terms of service

1. This Agreement

PLEASE REVIEW THESE TERMS OF USE BEFORE USING THE WEBSITE. This is a legal agreement (the "Agreement") between you ("You" or "Your") and Vitruvian Law, LLC (hereafter "Vitruvian Law" or “Vitruvian” or “Us”) regarding Your use of Vitruvian’s website and related non-legal services (collectively, the "Website"). By using the Website, You represent and warrant that You have read and understood, and agree to be bound by, the Agreement and Vitruvian’s Privacy Policy (the "Privacy Policy"). By using the Website, You further represent and warrant that You are 18 years old or older, and that You are otherwise legally qualified to enter into contracts under applicable law. IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND THIS AGREEMENT, OR DO NOT AGREE TO BE BOUND BY IT OR THE PRIVACY POLICY, OR ARE NOT LEGALLY QUALIFIED TO ENTER INTO CONTRACTS, YOU MUST IMMEDIATELY LEAVE THE WEBSITE.

2. Changes

Vitruvian Law may, at any time and without further notice, revise this Agreement or the Privacy Policy by posting an amended version on the Website. Any changes will be effective immediately upon posting. It is Your responsibility to review this Agreement and the Privacy Policy periodically. IF AT ANY TIME YOU FIND EITHER UNACCEPTABLE, YOU MUST IMMEDIATELY LEAVE THE WEBSITE. Unless Vitruvian Law obtains Your express consent, any revised Privacy Policy will apply only to information collected by us after such time as the revised Privacy Policy takes effect. Vitruvian also may, at any time and without notice, modify or discontinue the Website. You agree that Vitruvian shall have no obligation of any sort in connection with any modification or discontinuance of the Website.

3. Informational Purposes Only

Vitruvian Law hereby grants You a nonexclusive license to download and display the Website, and to reproduce the content located thereon, in each case solely for Your personal, non-commercial use. Vitruvian provides the Website for information purposes only. THE WEBSITE DOES NOT CONTAIN OR CONSTITUTE, AND SHOULD NOT BE INTERPRETED AS, LEGAL ADVICE OR OPINION.

4. No Attorney-Client Relationship

YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE DOES NOT CREATE AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOU AND VITRUVIAN LAW. SIMILARLY, THE TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION TO AND FROM VITRUVIAN BY MEANS OF THE WEBSITE IS NOT AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT COMMUNICATION. If You would like Vitruvian Law to represent You, You should complete our online prospective client form. If the matter in connection with which You seek representation involves other parties, be sure to list each and every one of them on the online case submission form. If Vitruvian Law agrees to represent You, it will inform You by email or telephone, and will provide an engagement agreement setting forth the basis of the representation. Unless and until Vitruvian has confirmed its receipt, no attorney-client relationship exists. Unless an attorney-client relationship exists between You and Us, You shall not represent to any third party, either directly or by implication, that You are represented by the Vitruvian Law, or that Vitruvian is in any way involved in Your matter. Without limiting the foregoing, unless an attorney-client relationship exists between You and the Vitruvian Law, You shall not copy Vitruvian, or any attorney or employee of Vitruvian, on any emails or letters in a manner that could reasonably be interpreted by any third party to mean that You are represented by Vitruvian Law.

5. No Attorney-Client Privilege

BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT A CLIENT OF VITRUVIAN LAW, INFORMATION PROVIDED BY YOU TO VITRUVIAN MAY NOT BE PROTECTED BY THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE. It is possible that Vitruvian Law already represents, or in the future may represent, a party whose interests are adverse to Yours. In that case, Vitruvian may not be able to treat information received from You as privileged.

6. Communications Made to Third Parties by Means of the Website; Share this Page Feature

You acknowledge that any communications sent by You to third parties by means of the Website (for e.g. through a "tell-a-friend" form), whether by email or otherwise, are not private, and such communications may be read by third parties with or without your knowledge. Further, You agree that the content of any communications that you send to third parties by means of the Website shall be non-confidential and non-proprietary. Vitruvian Law reserves the right to use such communication for any purpose. The "Share this Page" feature of the Website allows you to share information about Vitruvian by sending emails containing links to certain Website pages. If You choose the "Send this Page" feature, or similar feature, Vitruvian will automatically send an email on Your behalf to the indicated recipient. Your name and email address will appear in the "From" line of such email, while the "Subject" line and body of the email message will explain the email's contents.

7. Prohibited Uses

You represent and warrant that You will not use the Website to:

a. Upload or transmit content that violates the privacy, intellectual property or other proprietary rights of any third party;

b. Transmit viruses, Trojan horses, worms, malicious code or other harmful or destructive content;

c. Violate this Agreement, the Privacy Policy or any applicable law or regulation, including without limitation laws designed to regulate unsolicited email or other electronic advertising;

d. Harm the goodwill or standing of Vitruvian Law or any of its clients, partners, employees, affiliates, agents, contractors or representatives;

e. Attempt to probe, scan, test or violate the security features of the Website or of any associated system or network, or to obtain unauthorized access to materials or other information stored thereon;

f. Attempt to interfere with the use of the Website by any other user. Vitruvian reserves the right to cooperate fully in any investigation by law enforcement officials of any violation of this Agreement.

8. Third-Party Websites

The Website may contain links to websites operated by third parties ("Third-Party Websites"). Vitruvian Law does not have control over Third-Party Websites, each of which may be governed by its own terms of service and privacy policy. Vitruvian has not reviewed, and cannot review, Third-Party Websites, and therefore does not warrant or endorse any Third-Party Website or the content appearing thereon. By visiting or using Third-Party Websites, You assume all responsibility and liability for all resulting harms, whether to You or to any third party, including without limitation as resulting from Your downloading or use of any content, software or other materials available therefrom.

9. Consent to Receive Email from Vitruvian Law

By becoming a client of Vitruvian Law, You consent to receive Vitruvian’s periodic newsletter (the "Newsletter"), which Vitruvian distributes by email to Your address on file with Us. When You complete Vitruvian’s online prospective client form, You may also choose to be added to Vitruvian’s newsletter emailing list. If You are not a client and would like to stop receiving Vitruvian’s newsletter or other automated follow-up emails, You should click on the opt-out link contained in any of the email newsletters or other automated follow-up emails.

10. Intellectual Property

The content located on the Website, including without limitation this Agreement, is the copyrighted property of Vitruvian Law or its licensors. Similarly, the Vitruvian Law name, the vitruvianlawfirm.com domain name, the registered service mark, "Vitruvian Way," and all other names and logos used by Vitruvian in connection with the offering of Vitruvian’s goods and services are the trademarks and service marks, or registered trademarks or registered service marks, of Vitruvian or its licensors. Except as explicitly permitted, neither Your use of the Website nor this Agreement grants You any right, title or interest in or to Vitruvian Law and Vitruvian’s licensors' copyrights, trademarks and service marks. Copyright © 2014 to the present, Vitruvian Law, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. If You believe that material located on or linked to by the Website infringes one or more of Your copyrights, please immediately notify Vitruvian Law by means of an email to mriley@vitruvianlawfirm.com. Your email should include: a signature, electronic or physical, of the copyright owner or a person authorized to act on their behalf; an identification of the copyright claimed to have been infringed; a description of the nature and location of the material that You claim to infringe Your copyright, in sufficient detail to permit Vitruvian Law to find and positively identify that material; Your name, address, telephone number and email address; and a statement by You (i) that You believe in good faith that the use of Your copyrighted material is not authorized by law, or by the copyright owner or such owner's agent and, (ii) under penalty of perjury, that all of the information contained in Your email notice is accurate, and that You are either the copyright owner or a person authorized to act on their behalf.

11. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES

VITRUVIAN LAW HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES. THE WEBSITE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE." TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, VITRUVIAN EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THE WEBSITE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NONINFRINGEMENT. OPERATION OF THE WEBSITE MAY NOT BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE. YOU ASSUME ALL RESPONSIBILITY AND LIABILITY FOR ALL HARMS, WHETHER TO YOU OR TO ANY THIRD PARTY, ARISING OR RESULTING FROM YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION AS RELATE TO ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR SYSTEMS OR DATA.

12. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

THE LIABILITY OF VITRUVIAN LAW IS LIMITED. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, VITRUVIAN SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, REGARDLESS OF ANY ADVICE OR NOTICE GIVEN BY VITRUVIAN, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE. ADDITIONALLY, THE MAXIMUM LIABILITY OF VITRUVIAN UNDER ALL CIRCUMSTANCES WILL BE THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU TO VITRUVIAN IN CONSIDERATION OF YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE OR $25, WHICHEVER IS LESS. YOU AGREE THAT THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY REPRESENTS A REASONABLE ALLOCATION OF RISK AND IS A FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENT OF THE BASIS OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN VITRUVIAN AND YOU. THE WEBSITE WOULD NOT BE PROVIDED WITHOUT SUCH LIMITATIONS.

13. Indemnity

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Vitruvian Law and its partners, employees, affiliates, agents, contractors and representatives (the "Vitruvian Parties") from and against all claims, losses, costs, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including without limitation attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to: (i) Your use of the Website; (ii) any violation by You of this Agreement; or (iii) Your submission to Vitruvian by means of the Website of incomplete, inaccurate or untimely information or other data. The Vitruvian Parties shall have the right, but not the obligation, to participate through counsel of their choice in any defense by You under this Section.

14. Termination

In the event of a breach by You, this Agreement and all licenses granted thereunder shall automatically terminate, except that the following provisions will survive: 4-5, 9-12 and 15. Any termination of this Agreement terminates all of Your rights to use the Website, including Your license to the content located thereon. Without limiting any other provision of this Agreement, Vitruvian reserves the right to, in its sole discretion and without notice or liability, deny use of the Website to any person for any reason or no reason at all.

15. Communication Concerning Availability of Professional Employment

Neither this Website nor the Newsletter is intended as, nor should they in any way be construed as, "Solicitations" as also defined by Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct. If You believe that the Website violates any applicable ethical rule, whether in Your jurisdiction or elsewhere, You should immediately leave the Website, and should disregard all information and other materials available thereon.

16. Choice of Law; Jurisdiction and Venue

The Website is located and operated by Vitruvian Law in Chicago, Illinois. This Agreement shall be interpreted and enforced as though executed in Chicago, and shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois without regard to its conflict of law principles. THE PROPER VENUE FOR ANY JUDICIAL ACTION ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE WEBSITE OR THIS AGREEMENT WILL BE THE STATE AND FEDERAL COURTS LOCATED IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. THE PARTIES HEREBY STIPULATE TO, AND AGREE TO WAIVE ANY OBJECTION TO, THE PERSONAL JURISDICTION AND VENUE OF SUCH COURTS, AND FURTHER EXPRESSLY SUBMIT TO EXTRATERRITORIAL SERVICE OF PROCESS.

17. Entire Agreement; Amendment

This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between Vitruvian Law and You concerning Your use of the Website. This Agreement may only be modified as stated in Section 2, above, or by amendment signed by an authorized representative of Vitruvian.

18. Severability; Waiver

If any part of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, that part will be construed to reflect the parties' original intent, and the remaining portions will remain in full force and effect. A waiver by either party of any term or condition of this Agreement or any breach thereof, in any one instance, will not waive such term or condition or any subsequent breach thereof.

19. Assignment

This Agreement and all of Your rights and obligations hereunder will not be assignable or transferable by You without the prior written consent of Vitruvian. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Agreement will be binding upon and will inure to the benefit of the parties, their successors and permitted assigns.

20. Relationship

Without limiting any other provision of this Agreement, this Agreement creates no agency, partnership, joint venture or employee-employer relationship between You and Vitruvian.

Effective Date: April 23, 2014