1. Who we are
Aaine (“Aaine,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) operates a verified-lawyer consultation platform. We connect people who need legal help (“clients”) with independent lawyers (“lawyers”) for structured, time-based consultations, with payment held in escrow until the consultation ends.
By accessing or using Aaine — including the website, the booking flow, the dashboard, and any embedded tools — you agree to these Terms of Service (the “Terms”). If you do not agree, please don’t use the platform.
2. Eligibility and accounts
You must be at least 18 years old to create an account. By signing up you confirm that the information you provide is accurate and that you have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement. You’re responsible for keeping your account credentials confidential and for any activity on your account.
We may decline to verify, may suspend, or may remove any account at our discretion — for example, if information is misleading, if verification fails, or if we identify activity that risks other users.
3. Aaine’s role on the platform
Aaine is a platform that helps clients find and book consultations with independent lawyers. Aaine is not a law firm, does not provide legal advice, and does not represent clients in any legal matter. The lawyer-client relationship is solely between the client and the lawyer they choose to consult.
We verify each lawyer’s identity and bar standing before listing their profile (see How verification works), but verification is a check of credentials — it’s not an endorsement of the lawyer’s strategy, advice, or outcome.
4. Bookings and consultations
When you book a consultation, you’re agreeing to a fixed-length call (15, 30, or 60 minutes, or any length the lawyer has listed) at the rate published on the lawyer’s profile at the time of booking. Consultations happen by phone, WhatsApp, or video call, as selected during booking.
- You may reschedule a consultation up to 24 hours before the start time without charge.
- Cancellations within 24 hours of the start time may be subject to a cancellation fee (set by the lawyer, up to a platform cap).
- Both parties are expected to join on time. If a party is more than 10 minutes late without notice, the other party may end the consultation and trigger the standard dispute flow.
5. Payments, escrow, and fees
Payment is collected at the time of booking and held in escrow by Aaine. Funds are released to the lawyer after the consultation completes and the dispute window closes (typically 48 hours). Aaine charges a platform fee on each booking; the fee is included in the total shown at checkout.
Prices are displayed in the currency you select. Taxes (where applicable) are calculated at checkout and itemised on your receipt. Aaine never asks lawyers to pay for visibility or verification — those are always free for lawyers.
6. Refunds and disputes
If the consultation doesn’t happen — the lawyer doesn’t join, the channel doesn’t work, or the matter falls outside the listed practice areas — you can request a refund from your dashboard within 48 hours. Disputes are reviewed against the consultation record (booking notes, channel, time taken) and resolved by our admin team, typically within 3 business days.
Refunds are not available for a consultation that took place as scheduled but where you are dissatisfied with the lawyer’s advice or opinion — that’s a matter between you and the lawyer.
7. Terms for verified lawyers
If you list yourself as a lawyer on Aaine, you confirm that you hold a current, unrestricted practising certificate from your jurisdiction’s bar association or law society, and you authorise us to verify that standing against primary sources.
- You agree to honour booked consultations at the price and length you’ve published.
- You agree to handle client communications and documents in accordance with your professional conduct rules.
- You must notify us within 7 days if your practising certificate is suspended, restricted, or withdrawn for any reason.
- You may not solicit clients off-platform to avoid platform fees on consultations originated through Aaine.
8. Terms for clients
You agree to use Aaine for genuine legal-help requests, to provide accurate matter context when booking, and to treat the lawyer professionally during the consultation. You may not record a consultation without the lawyer’s explicit, on-the-call consent.
9. Verification and re-verification
Verified status is granted after our review of the lawyer’s bar registration, identity, references, and disciplinary history. We re-verify active lawyers against the bar register annually and after any client dispute. If a lawyer’s standing changes, their profile is hidden until we can confirm with them.
10. Reviews, content, and conduct
Reviews come from completed bookings only. Reviews must be honest, attributable, and free of personal attacks, confidential matter details, or content that would breach professional conduct rules. We may remove or edit reviews that violate these standards.
You may not use Aaine to harass, deceive, or harm other users; to upload malicious content; to scrape the directory; or to circumvent our verification, escrow, or dispute mechanisms.
11. Intellectual property
Aaine’s brand, design, code, and content are owned by Aaine or our licensors and are protected by intellectual-property laws. You retain ownership of the content you upload (profile bio, matter description, reviews) and grant Aaine a non-exclusive licence to display it on the platform as needed to operate the service.
12. Privacy and data
How we handle your data is covered in our Privacy Policy. Identity documents uploaded for verification are encrypted at rest, never shown to clients, and removed from active storage 90 days after verification completes.
13. Disclaimers and liability
The platform is provided on an “as is” basis. Aaine doesn’t guarantee a particular legal outcome and isn’t a party to the lawyer-client relationship. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Aaine’s liability for any claim arising out of your use of the platform is limited to the platform fees paid by you for the consultation that gave rise to the claim.
Nothing in these Terms limits any liability that cannot be limited under applicable law, including liability for fraud or gross negligence.
14. Suspension and termination
We may suspend or terminate access to the platform if you breach these Terms, if verification fails or expires, if we’re required to by law, or if continued access poses a risk to other users. You may close your account at any time from your dashboard; pending bookings and disputes will be resolved according to the rules in force at the time of booking.
15. Changes to these terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be communicated by email (where you’ve given us one) and surfaced on the platform before they take effect. Continuing to use Aaine after the effective date means you accept the updated Terms.
16. Contact
Questions about these Terms? Reach our team through the Contact page.