Terms of Use

Russo Lawyers & Associates | ABN 98 858 479 737 | Level 19, 263 William Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

Thank you for visiting our website.

1. Acceptance

This website at russolaw.com.au (Website) is operated by Russo Lawyers & Associates ABN 98 858 479 737 (we, us or our).

By using the Website, you agree to be bound by these terms of use (Terms of Use). If you do not accept these Terms of Use, you must not use the Website.

These Terms of Use should be read together with our Privacy Policy (Privacy Policy), which forms part of these Terms of Use.

2. Changes to these Terms of Use

We may amend these Terms of Use from time to time. Amendments will be effective when posted to the Website. Your continued use of the Website after an amendment is posted represents your agreement to be bound by the Terms of Use as amended. We encourage you to review these Terms of Use periodically.

3. Information is general only, not legal advice

3.1 General information only. The Website contains general information and material that may be of interest. Information and material on the Website is general in nature and is not, and is not intended to be, legal, financial or other professional advice.

3.2 No reliance. You should not rely on any information or material on the Website without first obtaining your own specific advice. Every legal matter is different, and the law changes over time. We do not accept responsibility for any loss suffered as a result of reliance by you on the accuracy or currency of any information or material on the Website.

3.3 Currency. We use reasonable efforts to keep the Website up to date, but the Website may not always reflect the most recent developments in the law or in the areas it covers.

4. No solicitor-client relationship

4.1 No engagement. Use of the Website does not create a solicitor-client relationship between you and us. A solicitor-client relationship is established only when we have agreed in writing to act for you on a specific matter and you have entered into a costs agreement or other engagement document with us.

4.2 Enquiries are not engagements. Sending an enquiry through the Website (including through any contact form, online chat or email link) does not constitute instructions to us, does not create a solicitor-client relationship, and does not by itself give rise to an obligation on us to act for you. We will tell you in writing whether we are willing and able to act, and on what terms.

4.3 Confidential information. Communications you send through the Website are not protected by legal professional privilege until a solicitor-client relationship has been formally established. Please do not send us sensitive or confidential information through the Website until we have confirmed in writing that we are willing and able to act for you and that we have no conflict.

4.4 Jurisdictions. Information on the Website is intended primarily for residents of the jurisdiction set out in clause 15 or other jurisdictions in which we are admitted to practice. The fact that the Website is accessible from another jurisdiction does not mean that we are admitted to practice, or are willing to advise on the law of, that other jurisdiction.

5. Use of the Website

5.1 Permitted use. We grant you permission to use the Website for personal, non-commercial use, provided that you comply with these Terms of Use and all applicable laws.

5.2 Eligibility. To use the Website, you must be at least 18 years of age, or have the consent of a parent or legal guardian. The Website is not intended for children under the age of 16.

5.3 Prohibited activities. You must not, and must not attempt to:

• (a) use the Website in a way that breaches any law or these Terms of Use;
• (b) upload, transmit or distribute any material that is unlawful, defamatory, obscene, threatening, harassing, or that infringes the rights of any third party;
• (c) introduce viruses, trojan horses, worms, logic bombs or other malicious or technologically harmful material;
• (d) use any robot, spider, scraper or other automated means to access the Website or to copy or extract content from the Website (including for the purpose of training or fine-tuning artificial intelligence or machine learning models) without our prior written consent;
• (e) attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Website, the server on which it is stored, or any connected server, computer or database; or
• (f) decompile, reverse engineer or otherwise interfere with the proper working of the Website.

6. Intellectual property

6.1 Ownership. All intellectual property rights in the Website (including its design, text, graphics, logos, icons, sound recordings, video and software) belong to or are licensed to us. The intellectual property rights in the Website are protected by Australian and international laws.

6.2 Permitted use. You may share the information on the Website for the purpose of private use, research or review as permitted under copyright legislation. Where you do, you must retain all copyright and other proprietary notices.

6.3 Restrictions. Except as expressly permitted by these Terms of Use or by law, you must not copy, adapt, reproduce (other than for the purpose of viewing the Website in your browser), store, modify, distribute, print, upload, display, perform, publish, post, frame within another website, or create derivative works from any part of the Website, or commercialise any information obtained from the Website, without our prior written consent (or, in the case of third-party material, the consent of the relevant rights holder).

7. Linked websites

The Website may contain links to or embed content from websites operated by third parties. The links are provided for convenience only and may not remain current or be maintained. We are not responsible for the content, security or privacy practices of any linked or embedded third-party website. We encourage you to read the terms and privacy policy of any third-party website you visit.

8. Security

8.1 Internet is not secure. The internet is not a secure medium and communications to and from the Website may be intercepted or altered. Any information you transmit to the Website is transmitted at your own risk.

8.2 Your safeguards. You must take your own precautions to ensure that the means by which you access the Website does not expose you to the risk of viruses, malicious code or other forms of interference that may damage your own computer system or device. We do not warrant that the Website is free from any such risk.

8.3 Notify us. If you become aware of any problem with the security of the Website, please contact us promptly.

9. Privacy

Our handling of personal information is governed by our Privacy Policy. We handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles. By using the Website, you acknowledge that you have read and understood our Privacy Policy.

10. Australian Consumer Law

Nothing in these Terms of Use excludes, restricts or modifies any consumer guarantee, right or remedy that you may have under the Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)) or any other applicable law that cannot be lawfully excluded, restricted or modified by agreement (Non-excludable Rights).

To the extent that we are entitled under the Australian Consumer Law to limit our liability for breach of a consumer guarantee in respect of services that are not of a kind ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic or household use or consumption, our liability for such a breach is limited, at our option, to: (a) supplying the services again; or (b) payment of the cost of having the services supplied again.

11. Warranty disclaimer

Subject to your Non-excludable Rights, to the fullest extent permitted by law, we make no warranty or representation about the accuracy, currency, completeness or fitness for purpose of any information or material on the Website, or the content of any linked website. The Website is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis.

12. Limitation of liability

12.1 Subject to ACL. Subject to your Non-excludable Rights, to the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any loss or damage (including indirect, special or consequential loss, loss of profit, revenue, data, business, goodwill or anticipated savings) arising in connection with these Terms of Use or your use of the Website.

12.2 Resupply remedy. Where a warranty is implied by law into these Terms of Use and cannot be lawfully excluded, our liability for breach of that warranty is limited, to the fullest extent permitted by law, to the resupply of the relevant information, material or services or to payment of the cost of having that information, material or service resupplied.

13. Indemnity

To the fullest extent permitted by law, you indemnify us against all damages, losses, fines, expenses and costs (including reasonable legal costs on a solicitor-client basis) suffered or incurred by us arising out of or in connection with:

• your use of the Website in breach of these Terms of Use;
• any information you provide to us through the Website that is inaccurate, misleading or unlawful;
• any damage you cause to the Website; or
• any third-party claim arising from your conduct, including claims relating to copyright infringement, defamation, invasion of privacy, trade mark infringement and other breaches of law.

Your liability under this indemnity is reduced to the extent that our acts or omissions caused or contributed to the loss.

14. Suspension and withdrawal of access

We may suspend, restrict or withdraw access to the Website (or any part of the Website) at any time, with or without notice. We are not liable for any loss arising from any such suspension, restriction or withdrawal. These Terms of Use will survive any withdrawal of access in respect of any matter that arose before the withdrawal.

15. Governing law and jurisdiction

These Terms of Use are governed by the laws of Victoria, Australia. Each party submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Victoria, Australia and any courts competent to hear appeals from those courts.

16. General

16.1 Severability. If any provision of these Terms of Use is held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the invalidity does not affect the validity of the remaining provisions, which remain in full force and effect.

16.2 Waiver. No waiver of any term of these Terms of Use is effective unless given in writing, and no waiver is to be deemed a further or continuing waiver of that term or any other term.

16.3 Assignment. You may not assign or novate these Terms of Use or any of your rights under them. We may assign or novate these Terms of Use without your consent.

16.4 Entire agreement. These Terms of Use, together with the Privacy Policy and any other legal notices we publish on the Website, constitute the entire agreement between you and us in relation to the Website.

17. Contact us

If you have questions about these Terms of Use, please contact us via the contact details set out on the Website.

Contact: Samuel Russo | samuel@russolaw.com.au | (03) 7040 9825