Terms of Use – The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless

Last Modified: June 2, 2025

Acceptance of these Terms of Use

These terms of use are entered into by and between you and The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless (“we,” “us,” or “our”). The following terms and conditions, together with any documents they expressly incorporate by reference (collectively, the “Terms of Use”), govern your access to and use of the website located at https://www.legalclinic.org/ (the “Website”).

Please read these Terms of Use carefully before you start to use the Website BECAUSE THEY ARE A LEGALLY BINDING AGREEMENT THAT CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, A DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROVISION IN THE ARBITRATION [INSERT JUMP LINK] SECTION REQUIRING THE USE OF ARBITRATION ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS TO RESOLVE DISPUTES RATHER THAN JURY TRIALS OR CLASS ARBITRATIONS. By using the Website or by clicking to accept or agree to these Terms of Use when this option is made available to you, you accept and agree to be bound and abide by these Terms of Use and our Online Privacy Policy (the “Privacy Policy”), found at PRIVACY POLICY, incorporated herein by reference. If you do not agree to these Terms of Use or the Privacy Policy, you must not access or use the Website.

The Website is offered and available to individuals who are at least 18 years of age and reside in the United States or any of its territories or possessions. By using the Website, you represent and warrant that you are of legal age to form a binding contract with us and meet all of the foregoing eligibility requirements. If you do not meet all of these requirements, you must not access or use the Website.

Changes to these Terms of Use

We may revise and update these Terms of Use from time to time in our sole discretion. All changes are effective immediately when we post them and apply to all access to and use of the Website thereafter. However, any changes to the dispute resolution provisions set out in the Governing Law and Jurisdiction, Arbitration, and Limitation on Time to File Claims sections will not apply to any disputes for which the parties have actual notice on or before the date the change is posted on the Website.

Your continued use of the Website following the posting of revised Terms of Use means that you accept and agree to the changes. You are expected to check this page from time to time so you are aware of any changes, as they are binding on you.

Accessing the Website

We reserve the right to withdraw or amend the Website, and any service or material we provide on the Website, in our sole discretion without notice. We will not be liable if, for any reason, all or any parts of the Website are unavailable at any time or for any period. From time to time, we may restrict user access to some parts or the entirety of the Website.

You are responsible for both:

Making all arrangements necessary for you to have access to the Website.
Ensuring that all persons who access the Website through your internet connection are aware of these Terms of Use and comply with them.

To access the Website or some of the resources it offers, you may be asked to provide certain information. It is a condition of your use of the Website that all the information you provide on the Website is correct, current, and complete. You agree that all information you provide is governed by our Privacy Policy, and you consent to all actions we take with respect to your information consistent with our Privacy Policy.

Intellectual Property Rights

The Website and its entire contents, features, and functionality (including but not limited to all information, software, text, displays, images, video, and audio, and the design, selection, and arrangement thereof) are owned by us, our licensors, or other providers of such material and are protected by United States and international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws.

These Terms of Use permit you to use the Website for your personal, non-commercial use only. You must not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, republish, download, store, or transmit any of the materials on our Website, except as follows:

Your computer may temporarily store copies of such materials in RAM incidental to your accessing and viewing those materials.
You may store files that are automatically cached by your Web browser for display enhancement purposes.
You may print or download one copy of a reasonable number of pages of the Website for your own personal, non-commercial use and not for further reproduction, publication, or distribution.
If we provide social media features with certain content, you may take such actions as are enabled by such features.

You must not:

Modify copies of any materials from the Website.
Use any illustrations, photographs, video or audio sequences, or any graphics separately from the accompanying text.
Delete or alter any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary rights notices from copies of materials from the Website.
Access or use for any commercial purposes any part of the Website or any services or materials available through the Website.

If you wish to make any use of material on the Website other than that set out in this section, please address your request to: info@legalclinic.org.

If you print, copy, modify, download, or otherwise use or provide any other person with access to any part of the Website in breach of these Terms of Use, your right to use the Website will stop immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made. No right, title, or interest in or to the Website or any content on the Website is transferred to you, and all rights not expressly granted are reserved by us. Any use of the Website not expressly permitted by these Terms of Use is a breach of these Terms of Use and may violate copyright, trademark, and other laws.

Trademarks

Our name and logo, and all related names, logos, product and service names, designs, and slogans are trademarks of us or our licensors. You must not use such marks without the prior written permission of us or the applicable licensors. All other names, logos, product and service names, designs, and slogans on this Website are the trademarks of their respective owners.

Prohibited Uses

You may use the Website only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms of Use. You agree not to use the Website:

In any way that violates any applicable federal, state, local, or international law or regulation (including, without limitation, any laws regarding the export of data or software to and from the United States or other countries).
For the purpose of exploiting, harming, or attempting to exploit or harm minors in any way by exposing them to inappropriate content, asking for personally identifiable information, or otherwise.
To transmit, or procure the sending of, any advertising or promotional material without our prior written consent, including any “junk mail,” “chain letter,” “spam,” or any other similar solicitation.
To impersonate or attempt to impersonate us, our employee, another user, or any other person or entity (including, without limitation, by using email addresses or other contact information associated with any of the foregoing).
To engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits anyone’s use or enjoyment of the Website, or which, as determined by us, may harm us or users of the Website, or expose us or them to liability.

Additionally, you agree not to:

Use the Website in any manner that could disable, overburden, damage, or impair the Website or interfere with any other party’s use of the Website, including their ability to engage in real time activities through the Website.
Modify, adapt, translate, or reverse engineer any portion of the Website.
Use any robot, spider, or other automatic device, process, or means to access the Website for any purpose, including monitoring or copying any of the material on the Website.
Use any manual process to monitor or copy any of the material on the Website, or for any other purpose not expressly authorized in these Terms of Use, without our prior written consent.
Use any device, software, or routine that interferes with the proper working of the Website.
Introduce any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, logic bombs, or other material that is malicious or technologically harmful.
Attempt to gain unauthorized access to, interfere with, damage, or disrupt any parts of the Website, the servers on which the Website is stored, or any server, computer, or database connected to the Website.
Attack the Website via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of-service attack.
Use the Website for any unlawful, fraudulent, or malicious purposes.
Post, transmit, submit, or include any unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, sexually explicit, profane, hateful, racially, ethnically, or otherwise objectionable content, material, or information of any kind.
Otherwise attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Website.

User Contributions

The Website may contain comment sections and other interactive features that allow users to post, submit, publish, display, or transmit to other users or other persons (hereinafter, “post”) content or materials (collectively, the “User Contributions”) on or through the Website. All User Contributions must comply with these Terms of Use.

Any User Contribution you post to the Website will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary. By providing any User Contribution on the Website, you grant us and our service providers, and each of their and our respective licensees, successors, and assigns the right to use, reproduce, modify, perform, display, distribute, and otherwise disclose to third parties any such User Contribution for any purpose.

You represent and warrant that:

You own or control all rights in and to your User Contributions and have the right to grant the license granted above to us and our and service providers, and each of their and our respective licensees, successors, and assigns.
All of your User Contributions do and will comply with these Terms of Use.

You understand and acknowledge that you are responsible for any User Contributions you post, and you, not us, have full responsibility for such User Contributions, including their legality, reliability, accuracy, and appropriateness.

We are not responsible or liable to any third party for the content or accuracy of any User Contributions posted by you or any other user of the Website.

Monitoring and Enforcement; Termination

We have the right to:

Remove or refuse to post any User Contributions for any or no reason in our sole discretion.
Take any action with respect to any User Contribution that we deem necessary or appropriate in our sole discretion, including if we believe that such User Contribution violates these Terms of Use.
Disclose your identity or other information about you to any third party who claims that material posted by you violates their rights, including their intellectual property rights or their right to privacy.
Take appropriate legal action, including without limitation, referral to law enforcement, for any illegal or unauthorized use of the Website.
Terminate or suspend your access to all or part of the Website for any or no reason, including without limitation, any violation of these Terms of Use.

Without limiting the foregoing, we have the right to cooperate fully with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing us to disclose the identity or other information of anyone posting any materials on or through the Website. YOU WAIVE AND HOLD HARMLESS US AND OUR LICENSEES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS FROM ANY CLAIMS RESULTING FROM ANY ACTION TAKEN BY ANY OF THE FOREGOING PARTIES DURING, OR TAKEN AS A CONSEQUENCE OF, INVESTIGATIONS BY EITHER SUCH PARTIES OR LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES.

We assume no liability for any action or inaction regarding transmissions, communications, or content provided by any user or third party. We have no liability or responsibility to anyone for performance or nonperformance of the activities described in this section.

Copyright Infringement

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the “DMCA”) provides recourse for copyright owners who believe that material appearing on the Internet infringes their rights under United States Copyright Law. If you believe in good faith that any material available on the Website infringes your copyright, you (or your agent) should send us a notice requesting that we remove the material or block access to it. If you believe in good faith that someone has wrongly submitted a notice to us under this paragraph, then you should send us a counter-notice. Notices and counter-notices must meet the then-current statutory requirements imposed by the DMCA. See https://www.copyright.gov/dmca-directory/ for details.

If you believe that your work has been improperly copied and posted on the Website, then please provide us with the following information: (1) name, address, telephone number, email address, and an electronic or physical signature of the copyright owner or of the person authorized to act on his or her behalf; (2) a description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed; (3) a description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located within the Website; (4) a written statement that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and (5) a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf. These requirements must be followed to give us legally sufficient notice of infringement.

Notices and counter-notices should be sent to:

The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless

info@legalclinic.org

1200 U St. NW

Washington, D.C. 20009

DMCA details are available at https://www.copyright.gov/dmca-directory/.

We suggest that you consult your legal advisor before filing a notice or counter-notice. Please be aware that there may be penalties for false claims under the DMCA.

Electronic Communications

When you visit the Website or send emails to us, you are communicating with us electronically. You consent to receive communications from us electronically. We will communicate with you by email or by posting notices on the Website. You agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures, and other communications that we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing. You further agree that any notices provided by us electronically are deemed to be given and received on the date we transmit any such electronic communications. You understand and agree that us, our licensors and service providers, and anyone contacting you on our or their behalf, may send communications to you in any manner, including using a pre-recorded or artificial voice or an automatic telephone dialing system.

Reliance on Information Posted

The information presented on or through the Website is made available solely for general information purposes. We do not warrant the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of this information. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. We disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on such materials by you or any other visitor to the Website, or by anyone who may be informed of any of its contents.

The Website may include content provided by third parties, including materials provided by third-party licensors, syndicators, aggregators, and/or reporting services. All statements and/or opinions expressed in these materials, and all articles and responses to questions and other content, other than the content provided by us, are solely the opinions and the responsibility of the person or entity providing those materials. These materials do not necessarily reflect our opinion. We are not responsible, or liable to you or any third party, for the content or accuracy of any materials provided by any third parties.

Changes to the Website

We may update the content on the Website from time to time, but its content is not necessarily complete or up-to-date. Any of the material on the Website may be out of date at any given time, and we are under no obligation to update such material.

Linking to the Website and Social Media Features

You may link to our Website, provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it, but you must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval, or endorsement on our part without our express written consent.

The Website may provide certain social media features that enable you to:

Link from your own or certain third-party websites to certain content on the Website.
Send emails or other communications with certain content, or links to certain content, on the Website.
Cause limited portions of content on the Website to be displayed or appear to be displayed on your own or certain third-party websites.

You may use these features solely as they are provided by us, solely with respect to the content they are displayed with, and otherwise in accordance with any additional terms and conditions we provide with respect to such features. Subject to the foregoing, you must not:

Establish a link from any website that is not owned by you.
Cause the Website or portions of the Website to be displayed on, or appear to be displayed by, any other site through, for example, framing, deep linking, or in-line linking.
Otherwise take any action with respect to the materials on the Website that is inconsistent with any other provision of these Terms of Use.

You agree to cooperate with us in stopping any unauthorized framing or linking immediately. We reserve the right to withdraw framing or linking permission without notice.

We may disable all or any social media features and any links at any time without notice in our discretion.

Links from the Website

If the Website contains links to other sites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your convenience only. This includes links contained in advertisements, including banner advertisements and sponsored links. We have no control over the contents of those sites or resources and accept no responsibility for them or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them. If you decide to access any of the third-party websites linked to the Website, you do so entirely at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of use for such websites.

Geographic Restrictions

We are based in the District of Columbia in the United States. We provide the Website for use only by persons located in the United States. We make no claims that the Website or any of its content is accessible or appropriate outside of the United States. Access to the Website may not be legal by certain persons or in certain countries. If you access the Website from outside the United States, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws.

Disclaimer of Warranties

You understand that we cannot and do not guarantee or warrant that the Website will be free of viruses or other destructive code. You are responsible for implementing sufficient procedures and checkpoints to satisfy your particular requirements for anti-virus protection and accuracy of data input and output, and for maintaining a means external to our Website for any reconstruction of any lost data. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PROVIDED BY LAW, WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY A DISTRIBUTED DENIAL-OF-SERVICE ATTACK, VIRUSES, OR OTHER TECHNOLOGICALLY HARMFUL MATERIAL THAT MAY INFECT YOUR COMPUTER EQUIPMENT, COMPUTER PROGRAMS, DATA, OR OTHER PROPRIETARY MATERIAL DUE TO YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE OR YOUR DOWNLOADING OF ANY MATERIAL POSTED ON THE WEBSITE, OR ON ANY WEBSITE LINKED TO THE WEBSITE.

YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT, AND ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT, AND ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. NEITHER WE NOR ANY PERSON ASSOCIATED WITH US MAKES ANY WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION WITH RESPECT TO THE COMPLETENESS, SECURITY, RELIABILITY, QUALITY, ACCURACY, OR AVAILABILITY OF THE WEBSITE. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, NEITHER WE NOR ANYONE ASSOCIATED WITH US REPRESENTS OR WARRANTS THAT THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT, OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE WILL BE ACCURATE, RELIABLE, ERROR-FREE, OR UNINTERRUPTED, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, THAT THE WEBSITE OR THE SERVER THAT MAKES IT AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR THAT THE WEBSITE OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE WILL OTHERWISE MEET YOUR NEEDS OR EXPECTATIONS.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PROVIDED BY LAW, WE HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY WARRANTIES THAT CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

Limitation on Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PROVIDED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL WE OR OUR LICENSORS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OFFICERS, OR DIRECTORS BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE WEBSITE, ANY WEBSITES LINKED TO IT, OR ANY CONTENT ON THE WEBSITE, INCLUDING ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PERSONAL INJURY, PAIN AND SUFFERING, EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, LOSS OF REVENUE, LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS OR ANTICIPATED SAVINGS, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF GOODWILL, LOSS OF DATA, AND WHETHER CAUSED BY TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), BREACH OF CONTRACT, OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF FORESEEABLE.

THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY LIABILITY THAT CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless us, our licensors and service providers, and our and their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, licensors, suppliers, successors, and assigns from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, costs, expenses, or fees (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to your violation of these Terms of Use or your use of the Website, including, but not limited to, your User Contributions, any use of the Website’s content, services, and products, or your use of any information obtained from the Website.

Governing Law and Jurisdiction

All matters relating to the Website and these Terms of Use, and any dispute, claim or controversy (hereinafter referred to as “claim”) arising therefrom or related thereto (in each case, including non-contractual claims), shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the District of Columbia without giving effect to any choice or conflict of law provision or rule (whether of the District of Columbia or any other jurisdiction).

Any legal suit, action, or proceeding arising out of, or related to, these Terms of Use or the Website shall be instituted exclusively in the federal courts of the United States or the courts of the District of Columbia, although we retain the right to bring any suit, action, or proceeding against you for breach of these Terms of Use in your country of residence or any other relevant country. You waive any and all objections to the exercise of jurisdiction over you by such courts and to venue in such courts.

Arbitration

In the event of any claim arising from these Terms of Use between you and us, each party agrees to negotiate and resolve the claim in good faith. You agree that you may not commence any arbitration unless you and we are unable to resolve the claim within sixty (60) days after we receive your claim description and you have made a good faith effort to resolve your claim directly with us during that time. If we are unable to resolve your claim within sixty (60) days despite such good faith efforts, then either you or we may start an arbitration or small claims court proceeding. Either you or we may elect to have an arbitration proceeding initiated by the other party adjudicated in small claims court by giving written notice of that election to the other party.

Any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms of Use or the breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation or validity thereof, including the determination of the scope or applicability of this agreement to arbitrate, shall be determined by arbitration in the District of Columbia before one arbitrator who is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia and has at least fifteen (15) years of experience in commercial business transactions. The arbitration shall be administered by JAMS pursuant to its Comprehensive Arbitration Rules and Procedures. Judgment on the award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction. This clause shall not preclude the parties from seeking provisional remedies in aid of arbitration from a court of appropriate jurisdiction. In any arbitration arising out of or related to these Terms of Use, the arbitrator shall award to the prevailing party, if any, the costs and fees, including attorney and expert fees, reasonably incurred by the prevailing party in connection with the arbitration. The parties shall maintain the confidential nature of the arbitration proceeding and the award, including the hearing, except as may be necessary to prepare for or conduct the arbitration hearing on the merits, or except as may be necessary in connection with a court application for a preliminary remedy, a judicial challenge to an award or its enforcement, or otherwise required by law or judicial decision. Notwithstanding the provision in these Terms of Use with respect to applicable substantive law, any arbitration conducted pursuant to these terms of these Terms of Use shall be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C., Secs. 1-16). In any arbitration arising out of or related to these Terms of Use, the arbitrator(s) are not empowered to award punitive or exemplary damages, and the parties waive any right to recover any such damages.

The parties agree to arbitrate solely on an individual basis, and that this agreement does not permit class arbitration or any claims brought as a plaintiff or class member in any class or representative arbitration proceeding. The arbitral tribunal may not consolidate more than one person’s claims and may not otherwise preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding. In the event the prohibition on class arbitration is deemed invalid or unenforceable, then the remaining portions of this Arbitration section will remain in force.

Limitation on Time to File Claims

ANY CAUSE OF ACTION OR CLAIM YOU MAY HAVE ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OF USE OR THE WEBSITE MUST BE COMMENCED WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR AFTER THE CAUSE OF ACTION ACCRUES; OTHERWISE, SUCH CAUSE OF ACTION OR CLAIM IS PERMANENTLY BARRED.

Waiver and Severability

No waiver by us of any term or condition set out in these Terms of Use shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or condition or a waiver of any other term or condition, and any failure of us to assert a right or provision under these Terms of Use shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

If any provision of these Terms of Use is held by a court or other tribunal of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable for any reason, such provision shall be eliminated or limited to the minimum extent such that the remaining provisions of these Terms of Use will continue in full force and effect.

Entire Agreement

These Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy constitute the sole and entire agreement between you and us regarding the Website and supersede all prior and contemporaneous understandings, agreements, representations, and warranties, both written and oral, regarding the Website.

Your Comments and Concerns

This Website are operated by The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, 1200 U St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20009.

All other feedback, comments, requests for technical support, and other communications relating to the Website should be directed to: info@legalclinic.org.