Terms & Conditions

01 Definitions

“User” means an individual who uses the Platform to search for, book, communicate with, review, or otherwise interact with providers. “Provider” means an independent person or entity that offers services through the Platform. “Services” means services, communications, documents, consultations, research, writing, advocacy, media, legal, paralegal, or other assistance offered or provided by Providers. “Content” means text, images, documents, messages, profile information, reviews, notes, data, files, or materials submitted, uploaded, displayed, transmitted, or made available through the Platform.

02 Platform Role

Black Landcestry is a technology marketplace that facilitates connections between Users and independent Providers in justice-related service categories. The Platform does not itself provide legal, advocacy, research, media, writing, paralegal, investigative, professional, or other Provider Services.

Providers are independent from the Platform. The Platform does not control the manner, method, advice, work product, communications, or outcomes of Provider Services. The Platform may provide technology, booking, payment, messaging, meeting, review, and administrative tools, but those tools do not make the Platform responsible for the substance or outcome of Provider Services.

03 Not a Law Firm; No Legal Advice; No Attorney-Client Relationship with Platform

Black Landcestry is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice, legal representation, legal strategy, legal opinions, document review, court representation, or legal conclusions. Use of the Platform does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Black Landcestry or Black Landcestry LLC.

If you communicate with or book an attorney Provider, any attorney-client relationship, if one is formed, exists solely between you and that attorney Provider and is subject to that attorney Provider’s conflict checks, engagement terms, jurisdictional authority, professional obligations, and decision to accept representation. The Platform is not responsible for conflicts, deadlines, filings, advice, representation decisions, or professional obligations of attorney Providers.

04 Eligibility and Account Registration

The Platform is intended for users who are at least 18 years old. By using the Platform, you represent that you are at least 18 years old and have legal capacity to agree to these Terms. You agree to provide accurate information, maintain the confidentiality of your credentials, and accept responsibility for activity under your account.

05 Provider Information; No Credential Verification

Provider profiles, biographies, categories, credentials, documents, rates, availability, service descriptions, reviews, and other Provider information are supplied by Providers or generated through Platform activity. The Platform does not independently verify Provider credentials, licensure, qualifications, background, insurance, professional standing, experience, or ability to perform Services.

Ratings, reviews, and featured placement are based on user review information or Platform display criteria and do not constitute endorsement, verification, certification, recommendation, or guarantee by the Platform. Users are responsible for independently evaluating and verifying Providers before relying on any Services.

06 User Responsibilities

You are responsible for evaluating whether a Provider is appropriate for your needs and for protecting your own deadlines, rights, documents, decisions, and interests. The Platform should not be used as a substitute for urgent legal, court-related, emergency, or professional assistance.

07 User Content, Uploads, and Communications

The Platform may allow you to submit account information, profile details, booking notes, documents, messages, reviews, or other Content. You retain ownership of your Content, but you grant the Platform a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide license to host, store, process, transmit, display, and use your Content as necessary to operate the Platform, facilitate bookings, enable Provider communications, support payments, process complaints, comply with legal obligations, and enforce Platform policies.

Do not upload Content you do not have the right to share. Do not upload unnecessary sensitive information. Do not assume that information submitted through the Platform is privileged, confidential, or protected by attorney-client privilege unless you have confirmed that status with a qualified Provider and applicable law supports that protection.

08 Administrative Access to Platform Information

Authorized Platform administrators may access chats, booking notes, uploaded documents, Provider documents, profiles, reviews, account records, and other Platform information for support, complaint review, security, legal compliance, payment administration, and Platform operations. The Platform may limit, monitor, or review access in its discretion and as operationally feasible.

09 In-Platform Communications and Payments

For transaction integrity, payment administration, complaint review, fraud prevention, and support records, all payments for Services initiated through the Platform must be made through the Platform’s designated payment process. Users and Providers may not use the Platform to identify, solicit, or book one another and then move payment off-platform to avoid fees or Platform policies.

The Platform is not responsible for off-platform communications, payments, agreements, or services and may be unable to provide support, complaint review, payment assistance, or refund-related assistance for transactions conducted outside the Platform.

10 Payments, Fees, No Escrow, and Stripe

Payments are processed through Stripe or another designated payment processor. Based on current Platform implementation, Stripe handles payment card information directly, and the Platform does not store full credit card numbers or CVV codes. Stripe’s terms and privacy practices may apply to payment processing.

Users pay through the Platform at booking. A 5% platform fee may be charged to Users at checkout. Providers may be charged a 15% platform fee when a booking is accepted, subject to category-specific, legally required, or Platform-approved modifications. The Platform does not act as an escrow agent, bank, trustee, fiduciary, or regulated money transmitter.

Fees applicable to licensed attorneys or other regulated professionals may be modified, limited, or structured differently where required by applicable law, professional-responsibility rules, referral rules, advertising rules, fee-sharing rules, or similar obligations. Each Provider is solely responsible for determining whether participation in the Platform and payment of applicable fees are permitted under the laws and professional rules governing that Provider.

11 Cancellation, Refunds, No-Shows, and Chargebacks

The current Platform build allows orders to be cancelled before payment is completed. Refund functionality is not currently implemented. Unless and until refund functionality is implemented and a separate refund policy is posted, payments made through the Platform may be non-refundable except as required by applicable law or payment-processor rules. No refunds are provided for User no-shows. Chargebacks and payment disputes may be handled by Stripe or the applicable payment processor according to processor rules.

12 Zoom Meetings and Recording

The Platform may facilitate virtual meetings through Zoom or another third-party meeting tool. Current implementation contemplates Zoom links generated through the Platform’s Zoom account. The Platform does not currently record meetings. Users and Providers may not record meetings unless all required consents are obtained and recording is permitted by applicable law and Platform policy.

13 Reviews and Featured Placement

Users may submit ratings or reviews based on actual experience. Reviews must be truthful and may not be false, misleading, abusive, discriminatory, defamatory, fraudulent, manipulated, or submitted in exchange for undisclosed compensation. Providers may be featured based on user reviews or Platform activity. Featured placement is not paid placement unless expressly disclosed and does not mean the Platform verifies, endorses, certifies, guarantees, or recommends the Provider.

14 Prohibited Conduct

• Violate any law, regulation, court order, professional rule, or Platform policy.
• Submit false, misleading, defamatory, infringing, abusive, harassing, discriminatory, or unlawful Content.
• Impersonate any person or misrepresent credentials, licensure, affiliation, or authority.
• Attempt unauthorized access to the Platform, accounts, systems, data, or code.
• Upload malware, scrape the Platform, reverse engineer the Platform, or interfere with Platform operation.
• Move Platform-initiated payments off-platform or attempt to avoid Platform fees.
• Solicit or provide unauthorized legal, professional, financial, or regulated services.
• Use the Platform to exploit, sell, disclose, or misuse another person’s information.

15 Intellectual Property and Platform Ownership

Black Landcestry and its licensors retain all rights, title, and interest in the Platform, including software, source-code structure, object code, design, user interface, workflows, branding, logos, text, graphics, databases, compilations, selection and arrangement of content, marketplace concepts, trade names, business processes, and proprietary features, except for User Content and third-party materials.

No rights are granted except the limited, revocable right to access and use the Platform in accordance with these Terms. Users and Providers may not copy, scrape, reproduce, reverse engineer, modify, adapt, create derivative works from, commercially exploit, or use the Platform’s design, content, code, workflows, provider directory, database structure, or functionality to build, support, train, or improve a competing service.

16 Confidentiality and Sensitive Information

The Platform may involve sensitive matter-related information. The Platform uses reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards appropriate to its current operations. However, no system is completely secure, and the Platform does not guarantee absolute security, confidentiality, privilege, or protection from unauthorized access. Users should avoid submitting unnecessary sensitive information and should independently confirm any confidentiality or privilege obligations with the Provider.

17 Third-Party Services

The Platform relies on third-party services, including Stripe, Hostinger, PostgreSQL, Firebase, Gmail SMTP, Google sign-in, and Zoom. Third-party services may have their own terms, privacy practices, fees, limitations, outages, or security events. The Platform is not responsible for third-party services except as required by law.

18 Electronic Communications and E-Sign Consent

By using the Platform, you consent to receive agreements, notices, disclosures, policies, confirmations, receipts, messages, and other communications electronically. You agree that electronic records, electronic signatures, checkboxes, button clicks, and similar actions have the same legal effect as handwritten signatures and paper records to the fullest extent permitted by law.

19 Email, SMS, and Automated Communications

The Platform may send transactional communications related to account activity, bookings, payments, cancellations, password resets, support, security, and policy updates. If marketing emails are sent, they will include an unsubscribe mechanism where required. If SMS or automated communications are enabled, the Platform will obtain consent where required and provide opt-out instructions where applicable.

20 DMCA and Copyright Complaints

If you believe Content on the Platform infringes your copyright, submit a notice to the Platform’s copyright agent including your electronic or physical signature, identification of the copyrighted work, identification of the allegedly infringing material and its location, your contact information, a good-faith statement that the use is not authorized, and a statement under penalty of perjury that the information is accurate and that you are authorized to act. Copyright notices may be sent to:

The Platform may remove or disable access to allegedly infringing material and may terminate repeat infringers.

21 Accessibility

Black Landcestry intends to make commercially reasonable efforts to support digital accessibility, including consideration of WCAG 2.1 AA principles. Users who experience accessibility barriers may contact support@blacklandcestry.com. The Platform does not guarantee that all third-party content, Provider content, uploaded materials, or third-party services meet accessibility standards.

22 Disclaimer of Warranties

The Platform is provided “as is” and “as available.” To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Platform disclaims warranties of accuracy, reliability, availability, fitness for a particular purpose, merchantability, provider quality, legal outcome, uninterrupted operation, error-free operation, and security.

23 Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Platform shall not be liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, or punitive damages, lost profits, lost data, loss of goodwill, provider misconduct, user reliance, professional errors, missed deadlines, third-party service failures, unauthorized access, off-platform transactions, or outcomes of Provider Services.

24 Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Platform, its owners, officers, employees, contractors, service providers, and representatives from claims arising out of your Content, misuse of the Platform, violation of these Terms, violation of law, infringement, Provider Services, off-platform transactions, or disputes with other Users or Providers.

25 Suspension and Termination

The Platform may suspend, restrict, or terminate accounts or access where it believes a user violated these Terms, created risk, engaged in fraud or abuse, misused information, violated law, or otherwise compromised Platform integrity.

26 Governing Law and Venue

These Terms are governed by the laws of the District of Columbia, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Venue for disputes shall lie in the appropriate courts located in the District of Columbia, unless otherwise required by applicable law.

27 Changes to Terms

The Platform may update these Terms. Material changes may be communicated through the Platform, email, or other reasonable means. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.