1. INTRODUCTION AND ACCEPTANCE
1.1 These Terms of Use ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the website located at www.metalegal.in (the "Website"), owned and operated by Metalegal Advocates, a law firm practising in India (the "Firm", "we", "us" or "our"). References to "you" and "your" are to any person who accesses or uses the Website.
1.2 By accessing or using the Website, you confirm that you have read and understood these Terms and agree to be legally bound by them, together with our Privacy Policy and Disclaimer, each of which is available on the Website and forms part of these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not use the Website.
1.3 These Terms are an electronic record within the meaning of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the rules made under it. They are generated by a computer system and do not require any physical or digital signature.
1.4 By using the Website, you represent that you are at least 18 (eighteen) years of age and competent to contract under the Indian Contract Act, 1872, or, if you are under 18 years of age, that you are using the Website under the supervision of a parent or legal guardian who has agreed to these Terms on your behalf.
2. NO ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP AND NO SOLICITATION
2.1 The Website is maintained for informational purposes in keeping with the rules of the Bar Council of India. It does not constitute, and is not intended to constitute, advertising or solicitation of work by the Firm or any of its advocates.
2.2 Your use of the Website, including any communication you send through it (such as emails or contact forms), does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and the Firm. Such a relationship is established only upon the formal engagement of the Firm through a written agreement.
2.3 Nothing on the Website constitutes legal advice. You should not act, or refrain from acting, on the basis of any Content without first obtaining legal advice specific to your circumstances.
3. WEBSITE CONTENT AND THIRD-PARTY LINKS
3.1 The information, material and content made available on the Website ("Content") is provided for general informational purposes only. While we endeavour to ensure that Content is accurate at the time of publication, we do not represent or warrant that it is complete, current or free from error at all times, and it may not reflect the latest legal developments.
3.2 We may modify, update or remove any Content at any time without prior notice.
3.3 Where the Website contains links to third-party websites, those links are provided solely for reference and convenience. They do not constitute an endorsement of, referral to, or affiliation with the linked entities. The Firm has no control over third-party websites and accepts no responsibility for their content, availability or accuracy. Your use of any third-party website is subject to that website's own terms.
4. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
4.1 All Content, including text, publications, articles, graphics, logos, design elements and layout, is the exclusive property of the Firm or its licensors and is protected under the Copyright Act, 1957, the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and other applicable intellectual property laws.
4.2 You must comply with all proprietary notices and restrictions displayed on the Website. Except as permitted under clause 4.3, no part of the Content may be modified, reproduced, republished, uploaded, transmitted, distributed, displayed or otherwise exploited, commercially or otherwise, in any form without the prior written consent of the Firm.
4.3 You may view, download or print limited extracts of the Content strictly for your personal, non-commercial use, provided that all copyright and proprietary notices are retained and the Content is not altered in any manner. You may also share links to pages of the Website, provided that you do not suggest any association with, or endorsement by, the Firm.
4.4 Nothing in these Terms grants you any licence or right to use the Firm's name, logo or trade marks.
5. ACCEPTABLE USE
5.1 You agree that you will not:
(a) use any automated tools, including bots, scrapers, crawlers or similar technologies, to access, extract or collect data from the Website, other than search engines operating in accordance with the Website's robots.txt file;
(b) use any Content to train, fine-tune or develop any artificial intelligence or machine learning model, or for any text and data mining;
(c) access or attempt to access any part of the Website by any means other than through the interface provided by the Firm;
(d) attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Website, its servers or any connected system, or introduce any virus, malware or other harmful code;
(e) infringe or violate any rights of the Firm, including its intellectual property rights; or
(f) use the Website for any unlawful purpose or in breach of these Terms.
6. INFORMATION YOU SUBMIT
6.1 Please do not send confidential or sensitive information to the Firm through the Website or by email until the Firm has confirmed in writing that it is able to act for you. While the Firm handles all information in accordance with its Privacy Policy, information sent before engagement may not be protected by legal professional privilege.
6.2 Any personal data you submit through the Website will be processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable law.
6.3 The Firm will not disclose information you submit through the Website to any third party except:
(a) where required by applicable law, judicial process, or a competent governmental or regulatory authority; or
(b) as otherwise described in our Privacy Policy.
7. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES
7.1 The Website and all Content are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Firm and its partners, employees, affiliates and authorised representatives expressly disclaim all warranties of any kind, whether express, implied or statutory, including any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, accuracy and completeness.
7.2 The Firm does not warrant that the Website will be available at all times, or that it will be free from interruptions, delays, errors or omissions, or from viruses, malware or other harmful components. You are solely responsible for maintaining adequate data protection, device security and back-up measures.
8. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
8.1 To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, neither the Firm nor any of its partners, employees, affiliates or authorised representatives shall be liable to you or any third party for any loss, damage or harm of any nature, whether direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive, arising out of or in connection with your access to or use of, or inability to access or use, the Website or any Content.
8.2 This includes, without limitation, any loss arising from reliance on Content (whether due to inaccuracy, omission, technical error or any other cause), from any action taken or decision made as a result of using the Website, from technical failures or service interruptions, or from the unauthorised use or reproduction of Content.
8.3 Your use of the Website is entirely at your own risk, cost and responsibility, and the Firm's liability, where it cannot be excluded, shall be limited to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.
9. INDEMNITY
9.1 You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Firm and its partners, employees, affiliates, consultants and authorised representatives from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, liabilities, damages, costs and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from or in connection with:
(a) your access to or use of the Website;
(b) any information or material you submit or transmit through the Website;
(c) your breach of these Terms; or
(d) your infringement of any intellectual property right or other right of any person or entity.
10. SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION OF ACCESS
10.1 The Firm may, at its sole discretion and without prior notice or liability, suspend, restrict or permanently terminate your access to the Website at any time and for any reason, including:
(a) your breach of, or non-compliance with, these Terms;
(b) a request from a law enforcement authority or regulatory body;
(c) technical failures, security incidents or system maintenance requirements; or
(d) any conduct that the Firm reasonably considers harmful to the Website, other users or third parties.
10.2 The Firm shall not be liable to you or any third party for any consequences arising from such suspension, restriction or termination.
11. INVESTIGATIONS AND REMEDIES
11.1 The Firm may investigate any complaint, report or suspected violation of these Terms and take such action as it considers necessary and appropriate, including:
(a) notifying and cooperating with law enforcement authorities, regulatory bodies or other relevant third parties; and
(b) disclosing information relating to you that is in the Firm's possession, such as contact details, IP address, browser and device information, and Website usage data, where required by law, or where permitted by applicable law and our Privacy Policy.
11.2 The Firm reserves all rights and remedies available to it in law and in equity in respect of any violation of these Terms.
12. CHANGES TO THESE TERMS
12.1 The Firm may amend, supplement or replace these Terms at any time without prior notice. Updated Terms will be posted on this page with a revised 'Last updated' date and will take effect immediately upon publication, as indicated by the effective date above. Your continued use of the Website after publication constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms. We encourage you to review these Terms periodically.
13. GOVERNING LAW AND JURISDICTION
13.1 These Terms are governed by and shall be construed in accordance with the laws of India, without regard to conflict of laws principles. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms or your use of the Website shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts at New Delhi, India.
14. GENERAL
14.1 Severability. If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision shall be enforced to the maximum extent permissible, and the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.
14.2 No waiver. Any failure or delay by the Firm in enforcing any provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of that provision or of any other right.
14.3 Entire agreement. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Disclaimer, constitute the entire agreement between you and the Firm regarding your use of the Website. They do not govern any engagement of the Firm for legal services, which is governed solely by the terms of the relevant written engagement agreement.
15. CONTACT US
15.1 If you have any questions about these Terms, or wish to report a concern about the Website, please contact us at contact@metalegal.in.