STANDARDS
Excellence
Copyright © 2014. Standards of Excellence. All rights reserved. By using this website you agree to the User Agreement and the Privacy Policy
I. Introduction
STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE starts every new User relationship with a
contract. The contract spells out what you can expect from us, and what we expect
from you. We do not know each User personally, so it is important to set out the
ground rules clearly in advance.
If you agree to this contract, welcome to our system!
If you have any questions about any part of the contract, please contact us about
it! We will be glad to explain why these contract provisions are important for our
system. We would like to work with you on making changes if you can show us a better
approach.
Please remember that until there is an agreement in place, you will not
receive full access to our system.
In this agreement, we have referred to the STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE service as the
"Service", to you as the "User" and to this contract as the "Agreement".
II. Relationship
Between STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE And User: Providing Only a Venue
STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE
is an Internet forum that facilitates communication between legal professionals and
potential users of standards/legal services. STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE acts as a venue
for providers and standards/legal service seekers to exchange information with the
goal of eventually forming a professional relationship. STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE does
not guarantee that Users will successfully find an advocate/professional through
this system. STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE takes no position and offers no opinion on when
or if an advocate/professional -
In order to
provide an optimal forum for advocates/professionals and clients, STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE
does not involve itself in the agreements between advocates/professionals and clients
or the actual representation of clients. Therefore, we cannot ensure the completion
of the agreement or the integrity of either party. The User, and not STANDARDS of
EXCELLENCE, is solely responsible for assessing the integrity, honesty, and trustworthiness
of all persons with whom the User communicates on the Service.
Disclaimer of advocates/professionals
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Any form of use of the Service by a subscribing advocates/professionals
or potential client is not intended to and will not create an advocates/professionals
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• STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE does not screen or vouch for any of its Users
Providing
a service where potential clients and advocates/professionals can meet does not imply
an endorsement of any subscribing attorney. STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE makes no representation
concerning an advocate’s/professional’s qualifications, nor does it sanction statements
an advocate/professional may post on the system. STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE does not
screen potential cases, or otherwise channel potential clients to selected advocates/professionals.
• STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE Does not provide legal advice STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE is
not a law firm. STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE offers no legal advice, recommendations,
mediation, or counseling under any circumstance. STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE encourages
the User not to accept, as legal advice, any information received from any source
found on this service, unless it is from an attorney the User has retained.
• Disclaimer
of representations by Users
STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE makes no representation, guarantee,
or warranty (express or implied) as to the legal ability, competence, or quality
of representation which may be provided by any of the advocates/professionals or
law firms which may submit bids and/or are listed through this Web site or any affiliate
thereof.
III. User Guidelines
In order to keep this system attractive and useful
for all Users, it is important that Users follow the rules of the system. Some of
these rules are described in this contract, and the rest in bulletins posted at various
points in the system. STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE reserves the right to deny further
access to its service to any User who violates these rules, is the subject of complaints
by other STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE Users, for any other reason, or for no reason at
all.
Users may not engage in any of the following activities on our system:
• do or
say anything to injure or harm others
• display material containing nudity or pornographic
material of any kind
• provide material that is grossly offensive to the online community,
including blatant expressions of bigotry, prejudice, racism, hatred, or profanity
• promote or provide instructional information about illegal activities, or promoting
physical harm or injury against any group or individual
• defame any person or group
•
display material that exploits children under 18 years of age
• violate the rights
of another, including but not limited to the intellectual property rights of another.
This includes using the Service for acts of copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret,
or other intellectual property infringement, including but not limited to offering
pirated computer programs or links to such programs, information used to circumvent
manufacturer-
• violate Internet standards
• use
the Service for displaying harassing, abusive, threatening, harmful, vulgar, obscene,
or tortuous material or invading other's privacy
• interfere with or disrupting the
Service or servers or networks connected to the Service by posting advertisements
or links to competing services, transmitting "junk mail", "spam", "chain letters",
or unsolicited mass distribution of e-
• encourage any illegal activity, including
anything to do with illegal drugs, gambling, pornography, prostitution, child pornography,
robbery, spreading computer viruses, cracking into private computer systems, software
infringement, trafficking in credit card codes, or other crimes
• compromise the security
of the Service STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE provides. Do not try to gain access to system
areas private to STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE, or to other Users.
IV. Ratings
As part
of our service to all Users, STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE provides a forum for clients
to comment on their experiences with the advocates/professionals reached by using
the Service. Comments posted on the comment board will be available for review by
all STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE Users and advocates/professionals. While we encourage
open and unrestricted use of the forum, we do not tolerate offensive conduct. When
using the discussion forum/blog to comment on your experiences, please keep the comments
accurate, constructive and civil. Bear in mind that use of disparaging and defamatory
comments does not serve the purpose of the forum and may result in legal liability
to the User. STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE reserves the right to terminate this agreement
and restrict future access to the Service to Users who post comments that are defamatory,
hostile, vulgar, or otherwise distasteful.
V. Disclaimer of Information Obtained
on the Service
STANDARDS of EXCELLENCEprovides attorneys/professionals/consultants
and potential clients with a forum that functions as an open market. STANDARDS of
EXCELLENCE is not responsible for the content of materials posted on its Websites.
The opinions and views expressed are those of the individual Users of the Service
and do not reflect those of STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE. Data submitted by other Users
(both advocates/professionals and lay persons) is not verified or reviewed in any
way before it appears on the STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE Website. STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE
does not warrant the validity or accuracy of any such information. Please use caution
and common sense when using this site.
KNOW STANDARDS is unable to track, verify,
or monitor the standing of each advocate/professional using the Service. Therefore,
KNOW STANDARDS makes no representation regarding the status, standing or ability
of any advocate/professional/consultant or law firm that submits bids, or is listed
through this Web site.
Users are urged to make their own independent investigation
and evaluation of any advocate/professional or law firm being considered. The determination
of the need for legal services and the choice of an advocate/professional/consultant
are extremely important decisions and should not be based solely on advertisements,
claims of expertise, or on the cost of rendering the requested legal services.
STANDARDS
of EXCELLENCE makes every effort to verify that advocates/professionals who subscribe
to the Service are licensed and in good standing in at least one state within
Indiaat the time of registration. is not responsible for, and in no way endorses,
any description or indication of specialization or limitation of practice by an advocate/professional/consultant
or law firm. Please be aware that no agency or board may have certified such advocate/professional/consultant
as a specialist or expert in any indicated field of law practice. In addition, an
advocate/professional/consultant claiming specialization is not necessarily any more
expert or competent than other advocates/professionals. It is up to the User to question
the attorneys/professionals/consultants on the factual basis of any statement they
make, ask for the names of the certifying agencies, and verify all information.
Users
are encouraged to use caution when reviewing any information submitted by advocates/professionals/consultants
and other parties. Although STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE strongly encourages advocates/professionals
to comply with all regulations governing advocates/professionals/consultants conduct,
it is impossible for STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE to monitor advocates/professionals'
integrity or compliance with applicable rules of conduct.
STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE
in no way endorses the content or legality of any offers, statements, or promises
made by advocates/professionals/consultants or any other parties, on or off this
site.
VI. Confidentiality
STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE makes every effort to maintain the
confidentiality of any information submitted by Users to our System and our database
of attorneys/professionals/consultants. However, because STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE
cannot control the conduct of others, we cannot guarantee that this information will
remain confidential. Please use caution in deciding what information to input into
the System. Do not make any confessions or admissions. Do not use proper names or
addresses. Do not provide any other highly personal, sensitive, or incriminating
information. STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE is not responsible for the release or improper
use of such information by other Users or any release due to error or failure in
the System.
VII. Indemnification
The User agrees that STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE is not
responsible for any harm that this service may cause. The User agrees to indemnify,
defend, and hold STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE harmless from and against any and all liability
and costs incurred in connection with any loss, liability, claim, demand, damage,
and expenses arising from or in connection with the contents or use of the Service.
The User agrees that this defense and indemnity shall also apply to any breach by
the User of the Agreement or the foregoing representations, warranties and covenants.
The User further agrees that this defense and indemnity shall include without limitation
attorney fees and costs. The User also agrees that this defense and indemnity shall
apply to STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE, its brand owners, parent company, affiliates, directors,
officers and employees. STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE reserves the right, at its own expense,
to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification
by the User and the User shall not in any event settle any matter without the written
consent of STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE.
VIII. Communications and Other Data
STANDARDS
of EXCELLENCE is not responsible for any loss of data resulting from accidental or
deliberate deletion, network or system outages, file corruption, or any other reasons.
IX.
Other STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE Rights
STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE also reserves the following
rights:
• to release current or past User information, pursuant to the terms of the
Privacy Policy, in the event STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE believes that accounts are in
violation of the terms of service or page content guidelines, used to commit unlawful
acts, if the information is subpoenaed, and/or if STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE deems it
necessary and/or appropriate.
• to deny service to offenders of these guidelines or
the Agreement
• to terminate or deny service to anyone for any reason or no reason
X. Modifications to Terms of Service
STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE may change the Agreement
at any time. The User will be notified of the change and will be responsible for
promptly reading and complying with the new terms and conditions. Continued use of
the service will indicate acceptance of the new terms and conditions.
XI. Modifications
to Service
STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE reserves the right to modify or discontinue, temporarily
or permanently, the Service with or without notice to the User. The User agrees that
STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE shall not be liable to the User or any third party for any
modification or discontinuance of the Service. The User acknowledges and agrees that
any termination of Service under any provision of this Agreement may be effected
without prior notice, and acknowledges and agrees that STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE may
immediately delete data and files in the User's account and bar any further access
to such files or the Service.
XII. STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE 's Proprietary Rights
STANDARDS
of EXCELLENCE owns certain things on this system, including the 'look and feel' of
the system, the name of the system, and the collective work copyright in sequences
of public messages on the system. Users cannot reproduce any message thread from
the system, either electronically or in print, without STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE permission
and the permission of all participants in the thread. This is not a complete list
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The User acknowledges and agrees that content, including but
not limited to text, template, macros, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics,
video, page layout and design, or other material contained in the Service or information
presented through the Service is protected by copyrights, trademarks, service marks,
patents, or other proprietary rights and laws. The User acknowledges and agrees that
the User is permitted to use this material and information only as expressly authorized
by STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE or its Sponsors, and may not copy, reproduce, transmit,
distribute, or create derivative works of such content or information without express
authorization. The User acknowledges and agrees that STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE can
display images and text throughout the Service.
XIII. Disclaimer of Warranties and
Limitation of Liability
A great danger for STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE, and for all operators
of online systems, is that we might be held accountable for the wrongful actions
of our Users. If one User libels another User, the injured User might blame us, even
though the first User was really at fault. If a User uploads a program with a computer
virus, and the other Users' computers are damaged, we might be blamed even though
a User left the virus on our System. If a User transmits illegal or improper information
to another User, we might be blamed even though we did nothing more than unknowingly
carry the message from one User to another. Accordingly, we need all Users to accept
responsibility for their own acts, and to accept that an act by another User that
damages them must not be blamed on us, but only on the other User.
Although it is
KSTANDARDS of EXCELLENCE's goal to provide Users with a reliable, quality system,
we may make mistakes or experience system failure from time to time. Such problems
are inevitable in operating a system of this size. We would not be able to make this
system available to Users if we had to accept blame or financial liability for any
usability problems, system failures or errors, or mistakes or damages of any kind.
In order to continue offering and improving our service, STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE
must deny any warranties on this service and insure that our liability for any problems
connected with the use of our system is strictly limited.
These needs are accomplished
by the following disclaimers:
Disclaimer of Warranties
THE USER EXPRESSLY AGREES
THAT USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT THE USER'S SOLE RISK. THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN
"AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO
THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-
NO ADVICE
OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY THE USER FROM STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE
SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED HEREIN.
Limitation of Liability
THE
USER AGREES THAT STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT,
INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES RESULTING FROM THE USE OR THE INABILITY
TO USE THE SERVICE OR FOR COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS AND SERVICES OR
RESULTING FROM ANY GOODS OR SERVICES PURCHASED OR OBTAINED OR MESSAGES RECEIVED OR
TRANSACTIONS ENTERED INTO THROUGH OR FROM THE SERVICE OR RESULTING FROM UNAUTHORIZED
ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF USER'S TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED
TO DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, USE, DATA OR OTHER INTANGIBLES, EVEN IF STANDARDS
OF EXCELLENCE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THE USER FURTHER
AGREES THAT STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING FROM
INTERRUPTION, SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION OF SERVICE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, WHETHER
SUCH INTERRUPTION, SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION WAS JUSTIFIED OR NOT, NEGLIGENT OR INTENTIONAL,
INADVERTENT OR ADVERTENT.
XIV. Arbitration
Any controversy or claim arising out of
or relating to this Agreement or STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE services shall be settled
by binding arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration and reconciliation Act,
1996. Any such controversy or claim shall be arbitrated on an individual basis, and
shall not be consolidated in any arbitration with any claim or controversy of any
other party. The arbitration shall be conducted in Bangalore, India and judgment
on the arbitration award may be entered by any court having jurisdiction thereof.
Either the User or STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE may seek any interim or preliminary relief
from a court of competent jurisdiction in Bangalore, India, necessary to protect
the rights or property of the User or STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE pending the completion
of arbitration. This arbitration clause does not prohibit either STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE
or the User from seeking to have the arbitration dismissed or judicially terminated
on the basis the claims in arbitration action fail to provide a legal basis upon
which a claim for relief may be granted. Any motion or action to dismiss must be
filed in a court of general jurisdiction within Bangalore, India.
XV. General
This
agreement, the Agreement, incorporates by reference our Privacy Policy and any notice
by STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE contained in any of the Website pages and constitutes
the entire understanding between the User and STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE regarding the
User's relationship to our Service.
Users can reach our Service from around the world.
Each of these places has a different set of laws. Since STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE cannot
keep track of all these laws and their requirements, the Agreement and the relationship
between the User and STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE shall be governed by the laws prevailing
in Indiawithout regard to its conflict of law provisions.
If STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE
fails to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Agreement, that failure
shall not be used to prove that STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE has waived the right or
provision. If any provision of this Agreement is found by a court of competent jurisdiction
to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give
effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and that the other
provisions of the Agreement remain in full force and effect. The User agrees that
regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising
out of or related to use of the Service or the Agreement must be filed within one
(1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred. The section
titles in the Agreement are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual
effect.
We appreciate your interest and support and we welcome you to our Family!
User Agreement