Terms and Conditions
The Terms and Conditions of use (“The Agreement”) are provided by the Law Office of Joshua A. Lowenthal, PLC (the “Firm” or “Joshua A. Lowenthal PLC”), a web-based Michigan law practice managed by attorney Joshua A. Lowenthal. By using this website, and/or creating a client account through the Law Office of Joshua A. Lowenthal, PLC’s web-based law office application, you agree without modification to these Terms and Conditions and acknowledge reading them.
Limitation of Services
While authorities in some jurisdiction may deem this website and this law practice to be an advertisement for legal services in their jurisdiction, our website should not be construed as a solicitation for legal services related to any other state’s law. Joshua Lowenthal is only licensed to practice law in Michigan, and this website and legal practice offer services related only to Michigan law.
Joshua A. Lowenthal PLC does not wish to represent anyone desiring representation based upon viewing this website in a state where this website fails to comply with all laws and ethical rules of that state.
Contact before Attorney-Client Relationship is Established
Transmission of information from contact forms on this website and/or any communication with us via Internet e-mail through this site does not, by itself, establish an attorney-client relationship. Any information you convey to us via the Internet may not be secure, and information conveyed prior to establishing an attorney-client relationship may not be privileged or confidential. Therefore, please do not send any confidential information to Joshua A. Lowenthal PLC until an attorney-client relationship has been clearly established.
Establishing an Attorney-Client Relationship
An attorney-client relationship is established only after Joshua Lowenthal has expressly communicated the ability to represent you. Joshua Lowenthal may decline to represent you if a possible conflict of interest is discovered or if she believes your legal needs cannot be addressed in an online setting.
If Joshua Lowenthal determines during her communication with you that your specific legal matter requires the engagement of a full service law firm, such as in the event that your situation may require the commencement of a formal lawsuit, then he will promptly refer you to a full-service firm in your area or refer you to the Michigan Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral Service.
Nature of Unbundled Legal Services
This law firm is not a pre-paid legal service. Rather, it is an web-based legal practice where you are charged a one-time fee for limited legal services related to Michigan law. Unlike a geographically located law practice, Joshua A. Lowenthal PLC will not provide physical legal representation or commence litigation on your behalf.
The Firm provides unbundled legal services. This means that the legal services provided by us extend to those services which you have requested and purchased and we have provided. After you have purchased a service and we have agreed to provide it and have completed the work, you cannot expect us to perform in any additional capacity.
For example, if we assist you in creating Estate Administration documents, it is not our responsibility to ensure that the documents are properly filed, to attend a hearing or trial on your behalf, or to provide any other legal services related to that matter beyond the original purchased and provided limited legal services. Likewise, after you have paid for the requested services and we have performed them, we will not expect any further payment from you other than payment for the original requested legal services performed by us.
By purchasing our services, you agree that it remains your responsibility to proceed as a pro se litigant by filing all legal documents and complying with Michigan state and local procedures. By providing you with limited legal services, Joshua A. Lowenthal PLC has not agreed to attend a hearing or trial on your behalf or provide any legal service extending beyond those services which you have purchased and he has agreed to provide. After performing the services purchased by you, Joshua A. Lowenthal PLC has no further obligation to you and we will consider this matter concluded.
Scope of Services
The scope of legal services which Joshua A. Lowenthal PLC will perform for you will be expressly agreed upon in writing by you before any legal services are performed, and will not include any services that have been expressly excluded or are otherwise outside the scope of the written agreement.
If services outside the scope of the written agreement are required, the client may post a separate question regarding the legal services or request a price quote for additional legal work. Joshua Lowenthal will not pay any court costs associated with your case which may be required as part of a lawsuit, filing fees or service of process fees.
Reviewing and Updating Your Personal Content
Joshua Lowenthal requests that you keep your personal contact information current. After you have created a client account on our website, you may enter your personal information page at any time to review and update your personal information.
Contact Information
Because we are a web-based law practice, we advise that you provide your information to us using the technology provided for you on your personal client login page. Any information you convey to us via the Internet may not be secure. If you send sensitive or confidential email messages that are not encrypted, you accept the risks of such uncertainty and potential absence of confidentiality over the Internet.
No Guarantee of Outcome or Result
As with any legal service, we cannot guarantee any legal outcome. No website or other materials published on this website should be construed as a guarantee of any particular outcome or result.
Client Funds
In most situations, a client’s funds will not be transferred to Joshua A. Lowenthal PLC until the legal services requested by the client are ready to be accessed and received by the client on their client account.
Some requested services may require the upfront payment of a retainer fee before Joshua Lowenthal will begin work. After the client’s payment of the agreed upon price is confirmed through a Cardholder Information Security Program (CISP) compliant credit card processor, the client will have complete access to the legal advice, documents, research or other services provided by the attorney.
Technology – Security
Primary communications are done through this website over Secure HTTP, which provides you with the highest industry standard protection available on the web. All payments are processed by Cardholder Information Security Program (CISP) complaint credit card processors, and no credit card or payment account numbers are stored on our servers. The maintainer of the law office application used by Joshua A. Lowenthal PLC has many years of experience developing secure web-based applications and uses secure programming techniques and best practices along with continual code auditing to ensure that this site is as secure as possible.
Disclosures
The State Bar requires that attorneys provide the following information:
The State Bar of Michigan investigates and prosecutes misconduct committed by attorneys. Although not every complaint or dispute with a lawyer involves professional misconduct, the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission of the State Bar of Michigan will provide you with information about how to file a complaint. For more information, please call 313-961-6585.
Confidentiality – Security – Retaining of Records
Joshua A. Lowenthal PLC is licensed to practice law in the State of Michigan. In compliance with the professional rules and restrictions of the State Bar of Michigan, and for reasons of personal integrity, this practice is bound by stringent professional standards of confidentiality. Any information received by us from our clients is held in the strictest confidence and will not be released to anyone outside this practice unless agreed to by you, or as required under applicable law.
All our records are securely retained in electronic files, along with secure backups, for the period of years required under Michigan law.
Copyright
Joshua Lowenthal claims copyright protection on all content provided in this website. The content from this website may not be reproduced, copied, and/or redistributed in any form without the express prior written permission of Joshua Lowenthal. Furthermore, the content from this website cannot be modified nor can it be used for commercial purposes. Each document posted at this website shall contain the following copyright notice: © 2020 Joshua Lowenthal. All rights reserved.
Links and Email Addresses
Links posted on this website to other websites are provided only as a convenience to our clients. We assume no responsibility for the content, security or reliability of any websites to which we have posted links.
Spamming, the unsolicited broadcasts of email addresses or links in this website, is prohibited and unauthorized.
Web Tracking – Cookies, Information Collection and Privacy Policy
1. General Site
To view the articles and public documents on this site you do not need to reveal any personal information. This site will present your browser with the option of accepting JavaScript and cookies in order to lay out the web page correctly and to store customized settings for your next visit. These features may be disabled by your browser, however this will limit the look and functionality of the website. All page requests are logged in order to properly maintain the service and security of this website.
2. Virtual Law Office
In order to request legal services from Joshua Lowenthal, you must first provide some personal information about yourself so that Joshua Lowenthal can evaluate whether your needs can be met in an online setting. If Joshua Lowenthal agrees to represent you, a secure, password-protected client account will be created for you using the information you provide. Your information may be provided to a third party in order to provide the service you requested and/or as is required by law. All other use of your personal information will be limited to your attorney/client relationship with Joshua A. Lowenthal PLC. This site uses cookies to store a session id. Therefore, in order to use the website, cookies must be enabled so that we can provide you with a secure transaction.
Limitation of Liability – No Warranties
Joshua A. Lowenthal PLC assumes no liability for any errors or omissions in the content of this website. We will not be responsible under any legal theory for damages, including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential or special, arising as a result of your use of this website. As stated above, this website pertains to the practice of Michigan law only. Therefore, the content of this website is not applicable in any state other than Michigan. The parties expressly agree that no oral or other representation has been made as to additional warranties or services.
The general information provided on this website is provided without warranty of any kind, express or implied. Joshua Lowenthal reserves the right to change, modify, add, and delete the content on this website.
Arbitration; Michigan Law Applies
In the event we cannot, in good faith, arrive at a resolution of any dispute, then any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this agreement or your representation by Joshua A. Lowenthal PLC shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association. The locale of the arbitration shall be Detroit, Michigan. This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Michigan. Each party shall bear the burden of its own counsel fees incurred in connection with any arbitration proceedings. Each person who requests legal services on this website is deemed to have knowingly and voluntarily waived any right to go to court to resolve any case or controversy related to this agreement, Joshua Lowenthal’s’ website or any services provided by him.
NOTICE: This agreement contains provisions requiring arbitration of disputes. Before agreeing to these provisions you should consider consulting with another lawyer about the advisability of making an agreement with mandatory arbitration requirements. Arbitration proceedings are ways to resolve disputes without use of the court system. By entering into agreements that require arbitration as the way to resolve disputes, you give up (waive) your right to go to court to resolve those disputes by a judge or jury. These are important rights that should not be given up without careful consideration.
Assignment
The rights and obligations created for you under this agreement may not be assigned to any other party.
Force Majeure
Joshua Lowenthal will not be deemed to be in breach of this agreement for any delay or failure in performance caused by reasons out of its reasonable control, including acts of God or a public enemy; natural calamities; failure of a third party to perform; changes in the laws or regulations; actions of any civil, military or regulatory authority; power outage or other disruptions of communication methods or any other cause which would be out of the reasonable control of Joshua Lowenthal.
IRS Circular 230 Disclosure
In compliance with the requirements of the IRS pertaining to the publication of Circular 230, we inform you that any advice contained on this website or in any communication originating from this website or this law practice which is related to U.S. federal tax advice is not intended or created to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of 1) either avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or 2) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter that is contained on this website or in any communication originating from this law practice.
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website contains general information. It is provided for informational purposes only and may not reflect current legal developments, verdicts or settlements. Legal advice must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case, and laws are constantly changing. Therefore, the information contained on this website should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter and should not be used as a substitute for the advice of competent legal counsel.
No recipients of content from this site, clients or otherwise, should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content included in the site without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from an attorney licensed in the recipient’s state. Joshua A. Lowenthal PLC expressly disclaims all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any or all the contents of this website.
No Warranty or Liability
Some links within the website may lead to other web-sites, including those operated and maintained by third parties. Joshua A. Lowenthal PLC includes these links solely as a convenience to you, and the presence of such a link does not imply a responsibility for the linked site or an endorsement of the linked site, its operator, or its contents.
This website and its contents are provided “AS IS” without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.
Comments
Certain parts of this website offer the opportunity for users to post comments. Comments are moderated before posting and best efforts will be made to post appropriate comments as soon as practical. We strive to respond to as many relevant questions and comments as possible, but reserve the right to use our judgment in selecting the comments to which we respond. Additionally, we reserve the right to delete off-topic, out of context, spam or promotional postings.
We encourage you to post a comment if you would like to add your perspective to a blog post, share an experience, or have a general legal question about the topic the blog post addresses that may benefit other readers. However, please do not post fact-specific legal questions for which you require tailored legal advice. If you require specific legal advice, please contact me to request legal services. Consultations and tailored legal advice will be billed at my hourly rate.
Additionally, please do not post comments that do not add to the conversation and are posted simply as a means of promoting your business. Such comments will be deleted.
Severance
In the event that one or more of the provisions of this agreement shall be found unenforceable, illegal or invalid, it shall not affect any other provisions of this agreement, and this agreement shall be construed as if the provision found to be unenforceable, illegal or invalid had never been contained in the agreement, or the unenforceable, illegal or invalid provision shall be construed, amended and/or reformed to be made enforceable, legal and valid.
Modification of Terms and Conditions
Joshua A. Lowenthal PLC reserves the right to revise these Terms and Conditions at any time by updating this posting; therefore you should visit this page from time to time to review these Terms and Conditions. Using this website or contacting Joshua Lowenthal by phone, email or other electronic communications constitutes your agreement to comply with such revisions.
Complete Understanding
This agreement supersedes any prior or contemporaneous communications, representations or agreements between Joshua Lowenthal and the client and constitutes the complete and final agreement between the parties relating to this agreement, Joshua Lowenthal’s website or any services provided by Joshua Lowenthal.