Terms and Conditions

INTRODUCTION 

Thank you for using Apex Counsel. 

ApexCounsel.co.uk  is a website operated by Apex Counsel Limited (“Apex Counsel”, “we” or “us”). Apex Counsel is registered in England and Wales under company number 14852791 and its registered office is at 20-22 Wenlock Road, London, England, N1 7GU.  

AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND APEX COUNSEL 

These general Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) are an agreement (“Agreement”) between you and Apex Counsel and cover your use of the information, software, products and services made available through ApexCounsel.co.uk (the “Website”). By using the Website, you agree to be bound by these Terms, as well as our Privacy Policy. 

This Agreement governs any use of the Website as a guest, fee paying member or otherwise. 

You are responsible for making all arrangements necessary for you to have access to the Website and for ensuring any contact details you provide us with are correct and up to date. You are also responsible for ensuring that all persons who access the Website through your internet connection are aware of these Terms and that they comply with them. 

The Website is offered to you conditional upon your acceptance of these Terms and any notices contained in these Terms and the Website itself. Please read these Terms carefully before you start using the Website. By using the Website, you agree to these Terms. 

Please note that the statements set forth under the headings “More simply put” are provided as a courtesy solely for your convenience and are not legally binding or otherwise intended to modify these Terms in any way. 

You must be the legal age of majority in your country of residence in order to use the Website. In no event is use of the Website permitted by those under the age of 18. 

OWNERSHIP AND PRESERVATION OF YOUR MATERIALS 

Apex Counsel does not own any of the materials you provide to us (including feedback or suggestions) or post, upload, input or submit to any Apex Counsel website or its associated services. 

By posting, uploading, inputting, providing or submitting your materials , you grant Apex Counsel, its affiliated companies and necessary sublicensees permission to use your material in connection with the operation of their Internet businesses including, without limitation, the right to copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, reproduce, edit, translate and reformat your material; and to publish your name in connection with your material. No compensation will be paid in relation to the use of your material. We are under no obligation to post or use any material you provide and may remove any material at any time in our sole discretion. 

By posting, uploading, inputting, providing or submitting your material, you warrant and represent that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to your material as described in this section including, without limitation, all the rights necessary for you to provide, post, upload, input or submit the materials. 

We reserve the right at all times to disclose any information as necessary to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request, or to edit, refuse to post or to remove any information or materials, in whole or in part, in our discretion. 

APEX COUNSEL LEGAL INFORMATION IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR LEGAL ADVICE 

Apex Counsel provides a platform for legal information and self-help. The information and documents provided by Apex Counsel along with the content on our Website related to law is provided for your private use and does not constitute legal advice from qualified lawyers and should not be relied upon as such. We cannot guarantee that information is correct, current or up-to-date, or suitable for every situation. Except as part of an Engagement, neither Paralegals nor Lawyers (terms defined below) will review any information you provide us with for legal accuracy or sufficiency, draw legal conclusions, provide opinions about your selection of documents, or apply the law to the specific facts of your situation. 

The documents available on the Website are customisable templates reasonably fit for use by you as a starting point for the preparation of legal documents. They are only intended to be used as templates, to be adapted by you to meet your individual requirements. Therefore, if you need legal advice for your specific issue please consult a lawyer using our Ask an Expert service. 

As Apex Counsel is not a regulated law firm please note that any communications between you and Apex Counsel may not be protected as privileged communications under legal professional privilege. Legal professional privilege is a principle that entitles a client to refuse to disclose certain confidential, legal communications to third parties including courts, tribunals, regulatory bodies and enforcement agencies. 

Your use of the Website does not create a lawyer-client relationship between you and Apex Counsel, or between you and any Apex Counsel employee or representative. You are responsible for representing yourself in any legal matter you undertake through our Website, unless you are otherwise represented by a Lawyer under an Engagement. 

ASK AN EXPERT 

When you use our Website, you will have the opportunity to submit legal questions via our Ask an Expert – Free Consultation service (“Questions”). 

Questions may be answered by paralegals employed by Apex Counsel (“Paralegals”), solicitors employed directly or on a consultancy basis by Apex Counsel (“Apex Counsel Solicitors”) or third party independent lawyers (“External Lawyers”). Where we refer to “Lawyers” we mean both Apex Counsel Solicitors and External Lawyers. 

After you submit a Question: 

(i) for simple matters, an answer will be provided by a Paralegal or a Lawyer (a “Simple Answer”); or 

(ii) for more complicated matters (to be decided in our absolute discretion), you will be invited to a consultation with a Lawyer (an “Initial Consultation”). 

Both Simple Answers and interactions with Lawyers prior to an Engagement (including Initial Consultations) are intended to be the starting point for dealing with a legal matter or addressing basic legal questions. Except as part of an Engagement (defined below), neither Paralegals nor Lawyers will review any information you provide us with for legal accuracy or sufficiency, draw legal conclusions, provide opinions about your selection of documents, or apply the law to the specific facts of your situation. 

INITIAL CONSULTATIONS AND ENGAGEMENTS WITH A LAWYER 

During an Initial Consultation, which can be done over email or via a phone call (which may last up to 30 minutes), the Lawyer will obtain further information from you regarding your situation in order to provide you with a competitive quote for the legal advice or documents that you require (a “Quote”) or recommend another course of action. Any Quotes will either be: 

1. a fixed price offer (also known as an agreed fee); or 

1. at the Lawyer’s usual hourly rate. 

Quotes and any work done pursuant to a Quote (an “Engagement”) will not be governed by these Terms but will instead be governed by the separate terms and conditions provided to you by your Lawyer and accepted by you before the Lawyer commences work. You can find a copy of the terms and conditions which cover Engagements with Apex Counsel Solicitors, which also contains details of the legal advice complaints procedure, here. 

By using this Service you acknowledge that External Lawyers are independent, third-party lawyers or law firms. External Lawyers are not Apex Counsel employees or agents, and do not represent Apex Counsel. The External Lawyers are solely responsible for the legal services provided directly to you. All Engagements with External Lawyers are governed by a separate agreement between the External Lawyer and you, to which we are not a party. As such, you agree that any complaints you have about the External Lawyer must be raised directly with that External Lawyer. 

Before engaging a Lawyer, you should carefully consider the Lawyer’s knowledge and experience and ask for a written services agreement detailing the terms and conditions of the engagement, including all fees, expenses and other obligations. 

LIABILITY DISCLAIMER 

The information, software, products, and services included in or available through the Website may include inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically added to the information on the Website. Apex Counsel and/or its suppliers may make improvements and/or changes to the Website at any time. Information and opinions received via the Website should not be relied upon for personal, medical, legal or financial decisions and you should consult an appropriate professional for specific advice tailored to your situation. 

Although Apex Counsel will use its reasonable efforts to keep the Website available and the information on the Website reasonably accurate, Apex Counsel and/or its suppliers make no representations about the suitability, reliability, availability, timeliness, and accuracy of the information, software, products, services and related graphics contained on the Website for any purpose. All such information, software, products, services and related graphics are provided “as is” without warranty or condition of any kind. Apex Counsel and/or its suppliers disclaim all warranties and conditions with regard to this information, software, products, services and related graphics, including all implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement. 

GUEST USERS 

You use the Website at your own risk. Neither Apex Counsel nor any company within our group, and our and their respective agents, employees and subcontractors, shall be liable to you or any other party for any losses or damages whatsoever or howsoever arising in connection with the Website (whether under these Terms or other contract or as a result of any misrepresentation, misstatement or tortious act or omission, including negligence). 

DISCLAIMERS 

You agree with us (and also for the benefit of our Lawyers) that Simple Answers and Initial Consultations do not constitute legal advice and that, except as part of an Engagement, no duty of care will be established (either in tort or in contract) between you and the Lawyer we connect you with. 

We reserve the right to reject questions you ask without providing a reason. However, our reasons for rejecting questions are typically that: 

1. we do not undertake that type of work; 

1. we do not presently have anyone available who undertakes that type of work; 

1. you are unable or unwilling to pay for the work required; 

1. we are too busy/do not have time to do the work; 

1. there are ethical, regulatory or other reasons to refuse (for example a suspicion of money laundering, conflict of interest, insurance issues); or 

1. your case is too complex or difficult or we do not have the relevant skills and experience. 

FAIR USE 

Your use of Ask an Expert is subject to you using the service fairly. We generally view fair use to be you submitting up to one question per legal issue per month. However, in the event you do genuinely encounter more than one legal issue in a single month (the definition of which shall be decided in our absolute discretion), we aim to be reasonable and also help you with this issue. 

DATA PROTECTION 

Any personal information you provide to us via the Website is governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms. 

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS 

For the purposes of these Terms, “Intellectual Property Rights” means any and all intellectual property rights, whether registered or unregistered, including but not limited to any patents, trademarks, domain names, URLs, design rights, copyright, software rights, database rights, rights in and to business names, product names and logos, processes, trade secrets, confidential information and any similar rights in any jurisdiction. 

Apex Counsel shall retain and be assigned all rights, title, interest and Intellectual Property Rights in relation to the legal forms, legal documents, letters, legal guides, articles and all other content found on the Website (the “Content”). 

Except as otherwise provided in these Terms, you must not: 

1. reproduce, modify, translate or create derivative works of any Content; 

1. sell, license, sublicense, rent, lease, distribute, copy, publicly display, publish, adapt or edit any Content; or 

1. circumvent or disable any security or technical features of the Content. 

Apex Counsel® is a registered trademark of Apex Counsel UK Limited. All Content is Copyright © Apex Counsel and/or its suppliers, affiliates and partners. All rights reserved. 

NO UNLAWFUL OR PROHIBITED USE 

As a condition of your use of the Website, you will not use the Website for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms. You will not use the Website in any manner which could damage, disable, overburden or impair the Website, or interfere with any other party’s use and enjoyment of the Website. You will neither obtain nor attempt to obtain any materials or information through any means not intentionally provided for on the Website. 

The Content is protected by copyright and all other applicable Intellectual Property Rights set out above. Content is for your personal use only and not for resale. Your use of the Website does not entitle you to resell any Content from the Website. For the avoidance of doubt, your use of the Website constitutes your acceptance of these Terms and your promise that you will not resell or otherwise attempt to commercially benefit from the Content without our written express consent. 

Our status, and those of any identified contributors, as the authors of material on the Website must always be acknowledged and you must not use the material in a derogatory manner. If you print off, copy or download any part of the Website in breach of these Terms, your right to use the Website will cease immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made. 

ACCEPTABLE USE OF COMMUNICATION SERVICES 

The Website may contain services such as chat with a representative portal, personal web pages, calendars, and/or other message or communication facilities designed to enable you to communicate with us (“Message Services”). You agree to use the Message Services only to post, send and receive messages and material that are proper and related to the particular Message Service. 

1. You agree that when using a Message Service, you will not: 

1. defame, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten or otherwise breach the legal rights (such as rights of privacy and publicity) of others; 

1. publish, post, upload, distribute or disseminate any inappropriate, profane, defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent or unlawful topic, name, material or information; 

1. upload files that contain software or other material protected by intellectual property laws (or by rights of privacy of publicity) unless you own or control these rights or have received all necessary consents; 

1. upload files that contain viruses, corrupted files, or any other similar software or programs that may damage the operation of another’s computer; 

1. advertise or offer to sell or buy any goods or services for any business purpose, unless such Message Service specifically allows such messages; 

1. conduct or forward surveys, contests, pyramid schemes or chain letters; 

1. download any file posted by another user of a Message Service that you know, or reasonably should know, cannot be legally distributed in such manner; 

1. falsify or delete any author attributions, legal or other proper notices or proprietary designations or labels of the origin or source of software or other material contained in a file that is uploaded; 

1. restrict or inhibit any other user from using and enjoying the Message Services; 

1. breach any code of conduct or other guidelines which may be applicable for any particular Message Service; 

1. harvest or otherwise collect information about others, including email addresses, without their consent; or 

1. breach any applicable laws or regulations. 

We reserve the right, in our own discretion, to review and remove materials posted to a Message Service, in whole or in part. Apex Counsel reserves the right to terminate your access to any or all of the Message Services at any time without notice if we reasonably believe that you have breached these Terms or are misusing the Message Services in any way. 

Always use caution when giving out any personally identifying information about yourself or your children in any Message Service. We do not control or endorse the content, messages or information found in any Message Service and, therefore, we specifically disclaim any liability with regard to the Message Services and any actions resulting from your participation in any Message Service. Managers and hosts are not our authorised spokespersons, and their views do not necessarily reflect our views. 

Materials uploaded to a Message Service may be subject to posted limitations on usage, reproduction and/or dissemination. You are responsible for keeping within these limitations if you download the materials. 

LINKS TO THIRD PARTY WEBSITES 

Apex Counsel’s websites may contain links to third party resources and businesses on the Internet, called here “links” or “Linked Sites.” Those links are provided for your convenience to help you identify and locate other Internet resources that may be of interest to you. Apex Counsel does not sponsor and is not legally associated with any third party Linked Sites. Apex Counsel is not legally authorised to use any trade name, registered trademark, logo or copyrighted material that may appear in the link. 

Apex Counsel does not control, endorse or monitor the contents of any Linked Site. That includes, without limitation, any further link contained in a Linked Site, and any changes or updates to a Linked Site. Apex Counsel is not responsible for webcasting or for any other form of transmission received from any Linked Site. These Terms do not cover your interaction with Linked Sites. You should carefully review the terms and conditions and privacy policies of any third party sites. 

If you use any service provided on a Linked Site, (a) Apex Counsel will not be responsible for any act or omission of the third party, including the third party’s access to or use of your customer data and (b) Apex Counsel does not warrant or support any service provided by the third party. 

GENERAL 

You agree that no joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and us as a result of this Agreement or your use of the Website. 

Our performance of this Agreement is subject to existing laws and legal process. Nothing contained in this Agreement is in derogation of our right to comply with governmental, court and law enforcement requests or requirements relating to your use of the Website or information provided to or gathered by us with respect to such use. 

If any part of this Agreement is determined to be invalid or unenforceable under any applicable law, including, but not limited to, the warranty disclaimers and liability limitations set out above, then the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision and the remainder of the Agreement will continue in effect. 

We may provide you with notices, including those regarding changes to the Terms by email, regular mail, postings on the Website, or other reasonable means now known or developed in the future. 

A printed version of the Agreement, and of any notice given in electronic form, will be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based upon 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. It is the express wish of the parties that this Agreement and all related documents have been drawn up in English. 

MODIFICATIONS 

We aim to update the Website regularly and can change the content at any time. We will use our reasonable efforts to keep the Website available to you, but if necessary, we may suspend access to the Website, or close it indefinitely. We will not be liable if for any reason the Website is unavailable at any time or for any period. 

We may revise these Terms from time to time, and will always post the most current version on our website. If a revision meaningfully reduces your rights, we will notify you (by, for example, posting on our blog or on this page). By continuing to use or access the Services after the revisions come into effect, you agree to be bound by the revised Terms. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please visit our Help Page or Contact Us at any time. 

ENTIRE AGREEMENT 

Unless otherwise specified, this Agreement constitutes the entire Agreement between you and us with respect to the Website and it supersedes all prior communications and proposals, whether electronic, oral or written, between you and us with respect to the Website. 

ASSIGNMENT 

You must not assign or otherwise transfer the Terms, or any right granted under them, without our written consent. We can freely transfer our rights under the Terms. 

WAIVER 

Any failure by us to enforce or exercise any provision of the Terms, or any related right, will not be a waiver of that provision or right. Any rights not expressly granted in this Agreement are reserved. If a provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions of the Terms will remain in full effect and an enforceable term will be substituted reflecting our intent as closely as possible. 

APPLICABLE LAW 

These Terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them or their subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.