TERMS OF USE

Service d’échange et de référencement juridique (S.E.R.J.) Inc. ("we", "us", "the Company" or "our"), a company related to Alepin Gauthier Avocats Inc., operates and powers SERJ (the "Site"). These terms of use (hereinafter the "Terms of Use" or “Terms”) govern your use of the Site. By using the Site and its subdirectories, you accept the Terms in their entirety.

The use of this Site is strictly reserved for lawyers who are members in good standing of Quebec Bar, for a Valid Reference within the province of Quebec only.. If you do not meet this condition, please immediately cease any further use of the Site.

If you are disagree with any part of the Terms of Use, you should not use the Site, as this condition prohibits you from doing so. For this reason, each time you visit the Site, you confirm that you agree to be bound by the Terms of Use, without limitation. You represent and warrant that you have the legal capacity to accept the Terms of Use on your own behalf and that you are in compliance with all such Terms.

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to change or modify the Terms of Use at any time, and for this reason you should refer back to any such changes prior to the use of the Site. By using the Site after changes have been made to the Terms of Use, you agree to comply with all changes, whether or not you have reviewed them.

Should we not exercise or enforce any right or obligation or any other provision under the Terms of Use, this shall not constitute a waiver of such right or obligation or provision and shall not in any way be interpreted as constituting such waiver or ratification.

If any of the Terms of Use are determined to be unenforceable or invalid, the remainder of the Terms of Use shall remain in full force and effect.

Any rights not expressly granted by the Terms of Use are exclusively reserved to us.

These Terms and Conditions were last modified on June 2, 2020.

RESTRICTIONS

You are authorized to use the Site if you are a lawyer that is a member of the Quebec Bar. It is your responsibility to ensure that, in accordance with the laws governing your profession, you can legally use, consult and access this Site. We reserve the right to ask at any time for proof of identification and proof that you are in fact a lawyer, more specifically a member of the Quebec Bar. In addition, we do not accept referrals from other referencing websites or services.

We do not accept legal aid mandates.

OVERVIEW

For the purposes hereof, the term "Valid Referral" refers to any complete information contained in the legal referencing form sent, submitted or otherwise communicated via the Site.

When sending a Valid Referral via the Site, you must fill out a form to this effect. The personal information provided in the form must be accurate, valid, complete and up to date.

By sharing a Valid Referral with us, you agree to grant us permission to use the Valid Referral for the purpose of carrying out the referral at our sole discretion. Any Valid Referral submitted to the Site will be sent to a lawyer who is a member of the Quebec Bar and who has declared himself/herself able to accept the mandate. You understand and agree that your use of the Site does not create a right for you to receive any Valid Referral from us, however, we may send you Valid Referrals if you are a TOP REFERRER, i.e. a referrer who has sent us more than 10 Referrals within the first year of use of the Site. To maintain a TOP REFERRER status thereafter, you must refer to SERJ over five (5) Valid Referrals per year thereon. We may receive financial compensation for any Valid Referrals that we redistribute. In addition, by sharing a Valid Referral with us, you confirm that you have, without limitation, been expressly authorized by the person who is the subject of the Valid Referral to share his or her contact information on the Site as well as information and a brief description of their legal needs.

By submitting a Valid Referral to us, you agree and confirm that you are sending such a Valid Referral exclusively to us. More specifically, the Valid Referral must not and shall not be sent to, inter alia, another lawyer and/or any other legal referencing service.

We may decide not to use and/or to remove any reference you send via the Site and/or may prevent or suspend your use of the Site if you do not comply with the Terms of Use, at our sole discretion.. In all instances, you will be notified. If you believe that your use of the Site has been erroneously prevented or suspended, please contact us. We are not liable for any loss of profits, revenue, information or data, or any consequential, special, indirect, exemplary, punitive or incidental damages arising from or associated to the non-use, deletion and/or suspension of your referral(s) or your use of the Site.

CONSIDERATION

In exchange for each Valid Referral, the referring lawyer will receive an amount of $50 and 1 hour of continuing education for a maximum of 15 hours per year, to be used within six (6) months following the Valid Referral. The TOP REFERRERS will see the consideration for each Valid Reference increase from an amount of $50 to an amount of $75 starting with the 11th Valid Reference.

USE OF THE SITE

You must not use the Site in a manner that is unlawful, illegal, fraudulent or harmful, or in connection with any unlawful, illegal, fraudulent or harmful purpose or in a manner contrary to any code of ethics that applies to you. You may not create a hyperlink to this Site or use this Site in association with any third party in a manner that suggests an endorsement of or an association with this Site, without our express written consent.

By using the Site and relying on any information contained therein, you do so at your own risk. We and our directors, employees, subcontractors or content providers will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your use of any content, information, feature or service found anywhere on the Site or other related locations (e.g., content, links, e-mails, letters, documents and other products or correspondence related to the Valid Referral(s)).

By using the Site, you hereby waive all claims, past, present and future, against the owners, directors, and any other member of our staff arising directly or indirectly from the use or access of the Site. You also agree to indemnify us and, as the case may be, our employees, agents, affiliates, representatives and/or business associates, from and against any damages, losses or expenses of any kind that we may suffer as a result of your failure to comply with these Terms, in connection with any claim, suit or demand arising from your use of the Site.

The use of the Site does not create an attorney-client relationship between us and yourself. We are not a law firm and do not offer any legal advice or counsel of any kind through the Site.

VIRUSES, DAMAGE AND AVAILABILITY

While we take great care to keep the Site up to date and functional, we are not responsible for any problem or malfunction with the Site, any telephone lines or networks, computer online communication systems, servers or providers, computer hardware, software, e-mail or technical problems, or web congestion, changes or updates to the content of the Site, including any injury or damage to users or to any person's computer related to or resulting from using the Site or downloading any materials from the Site.

We do not warrant or make any representations that the server and functions available on the Site will be uninterrupted or error-free, that defects will be corrected, or that the content itself is or will be free of viruses or other malicious codes. You acknowledge that it is your responsibility to implement and maintain sufficient measures (including anti-virus and other security controls) for your security and the security of the medium used to display any content on the Site.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

The trademarks SERJ, SERJ et dessin, SERJ et logo, the designs associated therewith and any other names and logos appearing on the Site are registered and unregistered trademarks as well as brand names that belong to us. Any unauthorized use, in writing and unequivocally of our trademarks or any use that does not conform to the Terms of Use is prohibited. At no time may these Terms be interpreted as constituting any authorization whatsoever to use in whole or in part said trademarks displayed on the Site.

The content of the Site, the design of the Site and its layout are our property and are protected by copyright, trademark, unfair competition and other applicable laws, as applicable, and may not be copied, or redistributed, in whole or in part, without our express and written permission.

JURISDICTION

The laws applicable in the Province of Quebec, including the applicable Code of Professional Conduct of Lawyers for Quebec Lawyers and any other code of ethics governing your profession as a lawyer, govern your use of the Site in the event that the Terms of Use are unclear or incomplete. You irrevocably agree to elect the courts of Quebec, judicial district of Laval, as the exclusive jurisdiction to hear any dispute arising from the Terms of Use.

Any dispute as set out in the previous paragraph shall first be dealt with by notice from one party to the other of the situation within five (5) days of the occurrence of the said situation. The other Party shall then respond within five (5) days of receipt of such notice, and a meeting for negotiations shall be held between the representatives of each party within three (3) days of receipt of such response. Should the dispute be unresolved within two (2) days following the negotiations, you agree to submit the matter to mediation presided by an accredited mediator in civil and commercial matters, appointed by mutual consent of the parties and, if no agreement, by the Institut de médiation et d'arbitrage du Québec (hereinafter the "IMAQ"). Should an agreement fail to be reached through a mediation process within 30 days of the mediator's appointment, the dispute will be referred to arbitration by a single arbitrator, excluding the courts, designated by the IMAQ if no agreement is reached between the parties, within 7 days of the end of the mediation. The arbitration decision shall be binding between the parties. The arbitration procedure shall be that provided for in sections 620 onwards of the Code of Civil Procedure.

CONTACT US

Should you have any comments, complaints or reports of abuse, or if you need any information, you can contact us by e-mail at info@serjavocat.com.