THE LAWYER GUIDE SINGAPORE

1. About These Terms

The Lawyer Guide Pte Ltd (UEN: 202640664K), a subsidiary of Advokatguiden AS (Org. nr 924 915 692), Norway, operates The Lawyer Guide in Singapore (“the Company”, “we”, “us”), available at thelawyerguide.com (“the Platform”).

These Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) govern access to and use of the Platform, including browsing lawyer profiles, submitting a review or request for legal help, and accessing, claiming or managing a lawyer profile or account. By creating an account, submitting content or a request through the Platform, or otherwise using the Platform after having reasonable notice of these Terms, you agree to them.

We may update these Terms from time to time. The current version will be available on the Platform. Where a change materially affects a lawyer with a claimed profile or a paid service, we will give reasonable notice where appropriate.

2. What the Platform Is

The Lawyer Guide is an independent online directory and information platform that helps people find, compare, review and contact lawyers and law practices in Singapore. We are not a law firm, do not provide legal advice, and do not represent or act for any user in a legal matter.

The Platform presents information that may assist users in making their own decisions. A profile, rating, review, search result or placement on the Platform is not a recommendation, endorsement or statement by us about the competence, quality or suitability of a lawyer or law practice. Users remain responsible for deciding whether to contact or engage a lawyer.

Verification that a lawyer appears in an official professional register confirms only the information available from that source. It is not an endorsement by the Company.

3. Lawyer Profiles and Sources of Information

We may create and maintain profiles for lawyers practising in Singapore using official professional records and other publicly available professional sources. These may include the Legal Services Regulatory Authority search maintained by the Ministry of Law, law practice websites, professional directories and other reliable public sources.

A profile may contain information such as a lawyer’s name, law practice, professional contact details, practising or registration status, areas of practice, languages, education, professional experience and other relevant professional information.

We take reasonable steps to keep profile information accurate and current, but our database is not an official register and may not always be complete or fully up to date. The official records maintained by the relevant Singapore authorities remain the authoritative source for practising or registration status.

We may decide which categories of lawyers or legal professionals are eligible to be listed, provided that any description of their status is accurate and does not imply qualifications or rights of practice they do not hold.

4. Claiming and Managing a Lawyer Profile

A lawyer whose profile has been created from public sources may be invited to claim and verify that profile. Claiming a profile creates an account and gives the lawyer access to the profile management functions made available by the Platform.

A lawyer who claims a profile confirms that they are entitled to act for that profile and that information they submit is accurate, current and not misleading. The lawyer is responsible for keeping account credentials secure and for activity carried out through the account.

A public profile and a lawyer account are separate. Closing, suspending or terminating an account does not necessarily require us to remove an otherwise lawful and accurate public profile.

5. Requests for Legal Help and Introductions

The Platform may allow a user to submit a request for legal help. We may make the request available to, or send it to, one or more lawyers or law practices that appear relevant to the request.

Submitting a request does not create a lawyer and client relationship with the Company or with any lawyer or law practice. A lawyer and client relationship arises only if and when the lawyer or law practice separately agrees to accept the engagement.

We do not guarantee that a lawyer will respond, accept a matter, be available, or be suitable for the user’s needs. We do not check or manage limitation periods, filing dates, hearing dates or other legal deadlines. Users with urgent matters or approaching deadlines should contact an appropriate lawyer or relevant authority directly.

Lawyers receiving a request remain solely responsible for professional obligations including conflicts checks, client acceptance, confidentiality, independence, fees and the scope of any engagement.

6. Reviews

Reviews are intended to reflect genuine experiences with lawyers or law practices. By submitting a review, the reviewer confirms that the review is based on a genuine personal experience and that statements presented as facts are accurate to the best of the reviewer’s knowledge.

A lawyer must not review themselves, review a colleague at their own law practice, arrange for another person to submit a review on their behalf, or offer an undisclosed payment or other incentive for a review.

Reviews must not contain content that is false, defamatory, threatening, unlawful, misleading or submitted for an improper purpose. Reviewers must not knowingly disclose legally privileged or confidential information, personal data about unrelated third parties, court protected information, or details that they are not entitled to make public.

We do not ordinarily display a reviewer’s name or contact details publicly. Reviewers should nevertheless avoid including information in the review text that identifies them or reveals unnecessary details of the underlying legal matter. We may edit a review to remove identifying or inappropriate content without changing its substantive meaning.

We may use reasonable measures to verify that a review relates to a genuine experience. Submission does not guarantee publication, and publication does not mean that we have independently verified every factual statement in the review.

7. Review Moderation and Disputes

We may review, edit, restrict, decline to publish, temporarily hide or remove content where we reasonably consider this necessary to enforce these Terms, comply with law, protect users or third parties, investigate a complaint, or maintain the integrity of the Platform.

A review is not removed merely because the lawyer disagrees with it or because it is critical. We may remove or modify a review where we reasonably conclude that it breaches these Terms, cannot be sufficiently substantiated when verification is reasonably required, or should not remain public for legal or safety reasons.

Where required by law, court order or a lawful request from a competent authority, we may preserve or disclose information relating to a review in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable law.

8. Content You Submit

You retain ownership of original content you submit to the Platform. By submitting content, you grant the Company a non exclusive, worldwide, royalty free licence to host, store, reproduce, display, format, adapt for technical or moderation purposes, and publish that content as reasonably necessary to operate, improve and promote the Platform.

You confirm that you have the rights needed to submit the content and grant this licence. The licence continues for as long as the content is used on the Platform, subject to applicable law and our moderation and retention practices.

Lawyers who upload profile text, photographs, logos or other material remain responsible for ensuring that they have permission to use that material and that it complies with professional conduct and publicity requirements applicable to them.

9. Publicity, Rankings and Paid Services

The Platform may offer lawyers or law practices paid products such as enhanced profiles, subscriptions, advertising, software features or other platform services. Any paid service may be subject to separate commercial terms presented before purchase.

Paid visibility or sponsored placement, where offered, will be identified in a manner intended to distinguish it from independent user reviews or ordinary search information. Payment does not constitute an endorsement by the Company and does not permit a lawyer to make inaccurate, misleading or unverifiable claims.

Our commercial arrangements are intended to comply with the professional conduct rules applicable to legal practitioners in Singapore. We do not take a share of a lawyer’s legal fees or charge a success fee based on the outcome of a legal matter. Any paid platform service is intended to be charged independently of whether a particular user is referred, whether the lawyer accepts a matter, or the amount of legal fees earned. We will not knowingly enter into an arrangement that requires a lawyer to pay a commission or other consideration for the referral of a particular client where such payment is prohibited by applicable professional rules.

Lawyers and law practices remain responsible for ensuring that their use of the Platform, profile content, advertising and any publicity relating to their practice comply with the Legal Profession Act 1966, the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) Rules 2015 and other professional requirements that apply to them.

10. Communications and Marketing

We may send service communications that are reasonably necessary to operate an account, manage a profile, respond to a request or communicate about use of the Platform.

We may also send marketing communications where permitted by applicable law. Where consent is required, we will request it separately. Marketing messages sent by electronic means will include an appropriate method to opt out where required by Singapore law.

Opting out of marketing does not remove a public lawyer profile, close an account, or prevent service communications that are reasonably necessary for the Platform.

11. Accuracy, Independence and No Legal Advice

We take reasonable care in operating the Platform but do not guarantee that profiles, reviews, ratings, search results or other content are complete, current or free from error. Some content comes from public sources, lawyers, reviewers or other third parties.

The Company does not supervise lawyers, control the legal advice they provide, set their professional fees, or participate in the lawyer and client relationship. Lawyers are independent professionals and are solely responsible for their advice, conduct, professional obligations and services.

Information on the Platform is general information only and should not be treated as legal advice. Users should obtain advice from an appropriately qualified lawyer for their specific circumstances.

12. Corrections, Additions and Removal Requests

If a lawyer believes that profile information is incorrect, wishes to be considered for addition to the Platform, or wishes to request removal of a profile, they may contact singapore@thelawyerguide.com. We aim to acknowledge requests within two business days.

We will consider correction and removal requests having regard to the accuracy of the information, its source, the lawyer’s current professional status, applicable law, data protection requirements and the purposes of the Platform. A request does not create an automatic right to removal.

Before adding or materially changing a professional profile, we may verify the information against official or other reliable sources.

13. Acceptable Use

You must not misuse the Platform or interfere with its normal operation. In particular, you must not:

• submit false information, impersonate another person or claim a profile without authority;
• scrape, harvest or systematically extract Platform content except where permitted by law or with our written permission;
• attempt to gain unauthorised access to accounts, systems or data;
• use the Platform to harass, threaten, defame or unlawfully target another person; or
• use automated means to manipulate reviews, ratings, search results or Platform functionality.

We may take reasonable technical or account measures to prevent or respond to misuse.

14. Intellectual Property

Except for content owned by users or third parties, the Platform and its content, including its design, software, databases, text, branding, name and logo, belong to the Company or are used under licence and are protected by the Copyright Act 2021 and other applicable law.

You may use the Platform for ordinary personal or professional purposes. You may not reproduce, republish, commercially exploit, systematically extract or create a competing database from Platform content without our written permission, except to the extent permitted by law.

15. Data Protection

We process personal data in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Act 2012 and our Privacy Policy. The Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect, the purposes for which we use it, when it may be disclosed, and how individuals may exercise applicable rights.

16. Suspension and Termination

We may suspend or restrict an account, profile management access, review, listing or other use of the Platform where we reasonably believe information is false or misleading, a lawyer is no longer entitled to practise or hold the status described, these Terms have been breached, the Platform is being misused, or restriction is reasonably necessary to comply with law or protect the Platform or others.

Where appropriate, we may give the affected user or lawyer an opportunity to provide information before or after action is taken. We may restore access or content if the issue is resolved.

A lawyer may stop using an account at any time. Ending account access does not by itself require removal of an otherwise lawful public profile or content that we are entitled or required to retain.

17. Limitation of Liability

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited under Singapore law.

Subject to the paragraph above, the Company is not responsible for legal advice or services provided by a lawyer, the conduct of any lawyer or user, the outcome of a legal matter, a lawyer’s decision whether to accept an engagement, or loss resulting from reliance on content submitted by users or obtained from third party public sources where we have taken reasonable care in operating the Platform.

To the extent permitted by law, the Company is not liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss, or for loss of profit, revenue, business, opportunity, goodwill or data arising from use of the Platform.

Nothing in these Terms affects any rights or remedies that a person has under mandatory Singapore law and that cannot be excluded by agreement.

18. Third Party Services and Links

The Platform may contain links to lawyer websites, government resources and other third party services. Those services are operated independently and are subject to their own terms and privacy practices. A link does not by itself amount to an endorsement by the Company.

19. General

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and any additional terms expressly applicable to a specific paid service or feature, form the agreement between you and us concerning use of the Platform.

If specific terms for a paid service conflict with these Terms, the specific terms prevail to the extent of the conflict for that service.

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in effect. A failure by us to enforce a provision is not a waiver of that provision or any other right.

You may not assign your rights under these Terms without our written consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a reorganisation, merger, sale or transfer of the Platform or relevant business, subject to applicable law.

Nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, agency, employment, fiduciary or lawyer and client relationship between the Company and a user, lawyer or law practice.

A person who is not a party to these Terms has no right under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 2001 to enforce any provision of these Terms.

20. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of Singapore. Subject to any mandatory rights that apply, the courts of Singapore have exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising from or relating to these Terms or the Platform.

21. Contact

For questions about these Terms, profile corrections, review disputes or the Platform in Singapore, contact singapore@thelawyerguide.com.

For data protection matters, contact privacy@thelawyerguide.com.

For matters relating to The Lawyer Guide generally, contact support@thelawyerguide.com.