Terms of Service
PLEASE NOTE THAT MAKE A CLAIM PTY LTD (“MAKE A CLAIM”) IS NOT A LAW FIRM AND DOES NOT PROVIDE LEGAL ADVICE. IT IS A MARKETING PLATFORM FOR CANDIDATE LAW FIRMS AND LEGAL PRACTITIONERS. ANY INFORMATION OR DOCUMENTS OBTAINED FROM OR PROVIDED BY MAKE A CLAIM IS GENERAL INFORMATION AND IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. THE PLATFORM IS LIMITED TO MARKETING CANDIDATE LAW FIRMS AND LEGAL PRACTITIONERS. MAKE A CLAIM DOES NOT ACCEPT ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE QUALITY, REFUSAL, OR DISCONTINUATION, OF LEGAL SERVICES PROVIDED BY ANY LEGAL PRACTITIONER OR LAW FIRM.
1. DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATION
1.1 Definitions
Claim means a legal claim initiated by a User where that User has used the Platform to select a candidate Law Firm and/or Legal Practitioner who will provide legal services in respect of that claim.
Intellectual Property means all intellectual property rights of whatever nature anywhere in the world conferred under statute, common law or equity and includes rights in respect of or in connection with copyright, whether or not registered or registrable, and includes the right to apply for or renew the registration of such rights.
Law Firms means companies or partnerships or sole traders where Legal Practitioners, collectively or individually, provide legal services to the market.
Legal Practitioner means an Australian lawyer with a valid practising certificate in any one of the Australian States and Territories and/or other professionals qualified to provide legal services (e.g., migration agent, conveyancer, patent attorney or trade mark attorney) in any one of the Australian States and Territories;
MAC, Make a Claim, We, Us and/or Our means and refers to Make a Claim Pty Ltd.
Platform means the Website and any other iteration of the Website whether through mobile device or otherwise, and any and all social media accounts on any social media platform and associated digital functions and services.
Terms means these terms and conditions.
User means a user and/or visitor of the Website and/or Platform.
User’s Legal Practitioner means the Legal Practitioner that the User has elected to represent the User in respect of a Claim pursuant to 9.3.
You and Your refer to an individual, company or organisation that has visited, read or is using the Website and/or its associated products or services.
1.2 Interpretation
In the Terms, unless context indicates otherwise:
- references to a person include an individual, form or a body, whether incorporated or unincorporated;
- where a word or phrase is given a particular meaning, other grammatical forms of that word or phrase have corresponding meanings;
- headings are for references only and shall not form part of the Terms nor used in the interpretation of the Terms;
- if something that must be done under the Terms falls on a day which is not a Business Day, then it must be done on the next Business Day;
- all amounts, including out of pocket expenses, expressed and described on or in connection with the Terms, are listed in Australian Dollars (AUD) and are GST exclusive
- words in the singular include the plural and vice versa in accordance with the context of which that word is used;
- words importing a gender include other genders;
- an obligation binding on a party that consists of two or more persons, binds those persons jointly and severally;
- a reference to a clause, annexure, or schedule is a reference to a clause, annexure, or schedule in the Terms;
- the words ‘includes’, ‘such as’, ‘for example’ and similar expressions are not words of limitation;
- a reference to a statute, ordinance, code, or law includes regulations and other instruments under it and any consolidations, amendments, re-enactments, or replacements of any of them;
- a reference to any party include that party’s executors, administrators, substitutes, successors and permitted assigns; and
- no rule of construction applies which disadvantages a party because the party was responsible for drafting this document, or drafting or requesting any provision in it.
In addition, these Terms will govern the interpretation and application of any quotes given by Make a Claim.
2. ABOUT THE WEBSITE
- The Website is a platform that provides technology-powered facilitation products and services to Users to provide them access to candidate Law Firms and Legal Practitioners, which includes, but is not limited to:
- The marketing of the legal services of the Law Firms and/or Legal Practitioners to Users; and
- the facilitation of the services of the Law Firms and/or Legal Practitioners to Users, including selection of candidate Law Firms and/or Legal Practitioners, selection and liaison with Users.
- The Website is provided and operated by Make a Claim. Access to and use of the Website, or any of its associated products and/or services, are provided by Make a Claim and/or relevant third-parties. Access to and/or use of any third-party products and/or services through the Website are subject to the Terms and any third-party terms referenced herein or brought to Your attention during Your use of the Website and/or its associated products or services.
- Please read these Terms carefully. By using, reading and/or browsing the Website, You represent that You have read, understood and agreed to be bound by the Terms and our Privacy Policy. If You do not agree to the Terms and/or the Privacy Policy, You must cease using the Website and any of its associated products and the services immediately.
- Make a Claim reserves the right to review and change any of the Terms by updating this page at its sole discretion at any time. Any changes to the Terms will take effect immediately from the date of publication. Your access and use of the Website after Make a Claim makes any changes constitutes Your acceptance of any such changes and You will be bound by those changes. If You do not agree to any changes, You must cease using the Website and any of its associated products and services immediately.
3. APPOINTMENTS
- Once You book an appointment, Make a Claim will review Your application.
- You warrant that any personal and/or other information You provide to Make a Claim will be accurate, correct and up to date. You must immediately notify Make a Claim if Your details change.
- Once You have booked an appointment, a representative of Make a Claim will meet with You on the appointment date and time to obtain initial details and information in connection with Your Claim. You consent to the recording and transcription by third-party AI services to record and provide notes and to transmit those notes (and/or summary) to Law Firms and/or Legal Practitioners in our network for the purposes of marketing candidate Law Firms and/or Legal Practitioners services to You.
- Make a Claim will then provide You with two (2) recommendations of candidate Law Firms and/or Legal Practitioners to provide legal services to You in relation to Your Claim, and You may elect to engage one or neither of those two (2) options.
- We will collect personal information from Law Firms and/or Legal Practitioners that provide legal services to you, including but not limited to tax invoices for those services, costs disclosures and costs agreements, and any other documents and information as reasonably required by Us to ascertain the fees paid by You to the Legal Practitioners engaged by You for legal services and/or other services.
- You acknowledge and agree that We are entitled to a marketing fee from the User’s Legal Practitioner based on a percentage of the fees charged to You for legal services, and, by using the Platform, You hereby consent to and authorise Us to receive this fee.
- You acknowledge that by supplying Make a Claim with Your address, email address and phone number, You may receive regular emails, newsletters, telephone calls and/or SMS updates from Make a Claim in order to keep You informed about Make a Claim activities. If You do not wish to receive updates from Make a Claim, You may contact Make a Claim at [email protected].
- You may not book an appointment or otherwise use the Platform if:
- You are not above the age of 18 years, unless you have parental consent; or
- You are a person barred from using the Platform under the laws of Australia or other countries including the country in which You are resident or from which You use the Platform.
4. USE OF THE WEBSITE
As a User, You agree to:
- use the Website only for purposes that are permitted by the Terms and any applicable law, regulation or generally accepted practices or guidelines in the relevant jurisdictions;
- notify Make a Claim immediately following any unauthorised use of information provided to You by virtue of the services or any other breach of security;
- not expressly or impliedly impersonate another User at any time;
- not use the Website or any communications from Make a Claim for any illegal and/or unauthorised use, including, but not limited to, collecting email addresses by electronic or other means for the purpose of sending unsolicited email or unauthorised framing of or linking to the Website;
- not use or facilitate any automated use of the Website or its Platform;
- not use or access the Website in a way that infringes the intellectual property rights or other rights of any person;
- not copy or disclose to any person, any content on the Website other than as expressly permitted by these Terms;
- not do anything which will or may damage, disrupt access to or interfere with the proper operation of the Website; and
- not use the Website to threaten, defame, harass or abuse any person
PART A – PLATFORM
5. CLAIM UPDATES
You consent to Us contacting You periodically via phone or email during the term of Your Claim, for the purposes of Us monitoring and marketing the services of the Law Firm and/or Legal Practitioner that You have selected using our Platform.
6. SECURE ONLINE STORAGE AND DOCUMENTS
- Make a Claim accepts no liability or responsibility for the preservation of information or documents.
- Make a Claim reserves the right to store information provided by You in any format, whether digitally or otherwise. You expressly authorise Make a Claim to use and share certain data (including but not limited to, name, email, IP address and browser) when You send or receive communications to Make a Claim for the purpose of marketing the Law Firm or Legal Practitioner’s services to You.
- Make a Claim encourages Customers to:
- retain all the original documents in their own possession; and
- preserve notes and original documents in a secure and safe location.
7. MAKE A CLAIM’S RIGHTS
Make a Claim may, in its absolute discretion, accept, refuse, suspend or terminate its products and/or services to You where You have acted in a manner that is in material breach of these Terms, or have evidenced Your intention to act in a manner that is materially different to the terms and conditions set out in these Terms, including but not limited to Your breach of warranty.
PART B – MARKETING LAW FIRMS AND LEGAL PROFESSIONALS
8. ABOUT THE MARKETING PLATFORM
The Make a Claim Platform facilitates engagement between Legal Practitioners and Users seeking legal assistance. The online appointment booking system is to be used by the User to facilitate the engagement by the User of Law Firms and/or Legal Practitioners for the provision of legal services in relation to a Claim by such Law Firms and/or Legal Practitioners. We provide the Platform only to facilitate this transaction, and We are not a party to the transaction.
9. THE MATCHING PROCESS FOR A CLIENT
9.1 Submission of a representation request
- Once a User has attended their initial appointment, Make a Claim will make recommendations to the User of up to two (2) Law Firms and/or Legal Practitioners and provide a link of the candidate Law Firms and/or Legal Practitioner to the User for the User to submit a representation request.
- The User must provide a sufficiently detailed description of the User’s legal requirements and any other relevant information and/or documents in relation to a Claim. You authorise Us to provide the candidate Law Firms and/or Legal Practitioner to whom You have made a representation request with the information You have provided to Us via email, meetings and AI-generated notes.
9.2 Marketing of Law Firms and/or Legal Professionals
- Following submission of a representation request, Make A Claim will contact the candidate Law Firms or Legal Practitioners to confirm the request has been received and is answered promptly, together with any information you have provided.
- The independent quoting Legal Practitioner that You choose will become the User’s Legal Practitioner, and the User’s Legal Practitioner will specify the scope of work, time frame, fees, and the name of the solicitor responsible.
- The User should not rely on any information provided to Us as legal advice.
9.3 Engaging a Law Firm and/or Legal Practitioner
A client / lawyer relationship is established once initial contact has been made between the User and the User’s Legal Practitioner, and where the User’s Legal Practitioner is required to provide a costs disclosure and/or costs agreement, then the engagement only takes place after the costs agreement has been accepted by the User pursuant to the terms and conditions of the costs agreement and costs disclosure. Make a Claim is not a party to the client/lawyer relationship.
10. PAYMENTS WITH MAKE A CLAIM
Make a Claim does not provide nor charge for legal services. Make a Claim is entitled to charge a marketing fee and administrative fee as a percentage of fees paid by the User to any Law Firm/Legal Practitioner in exchange for the marketing and administrative services that Make a Claim provides to Law Firms/Legal Practitioners. Make a Claim may also be entitled to a marketing fee and administrative fee in relation to any subsequent claim in respect of which you engage to elect the same User Law Firm/Legal Practitioner.
11. USER SATISFACTION
- If a User is not satisfied with the work being performed by the User’s Legal Practitioner, the User may contact Make a Claim at [email protected] within 14 days from the date the User’s Legal Practitioner receives the work in question.
- Make a Claim agrees that it will review the User’s complaint once received, and will discuss the User complaint with the User’s Legal Practitioner. If required and requested by the User, Make a Claim will also attempt to negotiate a resolution with the User’s Legal Practitioner. However, Make a Claim does not guarantee any resolution or User satisfaction with the services of the User’s Legal Practitioner.
- You understand and acknowledge that Make a Claim is not a provider of legal services and is not party to the agreement between You and any Legal Practitioner.
GENERAL TERMS
12. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
- In this clause, “Confidential Information” means any documents or information created, received or obtained by the User from or on behalf of any Legal Practitioner, Make a Claim and/or any other party in connection with the Platform. In relation to Make a Claim, it also includes all non-public information pertaining to Make a Claim’s business (including, without limitation, the identity and/or participation of specific Law Firms/Legal Practitioners, and/or any content marked confidential).
- By accepting the Terms, You acknowledge and agree that You will not at any time use, disclose, solicit, or misappropriate any Confidential Information, trade secrets, or other proprietary information that belongs to Make a Claim or any third-party, except with the prior written consent of that party or as required by law.
13. WEBSITE CONTENT
13.1 Generally
You may read the content and information on the Website for Your own needs but You may not publish, resell or sub-licence such content. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Make a Claim makes no guarantees, representations or warranties about the accuracy, adequacy, currency, completeness or correctness (legal or otherwise) of any of the content and/or information on the Website.
13.2 Security
Make a Claim does not guarantee that the Website will be free from viruses. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Make a Claim is not liable for any harmful computer code that may be introduced to Your system by using the Website. Make a Claim does not guarantee that access to the Website will be uninterrupted, timely or secure, or that it will always operate as intended, and, to the maximum extent permitted by law, Make a Claim accepts no liability in respect of same.
13.3 Third Party Websites
- Make a Claim works with a number of partners and affiliates whose websites are linked with Make a Claim and are controlled by parties other than Make a Claim (each a “Third Party Website”).
- Make a Claim is not responsible for and does not endorse or accept any responsibility for the availability, contents, products, services or use of any Third Party Website, any website accessed from a Third Party Website or any changes or updates to such sites. Make a Claim makes no guarantees about the content or quality of the products or services provided by or on such sites.
14. COPYRIGHT AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
- The Website, the Platform and all of the related products of Make a Claim are subject to trade mark and copyright. The material on the Website is protected under the laws of Australia and through international treaties. Unless otherwise indicated, all rights (including copyright) in the content and compilation of the Website (including but not limited to text, graphics, logos, button icons, video images, audio clips, Website, code, scripts, design elements and interactive features) (the “Content”) are owned or controlled for these purposes and are reserved by Make a Claim or its contributors.
- Make a Claim retains all rights, title and interest (including copyrights, patents and trade marks) in and to the Website, Platform, Content, products and all related content therein. Unless otherwise indicated, the Terms do not transfer to You any Make a Claim or third party’s right, title, and interest in copyrights, patents and trademarks.
- You may not, without the prior written permission of Make a Claim and the permission of any other relevant rights owners, broadcast, republish, upload to a third party location, transmit, post, distribute, show or play in public, adapt or change in any way the Content or third party content for any purpose. This prohibition does not extend to materials on the Website which are freely available for re-use or are in the public domain.
15. GENERAL DISCLAIMER
- Nothing in the Terms limits or excludes any guarantees, warranties, representations or conditions implied or imposed by law, including the Australian Consumer Law (or any liability under them) which by law may not be limited or excluded.
- If You are not a Consumer (under the Australian Consumer Law), You agree that Make a Claim has no direct or indirect liability (including in negligence) to You in any way related to Your use of Make a Claim.
- If You are a Consumer (which is denied) (under the Australian Consumer Law), Make a Claim limits all its direct and indirect liability (including in negligence) to You to the Consumer Guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law.
- Where there is a breach of the Consumer Guarantees, then to the maximum extent permitted by law, Make a Claim’s liability to You is limited at its option to:
- in the case of goods, replacement or repair of the goods or payment of the cost of replacing or repairing the goods; and
- in the case of services, resupply of the services or payment of the cost of re-supplying the services.
- Subject to this clause 15, and to the extent permitted by law:
- We exclude all representations, warranties or guarantees, whether express or implied, by statute, trade or otherwise; and
- We will not be liable for any liabilities, claims, costs and expenses (including legal costs), damage or injury or any special, direct, indirect or consequential loss or damage (unless such loss or damage is reasonably foreseeable resulting from our failure to meet an applicable Consumer Guarantee), loss of profit or opportunity, or damage to goodwill arising out of or in connection with the Services or these Terms (including as a result of not being able to use the Platform or the late supply of the Services), whether at common law, under contract, tort (including negligence), in equity, pursuant to statute or otherwise.
- Use of the Website and the Platform is at Your own risk. Everything in relation to the Website and the Platform are provided to You “as is” and “as available” without warranty or condition of any kind. None of the affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, contributors, third party content providers or licensors of Make a Claim make any express or implied representation or warranty about its Content or any products or Platform (including the products or services of Make a Claim) on the Website.
16. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
Notwithstanding any other provision of these Terms:-
- Make A Claim’s maximum total liability arising out of or in connection with these Terms, however arising, including under contract, tort (including negligence), in equity, under statute or otherwise, is limited to, at Make a Claim’s reasonable discretion, $500.00.
- You expressly understand and agree that Make a Claim, its affiliates, employees, agents, contributors, third party content providers and licensors shall not be liable to You for any loss or damage, or for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or exemplary damages which may be incurred by You, however caused and under any theory of liability. This shall include, but is not limited to, any loss of profit (whether incurred directly or indirectly), any loss of goodwill or business reputation and any other intangible loss.
- Make a Claim is not a law firm, is not engaging in legal practice and does not offer any legal services. Nothing provided by Make a Claim is legal advice and You cannot rely on it. You should always consult a Legal Practitioner to get certainty of Your legal rights and obligations.
- Any use of the Make a Claim Services is not intended to, and does not, create a lawyer-client relationship. Any communication via Make a Claim is not protected by legal privilege. Make a Claim is not liable for the actions or omissions of any Legal Practitioners.
- Make a Claim does not select or endorse any individual Legal Practitioner. While Make a Claim uses commercially reasonable efforts to verify that the Legal Practitioners have valid practising certificates, it does not make any warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the legal ability, competence, quality or qualifications of any Legal Professionals. Make A Claim encourages You to make all necessary enquiries and satisfy Yourself as to whether the Legal Professional meets Your requirements and objectives.
- You understand that we are not a party to and will not have any liability with respect to Your Claim or engagement with the Law Firm and/or Legal Practitioners. Any claims You have arising out of the legal advice or services obtained from a Legal Practitioner is to be brought against the Legal Practitioner, and You indemnify Make a Claim from all claims, suits, demands and legal actions arising from any and all disputes between a User and a Legal Practitioner.
- Make a Claim will have no liability for any failure or delay due to matters beyond our reasonable control.
17. INDEMNITY
- You agree to indemnify Make a Claim and its officers, directors, employees, sublicensees, agents, affiliates, successors and assigns from and against any and all claims, damages, liabilities, losses, settlements, costs and expenses (including, without limitation lawyers’ fees and court costs) which arise out of or relate to Your use of the Website and/or the Platform, including but not limited to:
- any misuse of the Website or Platform by You, including and without limitation, any dishonest, inaccurate, incomplete, fraudulent, negligent, wrongful, unlawful, or criminal act or omission by You;
- any act or omission (including negligent acts or omissions) of Make a Claim or any Law Firm/ Legal Professional in the performance or purported performance of any Services including if You fail to obtain advice from any Legal Practitioner or qualified adviser as to whether the services You choose are suitable for its intended purpose or is suitable for Your particular circumstances;
- Your breach of the Terms;
- the use of any intellectual property created in respect of the services not contemplated by the Terms or as a consequence of a breach of the Terms; or
- any activity by way of which You engage on or through Make a Claim.
- This indemnity will survive termination of the Terms.
18. TERMINATION
18.1 Termination of the Services
- We may terminate the Terms or at any time for any reason by email. You understand this has no effect or consequence on any terms or agreements You may have entered into with any Legal Practitioner as a result of Your use of the Platform. All legal, contractual, and ethical duties, obligations and responsibilities survive termination of the Make A Claim relationship.
- Make A Claim may, at any time and for any reason, terminate Your access to all or any part of the Website or Platform, with or without notice.
19. DISPUTE RESOLUTION
- If a dispute arises between the User and any Legal Practitioner, the User and the Legal Practitioner agree to deal with the disputes pursuant to the dispute resolution procedures specified in the Costs Agreement (if applicable).
- Where there is no Costs Agreement between the Legal Practitioner and the User or where the dispute falls outside the terms and conditions of the Costs Agreement, or where a Legal Practitioner or User has a dispute with Make a Claim, then You agree to the following:
- Either party may not commence any legal proceedings in relation to the dispute, unless the following clauses have been complied with (except where urgent interlocutory relief is sought).
- A party to these Terms claiming a dispute (the “Dispute“) has arisen under the Terms, must give written notice to the other party detailing the nature of the Dispute, the desired outcome and the action required to settle the Dispute (the “Notice“).
- On receipt of the Notice by the other party, the parties to the Terms (the “Parties“) must within seven (7) days of the Notice endeavour in good faith to resolve the Dispute expeditiously by negotiation or such other means upon which they may mutually agree.
- If for any reason whatsoever, twenty-one (21) days after the date of the Notice, the Dispute has not been resolved the Parties must either agree upon selection of a mediator or request that an appropriate mediator be appointed by the President of the Law Society or Law Institute in the State or Territory where the Legal Professional is situated or his or her nominee and attend a mediation. In the case of a dispute with Make a Claim, the President of the Law Society of New South Wales.
- It is agreed that mediation will be held in the nearest capital city in which the Legal Professional is situated. In the case of a dispute with Make a Claim, mediation will be held in Sydney, Australia.
- For the avoidance of doubt, the Parties need not attend the mediation or other means of resolution in person. The Parties may attempt to resolve the matter via any means of electronic communications.
- The Parties are equally liable for the fees and reasonable expenses of a mediator and the cost of the venue of the mediation and without limiting the foregoing, undertake to pay any amounts requested by the mediator as a pre-condition to the mediation commencing. The Parties must each pay their own costs associated with the mediation.
- All communications concerning negotiations made by the Parties arising out of and in connection with this dispute resolution clause are confidential and to the fullest extent possible, must be treated as “without prejudice” negotiations.
- If thirty (30) days have elapsed after the start of a mediation of the Dispute and the Dispute has not been resolved, either party may ask the mediator to terminate the mediation and the mediator must do so.
- In the event that the Dispute is not resolved at the conclusion or termination of the mediation, either party may institute legal proceedings concerning the subject matter of the Dispute.
20. NOTICE
21. RELATIONSHIP
Nothing in this contract is intended to create a fiduciary relationship, partnership, joint venture, agency or employment relationship with either the User, Make a Claim or any Legal Practitioner. Important: Make a Claim and the Legal Practitioners have no authority to bind each other or any other party. Each Legal Practitioner and Make a Claim are excluded from acting on each other’s behalf to create any legal relations or legal right. Each Legal Practitioner does not control and cannot provide any directions to Make a Claim. By using this Website, the User is aware and agrees that Make a Claim is not ever an agent for a Legal Practitioner.
22. GOVERNING LAW
The Terms are governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia. Any dispute, controversy, proceeding or claim of whatever nature arising out of or in any way relating to the Terms and the rights created hereby shall be governed, interpreted and construed by, under and pursuant to the laws of New South Wales, Australia, without reference to conflict of law principles, notwithstanding mandatory rules. The validity of this governing law clause is not contested. The Terms shall be binding to the benefit of the parties hereto and their successors and assigns.
23. VENUE AND JURISDICTION
The Platform is intended to be viewed and/or used by residents of Australia. In the event of any dispute arising out of or in relation to the Website, You agree that, once the dispute resolution procedure in clause 19 has been exhausted, for any further disputes, the exclusive venue for resolving any dispute shall be in the courts of New South Wales, Australia and the venue shall be Sydney, Australia.
24. ENTIRE AGREEMENT
These Terms constitute the entire agreement between You and Make A Claim and supersede all previous communications, representations, inducements, undertakings, agreements or arrangements between the parties.
25. SEVERANCE
- The Terms will be enforced to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.
- If any part of the Terms is found to be void or unenforceable by a Court of competent jurisdiction, that part shall be severed and the rest of the Terms shall remain in force.
26. WAIVER
- A waiver of any right, power or remedy under these Terms must be in writing signed by the party granting it.
- A waiver is only effective in relation to the particular obligation or breach in respect of which it is given. It is not to be taken as an implied waiver of any other obligation or breach or as an implied waiver of that obligation or breach in relation to any other occasion.
- The fact that a party fails to do, or delays in doing, something the party is entitled to do under these Terms does not amount to a waiver.
27. CONTACT
28. YOUR AUTHORITY
- If You are using the Website or the Platform on behalf of a company or other legal entity, You represent that You have the legal authority to bind such entity to these Terms, in which case the terms “You“ or “Your“ shall refer to and include such entity.