Terms of Use

1. Acceptance and changes

By accessing or using the Platform, you confirm that you have read, understood and agreed to these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, you must not use the Platform.

We may revise these Terms to reflect changes in law, technology or our services. The updated version will be posted here with a revised date. Where a change materially affects registered users, we may also provide notice through the Platform or registered contact details. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

2. Nature and role of the Platform

LegalFoster is a technology-enabled legal information and discovery platform. It may provide lawyer and law-firm directories, legal news, articles, judgments, guides, questions, enquiry facilities and practice-management features.

LegalFoster is not a law firm, does not practise law and does not itself provide legal advice, representation or advocacy. Listing, verification or visibility on the Platform is not an endorsement, recommendation or guarantee of any legal professional’s ability, conduct, availability or outcome. Any professional engagement is solely between the User and the selected lawyer or law firm.

Use of the Platform does not create a lawyer-client relationship with LegalFoster. A lawyer-client relationship with a listed professional arises only when that professional expressly accepts an engagement, subject to applicable professional rules.

3. Eligibility, registration and account security

• You must be legally capable of entering a binding agreement. A minor may use the Platform only with the involvement and consent of a parent or lawful guardian.
• You must provide accurate, complete and current information and must not impersonate another person or entity.
• Your login credentials are personal. You are responsible for keeping them confidential and for activity carried out through your account.
• You must promptly notify us of suspected unauthorised use or a security incident affecting your account.
• We may request identity, enrolment, business or other verification documents and may refuse or revoke registration where information is false, incomplete or unverifiable.

4. Terms for lawyers and law firms

A legal professional using or registering on the Platform represents that they hold all qualifications, enrolments, licences and authority required to practise in each applicable jurisdiction and are not suspended or prohibited from practice.

Professional responsibilities

• Comply with the Advocates Act, 1961, Bar Council of India Rules, applicable State Bar Council requirements and all professional duties.
• Act independently, competently, diligently and in the client’s interest; conduct conflict checks and maintain professional confidentiality.
• Keep profile details, experience, enrolment information, fees and availability accurate and current, without false or misleading claims.
• Do not advertise, solicit work, promise results, manipulate reviews or use the Platform in a manner prohibited by professional conduct rules.
• Do not disclose or misuse client information, and obtain legally valid consent before recording a consultation or sharing confidential material.
• Remain solely responsible for advice, documents, deadlines, representation, billing, taxes, insurance and all services supplied to a client.

Lawyers and law firms participate as independent professionals. Nothing in these Terms creates employment, partnership, agency, joint practice or a fee-sharing relationship with LegalFoster.

5. Acceptable use

You may use the Platform only for lawful purposes. You must not:

• post or transmit unlawful, fraudulent, threatening, abusive, defamatory, obscene, discriminatory or privacy-infringing material;
• harass another User, impersonate anyone, forge identifiers or misrepresent affiliation or qualifications;
• upload malware, interfere with security, overload the Platform or disrupt another person’s use;
• scrape, crawl, data-mine, harvest personal data, use bots or systematically extract content without our prior written permission;
• send spam, unauthorised promotions, chain communications or solicitations;
• infringe intellectual property, confidentiality, privacy or other legal rights;
• circumvent access controls, create deceptive or duplicate accounts, manipulate rankings or reviews, or use the Platform for an unauthorised commercial purpose.

6. Platform content and User submissions

Legal news, articles, judgment summaries, guides, answers and other materials are provided for general information and education. They may not reflect recent legal developments and must not be treated as a substitute for advice from a suitably qualified professional who has reviewed your facts.

You retain ownership of content you submit. You grant LegalFoster a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, store, reproduce, format, display and transmit that content only as reasonably necessary to operate, secure, promote and improve the Platform. You confirm that you have the necessary rights and permissions to submit it and that it is accurate and lawful.

We may moderate, refuse, remove or restrict content that violates these Terms, creates legal or security risk, or is otherwise unsuitable for the Platform. We are not obliged to monitor every submission.

7. Intellectual property

The Platform’s design, software, databases, selection and arrangement of content, logos, branding and original materials belong to LegalFoster or its licensors and are protected by applicable law. Subject to these Terms, you receive a limited, revocable, non-transferable right to access the Platform for personal or internal professional use.

You may not reproduce, republish, sell, license, broadcast, distribute, adapt or commercially exploit Platform material without prior written permission, except for limited quotation or use permitted by law with appropriate attribution.

8. Enquiries, consultations and professional engagements

Users are responsible for selecting a legal professional and independently evaluating suitability, credentials, experience, conflicts and fee terms. LegalFoster does not guarantee that an enquiry will receive a response, that a professional will accept a matter or that any result will be achieved.

Users must provide truthful information and must not upload more personal or confidential material than is reasonably necessary. Time-sensitive matters should not rely solely on Platform messaging. Lawyers and clients are responsible for agreeing in writing on scope, fees, expenses, confidentiality and other engagement terms.

Ratings and reviews express the reviewer’s opinion, not ours. Reviews must be genuine, relevant and respectful. We may investigate and remove manipulated, unlawful or policy-violating reviews.

9. Third-party links and services

The Platform may link to or integrate third-party websites, payment providers, communications tools or advertisements. Those services are governed by their own terms and privacy practices. LegalFoster does not control and is not responsible for third-party availability, content, security, representations or transactions.

10. Charges, professional fees and payments

General access may be free, but we may introduce charges for subscriptions, listings, enhanced visibility, technology tools or other services after displaying the applicable price and terms. Lawyers determine and remain responsible for their professional fees unless a specific Platform feature states otherwise.

Where payment processing is made available, payments may be handled by an independent payment provider. Applicable fees, taxes, cancellation and refund conditions will be shown for the relevant service. Except where required by law or an expressly stated policy, amounts paid for completed Platform services are non-refundable.

11. Privacy and communications

Our collection and handling of personal information is described in our Privacy Policy. Users and legal professionals must comply with applicable data-protection law and must use information obtained through the Platform only for the purpose for which it was provided.

By providing contact details, you agree to receive transactional and service communications. Marketing communications, where sent, may be opted out of using the method provided, without affecting essential account or service notices.

12. Disclaimers and availability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Platform and its content are supplied on an “as is” and “as available” basis. We do not warrant uninterrupted or error-free access, completeness, accuracy, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, absence of harmful code, professional availability or any legal outcome.

You are responsible for verifying information before relying on it, maintaining secure devices and backups, and obtaining independent professional advice. We may change, suspend or discontinue any feature and may perform maintenance without liability. Delays caused by events beyond our reasonable control will not constitute a breach.

13. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, LegalFoster and its officers, employees, affiliates and service providers will not be liable for legal advice or services supplied by a professional; disputes between Users; case outcomes; or indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, punitive or consequential loss, including loss of profit, revenue, business, data, goodwill or reputation.

Nothing in these Terms excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limits a consumer’s non-waivable statutory rights.

14. Indemnity

To the extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless LegalFoster and its officers, employees, affiliates and service providers from third-party claims, losses and reasonable legal costs arising from your unlawful use of the Platform, your content, your breach of these Terms or applicable law, or—if you are a legal professional—your advice, services, conduct or breach of professional duties.

15. Suspension, termination and account deletion

You may stop using the Platform and may request account deletion, subject to completion of outstanding obligations and lawful record-retention requirements. We may restrict, suspend or terminate access, remove a listing or content, or preserve relevant records where we reasonably believe there is a breach, fraud, security risk, regulatory concern, loss of professional authority or risk to another person.

Provisions concerning intellectual property, confidentiality, liability, indemnity, disputes and any accrued rights survive termination.

16. General terms

• These Terms and incorporated policies form the entire agreement concerning use of the Platform.
• If a provision is held invalid or unenforceable, it will be limited to the minimum extent necessary and the remaining provisions will continue.
• A failure or delay in enforcing a right is not a waiver.
• You may not assign your account or rights without our consent. We may assign these Terms as part of a reorganisation, financing or transfer of the Platform.
• Headings are for convenience and do not affect interpretation.

17. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of India. Before commencing formal proceedings, the parties will attempt in good faith to resolve a dispute by contacting LegalFoster. Subject to any mandatory consumer forum or other non-waivable jurisdiction, courts of competent jurisdiction in New Delhi, India will have exclusive jurisdiction.

18. Contact and grievances

Questions, legal notices or grievances concerning these Terms may be sent through our Contact Us page or by email to hello@legalfoster.com. Please include your name, contact information, the nature of the issue and any supporting details required for us to review it.