1. Who we are
Aaine (“Aaine,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) operates a lawyer discovery and lead-management platform. We help people who need legal help (“clients”) find independently practising lawyers (“lawyers”), view contact details, and send messages or inquiries. We also provide lawyers with dashboard tools — including Lead Inbox CRM features — to manage those leads.
By accessing or using Aaine — including aaine.com, app.aaine.com, the directory, dashboards, 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 discover lawyers and contact them, and helps lawyers manage inquiries. Aaine is not a law firm, does not provide legal advice, and does not represent clients in any legal matter. Any lawyer-client relationship is solely between the client and the lawyer they choose to engage.
Aaine does not currently operate consultation booking, client escrow payments, or guaranteed appointment scheduling. Arrangements for advice, fees, and next steps after contact are between the client and the lawyer.
We verify each lawyer’s identity and professional 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. Discovery, contact, and messaging
Clients may browse the directory, open lawyer profiles, and use the contact options a lawyer chooses to share (such as phone, email, WhatsApp, chamber address, or an Aaine message). Sending an inquiry or message does not create a retained engagement unless you and the lawyer separately agree to one.
- You should share only the matter context you are comfortable disclosing before a formal engagement.
- Lawyers may manage inquiries in their dashboard, including Lead Inbox statuses, notes, and follow-ups.
- Response times are not guaranteed by Aaine; lawyers set their own availability and contact preferences.
- Aaine may limit or disable contact channels to protect users or enforce these Terms.
5. Fees and paid plans
Directory visibility is not pay-to-play. Lawyers pay a one-time verification request fee when applying; launch pricing may apply and is shown at the time of payment. Payment is processed by our payment partners; Aaine does not store full payment credentials on our servers.
Aaine may offer paid plans for lawyers (for example Free, Professional, and Growth) that unlock workflow tools such as deeper Lead Inbox features, messaging tools, analytics, visibility boosts, or premium support. Plan features, pricing, and availability may change; material changes will be communicated where required.
Clients are not charged a platform fee merely to browse the directory or contact a lawyer through Aaine. Any professional fees for legal work are agreed directly with the lawyer outside any client escrow flow on Aaine.
6. Safety reports and support
Anyone may report platform safety concerns, fake profiles, privacy issues, or account problems. Premium support for product and account help may be limited to lawyers on paid plans, as described on the platform. Safety and account-integrity reporting remains available to everyone.
See also Trust & safety and the Contact page.
7. Terms for lawyers
If you list yourself as a lawyer on Aaine, you confirm that you hold a current, unrestricted practising certificate (or equivalent authorisation) from your jurisdiction’s bar association or law society, and you authorise us to verify that standing against primary sources.
- You agree to keep your public profile accurate, including practice areas, languages, and contact options you choose to display.
- 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 misrepresent verification status, invent reviews, or use Aaine to harass or deceive clients.
- Lead Inbox and related dashboard tools are for managing genuine inquiries; you may not use them to spam or scrape user data.
8. Terms for clients
You agree to use Aaine for genuine legal-help requests, to provide accurate context when contacting a lawyer, and to treat lawyers professionally. You may not use the platform to harass counsel, submit false reports in bad faith, or scrape the directory.
Contacting a lawyer through Aaine does not guarantee they will take your matter. Engagement terms, confidentiality, and fees are between you and the lawyer once you choose to proceed.
9. Verification and re-verification
Verified status is granted after our review of the lawyer’s bar or law society registration, identity, references, and disciplinary history. We may re-verify active lawyers periodically or after credible complaints. If a lawyer’s standing changes, their profile may be hidden until we can confirm with them.
The verification fee covers manual review and is generally non-refundable once review has begun, except where required by law or where we cancel the application for our own operational reasons.
10. Reviews, content, and conduct
Where reviews or similar public feedback are available, they 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 content that violates 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 verification, plan gates, or safety 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, inquiry text, 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, response time, or engagement, 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 fees you paid to Aaine (if any) in the twelve months before 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; outstanding verification payments or plan billing will be handled according to the rules disclosed at the time of purchase.
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 or email [email protected].