressly granted to you under this Agreement.

10. NOTICE

Email Communications. We use email and electronic means to stay in touch with our users.

Electronic Communications Required. For contractual purposes, you (i) consent to receive communications from APT LAWYER in an electronic form via the email address you have submitted or via the Service; and (ii) agree that all Terms of Use, agreements, notices, disclosures, and other communications that APT LAWYER provides to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications would satisfy if it were in writing. This section does not affect your non-waivable rights.
Legal Notice To APT LAWYER Must Be In Writing. Communications made through email or the Service’s private messaging system will not constitute legal notice to APT LAWYER or any of our officers, employees, agents or representatives in any situation where notice to APT LAWYER is required by contract or any law or regulation.

11. TERMINATION

Termination. As further defined herein, you may cancel this Agreement and close your account at any time. Termination of the APT LAWYER Service does not terminate lawyer-client relationships or obligations.

You May Terminate This Agreement. If you wish to terminate this Agreement or your account with the Service, you may simply discontinue using APT LAWYER. If you wish to delete your User account data, please contact APT LAWYER at aptlawyer@ella-solutions.com with subject DELETE MY AACOUNT. We will retain and use your information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements, but barring legal requirements, we will delete your full profile within 30 days.
APT LAWYER May Terminate This Agreement. APT LAWYER may terminate your access to all or any part of the Website at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, effective immediately.
Relationships Between Lawyer And Client Survive Termination. Termination of your relationship with APT LAWYER does not affect your relationship with any lawyer/law firm you have retained through the APT LAWYER Service. All legal, contractual, and ethical duties, obligations and responsibilities survive termination of the APT LAWYER relationship.
Some Provisions Survive Termination. All provisions of this Agreement which by their nature should survive termination will survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability.

12. WARRANTIES

Disclaimer of Warranties. We provide our service as is, and we make no promises or guarantees about this service. Please read this section carefully; you should understand what to expect.
1. APT LAWYER provides the Website and the Service “as is,” without warranty of any kind. Without limiting the foregoing, APT LAWYER expressly disclaims all warranties, whether express, implied or statutory, regarding the Website and the Service including, without limitation, any warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, security, accuracy and non-infringement.
2. Specifically, APT LAWYER makes no representation or warranty that the information we provide or that is provided through the Service is accurate, reliable or correct; that the Service will meet your requirements; that the Service will be available at any particular time or location, that the Service will function in an uninterrupted manner or be secure; that any defects or errors will be corrected; or that the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components. You assume full responsibility and risk of loss resulting from your use of information, content or other material obtained from the Service. Some jurisdictions limit or do not permit disclaimers of warranty, so this provision may not apply to you.

13. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY

APT LAWYER will not be liable for damages or losses arising from your use of the service or arising under this Agreement. Please read this section carefully; it limits our obligations to you.
1. To the extent permitted by applicable law, in no event will APT LAWYER be liable to you for any loss of profits, use, or data, or for any incidental, indirect, special, consequential or exemplary damages, however arising, that result from (i) the use, disclosure, or display of your User-Generated Content; (ii) your use or inability to use the Service; (iii) the Service generally or the software or systems that make the Service available; or (iv) any other interactions with APT LAWYER or any other User of the Service, whether based on warranty, contract, tort (including negligence) or any other legal theory, and whether or not APT LAWYER has been informed of the possibility of such damage, and even if a remedy set forth in this Agreement is found to have failed of its essential purpose. ContractsCounsel will have no liability for any failure or delay due to matters beyond our reasonable control. Some jurisdictions limit or do not permit disclaimers of liability, so this provision may not apply to you.
Third Party Beneficiaries. Lawyers/Law Firms are intended third-party beneficiaries of this section of the Terms of Use. Any legal information provided on the Service is for informational purposes only. APT LAWYER and any creator of User-Generated Content containing legal information disclaim all warranties, either express or implied, statutory or otherwise, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, non-infringement of third parties’ rights, and fitness for particular purpose, to the fullest extent permitted by law. In no event will APT LAWYER or a Lawyer/Law Firm be liable for any damages (including, without limitation, incidental and consequential damages, personal injury / wrongful death, lost profits, or damages resulting from lost data or business interruption) resulting from the use of or inability to use the Service or the User-Generated Content, whether based on warranty, contract, tort, or any other legal theory, and whether or not APT LAWYER or contributors of User-Generated Content are advised of the possibility of such damages. Neither APT LAWYER nor contributors of User-Generated Content are liable for any personal injury, including death, caused by your use or misuse of the Service or User-Generated Content.

14. RELEASE AND INDEMNIFICATION

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless APT LAWYER from and against any and all claims and expenses, including legal fees, arising out of your use of the Website and the Service, including but not limited to your violation of this Agreement.
If you have a dispute with one or more Users, you release APT LAWYER from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes.

15. MISCELLANEOUS.

Modification of Terms of Use. APT LAWYER may amend this Agreement from time to time, and in APT LAWYER’s sole discretion. We will provide notification to Users of material changes to this Agreement (i) by sending a notice to the primary email address specified in your account, which will take effect immediately upon our sending of this email, and/or (ii) through our Website at least 30 days prior to the change taking effect by posting a notice on our home page.
Non-material changes to this Agreement will take effect immediately. We encourage visitors to frequently check this page for any changes to this Agreement. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of a revised version of this Agreement constitutes your acceptance of its terms.
This Agreement is controlled by the laws of The Republic of Uganda. You, and you alone, are responsible for any obligations you agree to under this contract. If APT LAWYER is involved in a merger or we are bought, we may transfer this Agreement without notice to you, as long as your rights are protected. You may only agree to these terms if you are able to form a binding contract in your state. These terms, including our Privacy Policy, are the complete agreement between us, and no other terms apply.
Governing Law. Except to the extent applicable law provides otherwise, this Agreement between you and APT LAWYER and any access to or use of the Website or the Service are governed by the federal laws of the United States of America and the laws of The Republic of Uganda, without regard to conflict of law provisions. You and APT LAWYER agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts located in the District in Uganda you are in, except as provided below in this Agreement.
Severability. If any part of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion of the Agreement will be construed to reflect the parties’ original intent. The remaining portions will remain in full force and effect. Any failure on the part of APT LAWYER to enforce any provision of this Agreement will not be considered a waiver of our right to enforce such provision. Our rights under this Agreement will survive any termination of this Agreement.
Limitation of Term of Action. You agree that any cause of action related to or arising out of your relationship with APT LAWYER must commence within ONE year after the cause of action accrues. Otherwise, such cause of action is permanently barred.
Non-Assignability. APT LAWYER may assign or delegate these Terms of Use and/or the APT LAWYER Privacy Policy, in whole or in part, to any person or entity at any time with or without your consent. You may not assign or delegate any rights or obligations under the Terms of Use or Privacy Policy without APT LAWYER prior written consent, and any unauthorized assignment and delegation by you is void.
Section Headings and Summaries Non-Binding. Throughout this Agreement, each section includes titles and brief summaries of the following terms and conditions. These section titles and brief summaries are not legally binding.
Complete Agreement. These Terms of Use, together with the Privacy Policy, represent the complete and exclusive statement of the agreement between you and APT LAWYER. This Agreement supersedes any proposal or prior agreement oral or written, and any other communications between you and APT LAWYER relating to the subject matter of this Agreement. This Agreement may only be modified by a written amendment signed by an authorized APT LAWYER executive, or by the posting by APT LAWYER of a revised version.
Authorization to Contract. You represent and warrant that if you are an individual, you are of legal age to form a binding contract; or that if you are registering on behalf of an entity, that you are authorized to enter into, and bind the entity to, these Terms of Use and register for the Service.

16. DEFINITIONS

The following terms are used throughout these Terms of Use and have specific meanings. You should know what each of the terms means.

“Service” refers to the services provided by APT LAWYER, including without limitation access to APT LAWYER online community; communication tools; document management and storage solutions; and payment services. APT LAWYER does not provide an Lawyer/Law Firm referral service or serve as an employment agency. We provide a venue for our Users to meet and exchange information with our Lawyers/Law Firms.
“Agreement” (which may also be referenced herein as these “Terms of Use”) refers, collectively, to all the terms, conditions, and notices contained or referenced in this document and the Addendum as defined herein.
“Website” refers to APT LAWYER website located at https://www.aptlawyer.ella-solutions.com, all subpages and subdomains, and all content, services, and products available at or through the Website.
“APT LAWYER,” “We” and “Us” refer to APT LAWYER, Ella Solutions Limited, as well as our affiliates, directors, subsidiaries, officers, and employees. Lawyers/Law Firms are neither part of APT LAWYER nor Ella Solutions Limited.
“The User,”, “You” and “Your” refer to the person, company, or organization that has visited or is using the Website and/or the Service. A User may be a User, a Lawyer/Law Firm, both, or neither.
“Lawyers/Law Firms/Vendors” refer to registered Lawyers/Law Firms/Vendors in the legal field who may communicate with and provide contracting or consulting work to Users or fellow Lawyers/Law Firms via the Service. Lawyers/Law Firms are neither the employees or agents of APT LAWYER nor Ella Solutions Limited. Please see Section 7of this Agreement for more information about Lawyers/Law Firms/Vendors.
“Users” refer to 1) Users who submit requests for proposals from Lawyers/Law/Firms/Vendors for providing legal services for a fee/free (“Jobs”); and 2) Users who contract with Lawyers/Law Firms/Vendors for additional work, which, for purposes of sub-section 7 below, may include permanent employment, beyond the initial Job which established the Lawyer-User relationship. Lawyers/Law Firms/Vendors may submit proposals (“Bids”) for such Jobs and may also establish terms of the relationship with the User via a signed engagement letter or other written agreement. Please see Section 7 for more information about Jobs, Bids, and Users
“Content” refers to content featured or displayed through the Website, including without limitation text, documents, information, data, articles, opinions, images, photographs, graphics, software, applications, video recordings, audio recordings, sounds, designs, features, and other materials that are available on the Website. Content includes, without limitation, User-Generated Content, which may be submitted by any APT LAWYER User (Registered User/Client or Registered Lawyer or Website Visitor).
“Affiliate” means any entity that, directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with APT LAWYER.
“Intellectual Property Rights” means all patent rights, copyright rights, mask work rights, moral rights, rights of publicity, trademark, trade dress and service mark rights, goodwill, trade secret rights and other intellectual property rights as may now exist or hereafter come into existence, and all applications therefore and registrations, renewals and extensions thereof, under the laws of any state, country, territory or another jurisdiction.
“Site” means, collectively, our website located at www.aptlawyer.ella-solutions.com, all affiliated websites and applications, including mobile websites and APT LAWYER Mobile Applications, owned and operated by us, our predecessors or successors in interest, or our Affiliates (defined in this Agreement).
“Site Services” means, collectively, all services, applications and products that are accessible through the Site, including the Public Site Services, and all APT LAWYER Mobile Applications.
“User Content” means any comments, remarks, data, feedback, content, text, photographs, images, video, music, or other information that you or any Site Visitor or User post to any part of the Site or provide to APT LAWYER, including such information that is posted as a result of questions.
“You” means any person who accesses our Site, including a Site Visitor or User and including any entity or agency on whose behalf any such person accesses or uses our Site.

17. TEMPLATE LEGAL DOCUMENTS

You are solely responsible for the completion and use of template legal documents available for use on aptlawyer.ella-solutions.com. APT LAWYER does not provide any warranties or guarantees regarding the suitability or adequacy of the template legal documents for your circumstances. The templates do not include liability insurance and you agree to use them at your own risk. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the use or legal enforceability of the template legal documents, we recommend you seek independent legal advice. This can be obtained independently or by using the APT LAWYER online legal marketplace.

When you access the template legal document/s, you receive a limited license to access and use those documents for your own personal use. You must not use the template documents in any way that infringes the copyright or proprietary interest therein; remove or obscure any copyright notice, license notice or other notices contained in the template legal documents; and/or copy, produce, sell or distribute the template legal documents to third parties for commercial purposes.

LAWYER/LAW FIRM/VENDOR, USER AND ANY PERSON WHO USES THIS SITE ACKNOWLEDGES THAT YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THESE TERMS OF USE ALONG WITH THE DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND ARBITRATION AGREEMENT, AND THERFORE WILL BE BOUND BY THESE AGREEMENTS.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND ARBITRATION AGREEMENT

APT LAWYER is committed to participating in a consumer-friendly dispute resolution process. This Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Agreement shall apply if your (i) Country of Residence is the Republic of Uganda; or (ii) your Country of Residence is not the Republic of Uganda, but bring any claim against APT LAWYER in the Republic of Uganda.
Pre-Arbitration Dispute Resolution and Notification. Prior to initiating an arbitration, you and APT LAWYER each agree to notify the other party of the dispute and attempt to negotiate an informal resolution to it first. We will contact you at the email address you have provided to us; you can contact APT LAWYER management team by emailing them at aptlawyer@ella-solutions.com with DISPUTE as the subject of your message. If after a good faith effort and no less than thirty (30) days, the negotiations are unsuccessful, then the parties shall engage in 1) dispute resolution with the State bar where the Lawyer/Law Firm/Vendor is licensed to practice 2) arbitration with the party intending to pursue arbitration notifying the other party via email prior to initiating the arbitration.
Agreement to Arbitrate. You and APT LAWYER mutually agree that any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the breach, termination, enforcement or interpretation thereof between you and APT LAWYER, or to the use of the APT LAWYER Service (collectively, “Disputes”) will be settled by binding arbitration (the “Arbitration Agreement”). The parties shall mutually agree to a sole Arbitrator. If the parties cannot mutually agree, the party pursuing dispute resolution may file a legal suit against the offending party in a court of competent jurisdiction where the Lawyer/Law Firm/Vendor is licensed to practice or as initially agreed between the disputed parties at the start of their Lawyer-Client relationship. If there is a dispute about whether this Arbitration Agreement can be enforced or applies to your Dispute, you and APT LAWYER agree that the arbitrator will decide that issue.
Exceptions to Arbitration Agreement. You and APT LAWYER each agree that the following claims are exceptions to the Arbitration Agreement and will be brought in a judicial proceeding in a court of competent jurisdiction: (i) Any claim related to actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation or violation of a party’s copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, patents, or other intellectual property rights; (ii) Any claim seeking emergency injunctive relief based on exigent circumstances (e.g., imminent danger or commission of a crime, hacking, cyber-attack).
Arbitration Hearing/Location. In order to make the arbitration most convenient to you, APT LAWYER agrees that any required arbitration hearing may be conducted, at your option, by telephone, online, or based solely on written submissions; (b) the arbitration may not involve any personal appearance by the parties unless otherwise mutually agreed by the parties. Each party has the right to present witnesses at arbitration in favor of their case.
Attorney’s Fees and Costs. You and APT LAWYER each agree that either party may be entitled to seek an award of attorney fees and expenses if they prevail in arbitration, to the extent provided under applicable law.
Arbitrator’s Decision. The arbitrator’s decision will include the essential findings and conclusions upon which the arbitrator based the award. Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court with proper jurisdiction. The arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only on an individual basis and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by the claimant’s individual claim. The Arbitrator’s decision is final and binding on all the parties.
No Class Actions or Representative Proceedings. You and APT LAWYER acknowledge and agree that we are each waiving the right to participate as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class action lawsuit, class-wide arbitration, private attorney-general action, or any other representative proceeding as to all Disputes. Further, unless you and APT LAWYER both otherwise agree in writing, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one party’s claims and may not otherwise preside over any form of any class or representative proceeding. If this paragraph is held unenforceable with respect to any Dispute, then the entirety of the Arbitration Agreement will be deemed void with respect to such Dispute.
Severability. In the event that any portion of this Arbitration Agreement is deemed illegal or unenforceable, such provision shall be severed and the remainder of the Arbitration Agreement shall be given full force and effect.
Changes and/or Revisions. Notwithstanding the provisions (“Modification of these Terms”), if APT LAWYER changes this Section (“Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Agreement”) after the date you last accepted these Terms (or accepted any subsequent changes to these Terms), you may reject any such change by sending us written notice (including by email) within three (3) days of the date such change became effective, as indicated in the “Last Updated” date above or in the date of APT LAWYER’s notice to you of such change. By rejecting any change, you are agreeing that you will arbitrate any Dispute between you and APT LAWYER in accordance with the provisions of the “Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Agreement” section as of the date you last accepted these Terms (or accepted any subsequent changes to these Terms).