Terms of Service
Last updated: October 30, 2022
I. Subject
1.1. This document represents the terms and conditions (hereinafter referred as “the terms” or “the current terms” or “these terms”) for use of the marketplace platform Lexify.me. The current terms are binding and legally enforceable for all parties that create an account with the marketplace platform Lexify.me. The nullity of any individual parts of these terms does not entail the nullity of the entire terms and conditions when they are legally replaced by mandatory rules of law or when it can be assumed that the transaction would have been concluded even without its invalid parts.
II. Information about Lexify.me
2.1. Lexify.me is exclusive property of Lexify.me LLC, UIC 202842458, VAT # BG202842458, with seat and address of management in Bulgaria, Sofia 1421, Lozenska planina Str. 14, vh. A, suite 7.
2.2. You can contact Lexify.me LLC, hereinafter “Lexify.me”, either by phone at +359 876 416 911. or e-mail: support@lexify.me.
2.3. Lexify.me manages the electronic platform www.lexify.me.
III. Definitions
3.1. Lawyer – A citizen of any country who has acquired legal capacity as a lawyer in accordance with the legislation of at least one country or state and has been admitted to at least one legitimate bar association or its equivalent thereof.
3.2. Client – any natural person aged 18 or over or any legal entity duly represented by its company manager, aged 18 or over, or its equivalent or proxy thereof that has the capacity to understand the meaning of his actions and deeds.
Whenever Lexify.me uses the pronoun “you” in these terms, the latter may refer to either to the client or the lawyer or both of them, depending on the particular context.
3.3. Subject to these terms and conditions, Lexify.me is an e-commerce marketplace platform provided to lawyers and clients worldwide by Lexify.me LLC through which the lawyers can create and offer their consultations and services for booking and sale to their clients.
3.4. Account – a section of Lexify.me formed by at least a unique email address and a password, which allows the lawyer to create, post and send offers to his Clients. Respectively, the client account is formed by at least a unique email address and a password, allowing the clients to view and book the lawyer’s offers for consultations and services. The Lawyer/Client is responsible for all the information entered in the account, to be true, complete and up-to-date.
3.5. General consultation – the Lawyer can use Lexify.me to create a general consultation, which is publicly accessible for booking by all clients (even non-registered clients). The non-registered client will be prompted to register in order to be able to book this consultation. All details of the general consultation are publicly available.
3.6. Tailor-made consultation – the Lawyer can use Lexify.me to create a tailor-made consultation, which is visible and available for booking only by a specific client designated by the lawyer. None of the details of the tailor-made consultation is publicly available. The details of the tailor-made consultation are disclosed only to the specific client designated by the lawyer who created the tailor-made consultation.
3.7. Tailor-made event – the Lawyer can use Lexify.me to create a tailor-made event, which is visible and available for booking only by specific clients designated by the lawyer. None of the details of the tailor-made event is publicly available. The details of the tailor-made event are disclosed only to the specific clients designated by the lawyer who created the tailor-made event.
3.8. Tailor-made service – the Lawyer can use Lexify.me to create a tailor-made service, which is visible and available for booking only by a specific client designated by the lawyer. None of the details of the tailor-made service is publicly available. The details of the tailor-made service are disclosed only to the specific client designated by the lawyer who created the tailor-made service.
3.9. Private offers – the Lawyer can use Lexify.me to create private offers for their Clients for tailor-made consultations, tailor-made events and tailor-made services. Each private offer and its details thereof are visible only by a (the) specific client/s designated by the lawyer. Neither the Lawyer nor the Client is bound by the terms of any private offer, unless the Client books the private offer before it expires or before being withdrawn by the lawyer.
3.10. The general consultations, tailor-made consultations, tailor-made events and tailor-made services hereinafter shall be referred together to as either “the services” or “the service” or “a service”.
3.11. Booking (or booked service) shall mean any service that has been paid (booked) by the Client and the money for it is in control of Lexify.me with the intent to be released to the Lawyer that offered the service, upon receiving the Client confirmation for receipt of the service.
3.12. Client confirmation means that the client confirms the receipt of a particular service that he he/she has previously booked by explicitly clicking on the “Confirm” button for that particular service.
3.13. Payment method means the debit or credit card that the client uses to book a service. The payment card details are stored in the account. The client can use more than one payment method. All payment methods are subject to verification with Stripe (for more details see Payment Flow section below).
IV. Rights and Obligations of the Lawyer
4.1. The lawyer can use Lexify.me to create, offer and sell his/her services to clients worldwide. The lawyer can also sell his/her services to colleagues and likewise to book services from colleagues. The lawyers shall be free to determine all details of their services provided all offered services protect and promote the legitimate interests of their clients.
4.2. By establishing his/her account with Lexify.me, the lawyer declares that has the legal capacity of a lawyer in accordance with the legislation of at least one country and/or state and has been admitted to at least one legitimate bar association or its equivalent thereof.
4.3. Upon registration with Lexify.me, the lawyer is required to complete his/her profile and to schedule a verification call with a platform representative. During the verification call, the lawyer shall be prepared to verify his/her identity and to provide evidence that he/she is a legitimate member of at least one bar association or its equivalent thereof. Upon completing the verification process successfully, the lawyer shall be granted full access to his/her account with Lexify.me.
4.4. By creating a service, the lawyer declares that he/she has the necessary expertise to perform that service and that he/she shall act in his/her client’s best interest.
4.5. The lawyer has the right to change, amend and withdraw any service before it is booked by a certain client. Once the service is booked both the lawyer and the client become bound by its terms previously stipulated by the lawyer. All details of a service a legally enforceable and bind the parties of a certain booked service. Such details may include but are not limited to the following: the title and description of a service, the service date, time, deadline, description, billable time, disclaimer, and any other details presented through Lexify.me. Any following statements by the lawyer with which he/she attempts to amend or cancel a particular service shall be considered null and void, unless the lawyer has received the explicit written consent of the client to amend or cancel a particular service.
4.6. The lawyer has the right to include a disclaimer in each service in order to set the limits of his/her obligations and liability towards his/her client. The lawyer shall not use the disclaimer or other settings of a particular service to strike down or amend any clauses of the current terms. Any clause drafted by the lawyer that strikes down or amends clauses of the current terms shall be considered null and void. In case of conflict between the current terms and the clauses of a particular service then precedence shall be given to the current terms.
4.7. The lawyer is free to determine all details for any service, including the applicable law that governs the lawyer’s legal relationship with his/her client. If the lawyer has not determined an applicable law for a specific service, and it cannot be inferred unequivocally from the service details, then the applicable law for that service shall be considered the law of the default Jurisdiction under the lawyer’s account with Lexify.me, unless the parties mutually agree in writing on the applicable law.
4.8. The lawyer is prohibited from charging his/her client any convenience or other additional fee on top of the legal fee that the lawyer determines for each service. The lawyer is prohibited from using the optional tax fields under the creation of each service in order to charge the client any other fees on top of the legal fee for the specific service. The lawyer shall utilize the optional tax fields only if he/she is required by the applicable law of a specific jurisdiction to levy any particular tax/es on top of his/her legal fee. If the latter situation is at hand then the lawyer shall explicitly specify the type of tax and its percentage thereof.
4.9. The lawyer shall enter his personal bank account under the “Payout details” section in his/her account with Lexify.me. The bank account shall be subject to verification by Stripe (for further details see Payment Flow section below). Upon verification by Stripe, Lexify.me shall use the bank account to release all lawyer’s fees to the lawyer.
4.10. The lawyer has the right to request at any time the deletion of his/her account with Lexify.me by sending an email to support@lexify.me.. Lexify.me shall delete the account with 24 hours of receiving the email request. Lexify.me cannot be held liable for any lost information because of the deletion of the account resulting from the lawyer’s request.
4.11. These terms shall be applicable to all situations where the lawyer acts as a client and books a service from a fellow lawyer.
V. Rights and Obligations of the Client
5.2. The client is entitled to book any service posted publicly (general consultation) or posted privately in the client’s account under the section Private Offers. The client shall not be bound by the terms of any service unless the client has booked it. Once the service is booked both the lawyer and the client become bound by all of its terms. Any following statements by the client with which he/she attempts to amend or cancel a particular service shall be considered null and void, unless the client has received the explicit written consent of the lawyer to amend or cancel a particular service.
5.3. The client has the right to reschedule once any general consultation or tailor-made consultation provided there are more than 12 hours left before its start.
5.4. The client may book a service by using the payment method/s that he/she has specified in his/her account. The client shall specify at least one payment method under the section Payment methods in his/her account that shall be subject to verification by Stripe (for further details see Payment Flow section below).
5.5. The client has the right to request at any time the deletion of his/her account with Lexify.me by sending an email to support@lexify.me.. Lexify.me shall delete the account with 24 hours of receiving the email request. Lexify.me cannot be held liable for any lost information because of the deletion of the account resulting from the client’s request.
VI. Rights and Obligations of Lexify.me
6.1. Lexify.me provides virtual place (marketplace) along with software tools and functionalities through which any lawyer may sell a particular service to his/her client/s. At no time does Lexify.me provide any actual legal services, advice or the like. Therefore, Lexify.me shall not be held liable for the quality, value or the like of the services offered through Lexify.me, as the latter is neither the creator nor the provider of these services. Lexify.me has the obligation to maintain all technical aspects of the marketplace so to promote, to the best of its abilities and resources, a flawless user experience for both lawyers and clients.
6.2. Lexify.me shall perform 5-step verification of each lawyer’s account. Lexify.me verifies each lawyer’s account through email verification, mobile phone number verification, and bank account verification. Upon successfully going through the first 3-steps, the verification process continues by verifying the lawyer’s identity and his/her legal capacity to perform legal services under the laws of at least one jurisdiction or state that the lawyer has listed under his/her account. If the lawyer fails to complete successfully any step of the 5-step verification process then Lexify.me shall not grant access to that lawyer to Lexify.me.
6.3. Lexify.me verifies each client’s account, who is not a lawyer, through email verification, mobile phone number verification, and credit or debit card verification. The latter 3-step verification procedures apply also to each lawyer’s account before the performance of the identity and legal capacity check of the lawyer.
6.4. Lexify.me has the right to suspend each lawyer and client’s account temporarily or permanently upon reasonable doubt that a certain account has been employed for fraudulent or unlawful activity or any other activity that places Lexify.me’s credibility and reputation at risk.
6.5. Lexify.me may be held liable for all direct and immediate damages to lawyers and clients. Lexify.me shall not be held liable for any lost profits. Lexify.me may be held liable for up to the amount of the specific legal fee listed by the lawyer in the booked service but not more than USD 1000 (one thousand). Thus, for example, if a particular service’s legal fee is USD 500 (five hundred) Lexify.me may be held liable for the entire amount of USD 500 but its total liability shall not exceed USD 1000 (one thousand) for all damages originating from a specific service. If the lawyer’s fee is, say, USD 3000 (three thousand) or more then Lexify.me may be held liable for up to the maximum amount of USD 1000 (one thousand) but shall not be held liable for the exceeding amount that goes beyond USD 1000 (one thousand). The liability threshold of USD 1000 (one thousand) also includes, but shall not be limited to, any claims concerning disclosure of confidential and other information. Thus, if either the lawyer or the client or both of them initiate jointly or separately multiple claims, resulting from a specific service that has been offered and/or booked and/or sold through Lexify.me, the latter shall be held liable for up to USD 1000 (one thousand) on all claims initiated by either one of the parties, i.e. the maximum damages shall not exceed USD 1000 (one thousand) for each party.
VII. Payment Flow
7.1. Lexify.me collaborates with Stripe (https://www.stripe.com) to deliver secure financial services to both clients and lawyers. Lexify.me integrates Stripe for all payment processing when the clients book services from the lawyers, and further when Lexify.me releases the lawyers’ fees or issues refunds to the clients.
7.2. When the client conducts a booking of a service, the client uses one of the credit or debit cards, previously verified by Stripe, located under the “Payment methods” section in the client’s account with Lexify.me. By conducting the booking, the client authorizes Lexify.me to withdraw the amount for the particular booking from the client’s credit or debit card (payment method). Hence, Lexify.me shall keep the withdrawn client funds in a Stripe account until the client confirms that he/she has received the particular service from the lawyer. Upon receiving the client’s confirmation, Lexify.me releases immediately the funds to the lawyer for the particular service that he/she has performed for the client.
7.3. Lexify.me shall release the lawyer’s fee to the lawyer’s personal bank account, previously verified by Stripe, located under the “Payout details” section in the lawyer’s account with Lexify.me.
VIII. Commissions and Payment Processing Fees
8.1. Lexify.me has the right to charge and withdraw a commission only on any service that the lawyer has sold to his/her client. For the purpose of the current terms, a sold service shall mean any service offered for sale by the lawyer to the client, which service has been booked by the client and the latter has confirmed its receipt. The cumulative presence of these two conditions—booking of the service and client confirmation thereof—is a mandatory condition for a given service to be considered sold.
8.2. The lawyer is presented a payment simulator during the creation of any service. The payment simulator shows the lawyer the fee that he/she has determined for a particular service, including any local tax that he/she specifies as taxable on the legal fee. The simulator further presents the lawyer the specific revenue that he/she will make and receive after Lexify.me withdraws its commission provided the particular service would be sold to the lawyer’s client.
8.3. Lexify.me reserves its right to specify multiple commission thresholds based on the amount of the legal fee determined by the lawyer for a particular service. The following example presents how a commission threshold is applied to the legal fee: if the lawyer’s fee is up to USD 100 then Lexify.me can specify 10 percent commission for services with legal fees that are up to USD 100. Hence, if the lawyer has sold a tailor-made consultation for USD 80 then it will be subject to 10 percent commission, therefore Lexify.me shall credit the lawyer’s bank account with USD 72, as Lexify.me will withdraw USD 8 from the legal fee of the sold service.
8.4. Lexify.me shall show the lawyer the payment simulator for every single service that the lawyer creates or edits. Lexify.me shall always specify clearly and charge its commission only on the specified legal fee, excluding all other taxes if the lawyer is required by the applicable law of a certain jurisdiction to levy a certain tax/es on his/her fee that shall be paid by the client. For example, because of the particular jurisdiction, if the lawyer is required to charge, say, 20 percent VAT (value added tax) on his/her USD 100 fee then Lexify.me shall apply the 10 percent commission threshold only on the tax base of USD 100.
8.5. Lexify.me shall be solely responsible for the payment of all payment-processing fees. The payment processing fees are incurred under the following circumstances: i. when the client books a service; ii. when Lexify.me credits the lawyer bank account with his/her fee for a sold service; iii. when Lexify.me issues a refund to the client for a particular booked service.
IX. Disputes and Refunds
9.1.1. The lawyer fails to join a consultation or event call through Lexify.me at the specified date and time. Under such circumstances, the lawyer must have also failed to provide ahead of time another meeting alternative to his/her client at the same date and time as those of the booked service; for example a regular phone call or meeting in person, if the latter could have been conceivable under the specific circumstances.
9.1.2. The lawyer joins the call noticeably late and/or terminates the call noticeably earlier than the specified consultation or event end without suggesting ahead of time to compensate the client/s with additional consultation/event time, if the latter could have been conceivable under the specific circumstances.
9.1.3. The lawyer fails to deliver the tailor-made service before the specified deadline.
9.2. Lexify.me does not limit the non-performance situations only to the above straightforward examples but attempts to illustrate what can be considered non-performance on part of the lawyer.
9.3. By creating an account with Lexify.me, all lawyers and clients expressly acknowledge that Lexify.me cannot assess the quality of a certain service. Hence, Lexify.me shall not accept any dispute claims on part of the client that only subjectively criticize the quality of a certain service without referring to any empirical fact or evidence that demonstrates the lawyer’s failure to perform. Lexify.me acknowledges that the service provided by each lawyer may vary in quality depending on the lawyer’s expertise that builds over time and is subject to multiple factors such as education, professional and social experience, cultural background etc.
9.4. After the date and time for a particular general consultation, tailor-made consultation or event, or the deadline for a tailor-made service has passed Lexify.me will send multiple emails to the client/s email prompting the client/s to confirm if he/she/they has/have received the service from the lawyer. If any of the clients considers that the lawyer has failed to perform the booked service then the client shall immediately open a dispute with Lexify.me by sending an email to support@lexify.me. The client shall use the same email that he/she has previously used to set up his account with Lexify.me. As email title, the client shall quote the title of the booked service that he/she thinks the lawyer has failed to perform. The client shall further explain in his/her own words the facts and evidence that the client alleges to show the lawyer’s failure to perform the service.
9.5. If within 48 /forty-eight/ hours after a particular general consultation, tailor-made consultation or event, or the deadline for a tailor-made service has passed the client neither confirms receipt of the service nor opens a dispute, as described under the previous point 9.4. above, then Lexify.me shall consider the client’s reluctance to act a silent confirmation on part of the client that he/she has received the service in question. If the latter situation is at hand, without prejudice to point 8.1 above, Lexify.me has the right to release the legal fee from the booking to the lawyer, as it would have released it had the client confirmed receipt of the service by clicking on the “Confirm” button in his/her account.
9.6. Upon receiving the client’s dispute email, Lexify.me shall investigate the client’s claims. Lexify.me shall further refer to both the lawyer and the client for additional explanations, and shall further examine their correspondence and other exchanges, if any, through Lexify.me. Lexify.me shall identify if the lawyer has complied with his/her own service terms that the lawyer had previously stipulated when he/she had offered the service, which the client has booked.
9.7. Whenever Lexify.me identifies that the lawyer has not delivered any service to the client by breaching seriously the booked terms of his/her own service then Lexify.me shall issue immediately full refund to the lawyer’s client. Lexify.me shall refund the client’s credit or debit card used to book the service, unless the client expressly instructs in writing Lexify.me to wire the refund to an alternative account.
9.8. Whenever Lexify.me identifies that the lawyer has delivered the service to the client but the latter only subjectively criticize the quality of a certain service, without referring to any empirical fact or evidence that demonstrates the lawyer’s failure to perform, then Lexify.me has the right to release the legal fee from the booking to the lawyer, as it would have released it had the client confirmed receipt of the service by clicking on the “Confirm” button in his/her account.
9.9. The lawyers can also open a dispute concerning a specific service when the client’s failure to perform according to the service’s terms constitutes a serious breach, which in this case, makes the lawyer unable to perform and/or impedes the performance of the service. Hence, the clauses of this section shall apply also to all lawyer-initiated disputes to the extent that these clauses are pertinent to the initiation, investigation and assessment of the disputes, and the issuance of refunds or the release of the legal fees to the lawyers.
9.10. If the lawyer and the client are not able to resolve amicably a particular dispute, then Lexify.me shall hold the funds for a specific service until the court or other authority, depending on the circumstances, has resolved the dispute concerning that service, and Lexify.me is instructed unequivocally by that authority or decision or order thereof on how to process the funds.
X. Acting in Good Faith
10.1. Each party to these terms undertakes the obligation to act in good faith at all times. Neither party to the current terms shall act intentionally in such way that has the effect of infringing the right/s of the other part/y/ies. The party that accuses the other part/y/ies to these terms of acting in bad faith shall provide empirical facts and evidence to prove that claim. Hence, each party to the current terms undertakes not to act in a dishonest manner and/or not to perform any action that will intentionally prevent or impede the performance and completion of any booked service.
XI. Confidentiality
11.1. For the purpose of the current terms, “Confidential Information” means and includes, but is not limited to, all information owned by either the lawyer or the client and not generally known to the public or in the relevant trade or industry that is communicated orally, written, printed, electronically or in any other form or medium, and/or which was learned, discovered, developed, conceived, originated, or prepared by either one of the parties within the scope and course of a particular service.
11.2. The client and the lawyer undertake the obligation not to disclose any confidential information, unless they have explicitly agreed in a separate agreement between them as to what information can be disclosed. Lexify.me is not a party to any oral or written agreements between the lawyer and the client which subject and/or clauses is/are focused or related to the disclosure or non-disclosure of confidential information. Thus, Lexify.me shall not be held liable for any disclosure of confidential and/or any other information that have occurred in the course of or because of a particular service, unless Lexify.me acted in bad faith, and intentionally disclosed confidential or other information that must not have been disclosed by Lexify.me.
11.3. Lexify.me shall not disclose any information about any services to any third party, including any personal or payment information or any other data, unless both the lawyer and the client explicitly request in writing the release of specific information explaining the circumstances that substantiate such release request.
11.4. When Lexify.me receives a request or is required—by deposition, interrogatory, request for documents, subpoena, civil investigative demand or similar process conducted by government authority—to disclose all or any part of confidential information or other information, then Lexify.me agrees, if legally permissible, (a) to promptly notify the lawyer and/or the client of the existence, terms and circumstances surrounding such request or requirement, (b) to consult with the lawyer and/or the client on the advisability of taking legally available steps to resist or narrow such request or requirement and (c) to assist the lawyer and/or the client in seeking a protective order or other appropriate remedy, provided, however, that Lexify.me shall not be required to take any action in violation of applicable laws.
XII. Intellectual Property
12.1. Lexify.me and its related software are exclusive intellectual property of and are owned by Lexify.me LLC. The structure, organization, and code of the e-commerce platform and its related software contain valuable trade secrets and confidential information owned by Lexify.me LLC. Except as expressly stated herein, these terms do not grant the lawyers and the clients any intellectual property rights whatsoever in the e-commerce platform and its software thereof and all rights are reserved by Lexify.me. Any form, database, or software that is altered, conceived, made, or developed in whole or in part by Lexify.me (including any developed jointly with either the lawyers and/or the clients) during or as a result of our relationship with you (the lawyers and the clients) shall become and remain exclusive property of Lexify.me. You agree to make no claim/s in the rights or ownership of any such template, database or software. To the extent that any custom template and/or software code is created by Lexify.me for you, based upon any prior template, example or structure provided by you, you guarantee Lexify.me that you created the said template(s), example or structure or have the legal right to use them. You agree to indemnify Lexify.me for any third-party claims for infringement, misappropriation or other violation of any third-party’s intellectual property rights where such claims are made against Lexify.me for templates, structures or examples created based upon templates, structures or examples provided by you to Lexify.me.
12.2. Without prejudice to point 12.1 above, the clients and the lawyers shall keep at all times their exclusive intellectual property rights to any material information that they post, create and/or exchange through Lexify.me, For the purpose of these terms, material information shall mean any type of content or substance, which was posted on and/or created through Lexify.me within the scope and course of a service. Any such information shall remain at all times exclusive property of either the lawyer or the client, unless the client and the lawyer have agreed in a separate agreement, to which Lexify.me is not a party, on the legal treatment of their intellectual property rights in relation to a specific service. Lexify.me reserves its right at all times to analyze the latter information, provided that Lexify.me shall not disclose it to any third party, with the aim to identify patterns and business or other processes in it. If Lexify.me identifies a certain pattern or process in the information posted on and/or created/booked/sold through Lexify.me within the scope and course of a service, then Lexify.me has the right to develop that pattern or process into software functionality, thus improving the overall functionalities of the e-commerce platform. All intellectual property rights into the developed software functionality based on the previously identified patterns or processes shall remain at all times exclusive property of Lexify.me.
XIII. Applicable Law and Dispute Resolution
13.1. The laws of the Republic of Bulgaria shall be the applicable law to these terms and conditions. The Bulgarian law shall be the applicable law to all disputes arising out of these terms and conditions or related thereof, including disputes arising from or related to its interpretation, invalidity, performance or termination, as well as disputes arising out of situations not covered by these terms and conditions and disputes for filling gaps in these terms and conditions or their adaptation to newly arisen circumstances. All disputes shall be resolved by amicable settlement between the parties, and when the latter is not achievable then by the competent Bulgarian court. The applicable law determined under this point 13.1 herein shall concern only disputes that arise between either the lawyer and Lexify.me or the client and Lexify.me, or when both the lawyer and the client to a particular service jointly or severally initiate a dispute against Lexify.me.
13.2. For all disputes between the lawyer and the client, where Lexify.me is not a party to the dispute, the applicable law shall be the one agreed upon in the provisions of the specific booked service. If the specific service provisions do not stipulate any applicable law then the applicable law shall be considered the law of the jurisdiction, which the lawyer has selected as default under his/her lawyer profile. If the lawyer operates in more than one jurisdiction, and the specific service does not stipulate any applicable law, then the applicable law shall be determined as being one amongst the laws of the jurisdictions listed in the lawyer’s profile at the time when the specific service was booked. That law, to be determined as applicable to the particular booked service, shall have the closest relationship with the provisions of the booked service, as opposed to the laws of the other jurisdictions listed in the lawyer’s profile.
