Terms and Conditions for Specialists

AdvoAssist is a legal services platform available at www.advoassist.ae and through the AdvoAssist iOS and Android apps. It is owned and operated by ADVOASSIST PORTAL L.L.C, a company registered in the United Arab Emirates under licence number 1641338 issued by Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), Government of Dubai, with its registered address at Office 012-301, Building 301 – Control Tower, Al Hebiah First, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In these Specialist Terms, the company and the service it operates are both referred to as "the Platform".

These Terms and Conditions for Specialists (the "Specialist Terms") set out the relationship between the Platform and each lawyer, legal consultant, notary, translator or other legal professional who offers services through it. They apply together with the Specialist's individual agreement with the Platform (the "Specialist Agreement") and the Platform's Privacy Policy. If these Specialist Terms and the Specialist Agreement conflict, the Specialist Agreement prevails.

1. DEFINITIONS

1.1 In these Specialist Terms:

(a) "Specialist" or "you" means the independent, licensed professional (or the firm through which he or she practises) who has been admitted to the Platform.

(b) "Client" means an individual or company that uses the Platform to obtain legal services.

(d) "Order" means a Request that you have accepted and that the Client has paid for.

(e) "Case" means the file opened on the Platform for each Order.

(f) "Specialist Services" means the professional work you carry out for a Client through the Platform.

(g) "Communications and Documents" means all messages, calls, recordings, files and other content exchanged or stored through the Platform.

(h) "Platform Fee" means the Platform's own charge for the Platform Services on an Order. It is priced for each Order individually and is included in the total price paid by the Client, in addition to your fee. It is not deducted from your fee. Any subscription or other amount payable by you to the Platform is separate and is stated as such in your Specialist Agreement.

(i) "Quotation Request" means the option for a Client to publish a Request so that several invited Specialists can each propose a price.

(j) "Pay Minimum" means the option for a Client to pay a fixed starting amount so that a Specialist can assess a complex matter before the final price is agreed.

(k) "Arbitration" means the Platform's internal procedure for reviewing disputes about the result of a Service, a price reassessment or a request to replace a Specialist.

(l) "Guarantee period" means the 7 days (or any longer period agreed by Support) during which a Case stays open after the work is completed.

2. WHAT THE PLATFORM DOES FOR SPECIALISTS

2.1 The Platform brings you Clients whose Requests match your specialisation, hosts your professional profile, and gives you tools to manage Clients, Cases, documents, tasks and payments, so that you can concentrate on the legal work.

2.2 The Platform takes care of the booking, payment collection and logistics around each consultation or Case. You do not need to find Clients yourself, chase payment or spend money on advertising.

2.3 The Platform is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. The professional work on each Case is yours, carried out under your own licence and professional duties.

2.4 The functions available in your account depend on the type and level of your licence. Different licence tiers have different access rights, matched to what that licence allows you to do.

2.5 Functions released in stages. Some of the functions described in these Specialist Terms, including Quotation Request, Pay Minimum, automated matching, automated notifications and the AI Tools described in section 20, form part of the Platform's planned functionality and are released in stages. Until a function is released in automated form, the corresponding process is carried out manually by the Platform's managers and staff, and the description of that function is to be read accordingly.

2.6 Nothing in these Specialist Terms constitutes a representation, warranty or undertaking that a particular function is available in automated form at any given time, or that it will be released on any particular date. The manual performance of a process has the same legal effect as its automated performance. The unavailability, manual performance, modification or withdrawal of a function does not, of itself, give rise to any claim, and does not affect the validity of the remaining provisions.

3. INDEPENDENT STATUS

3.1 You are an independent professional, not an employee, partner or agent of the Platform. You decide how, when and where you work, and you are responsible for your own premises, staff, insurance, licences and taxes.

3.2 You may describe yourself as "available on AdvoAssist", but not as the Platform's partner, employee or representative. You may not bind the Platform to any obligation.

3.3 The engagement for Specialist Services is between you and the Client. The Platform is not a party to it, but it provides the Platform services, oversees the Case and runs Arbitration as described in these Specialist Terms.

4. JOINING THE PLATFORM

4.1 To join, you must complete the Specialist Agreement and present your licence and submit your profile details for review.

4.2 You must provide your qualifications, licence and registration details, specialisations, languages, experience, identity documents and, where applicable, insurance and firm details. The Platform may ask for further evidence at any time.

4.3 The Platform reviews every request before a profile is published and may accept or refuse it at its discretion. Being admitted once does not guarantee that you will remain listed.

4.4 The mark "Verified" next to your specialisation or education means that the Platform has reviewed the evidence you submitted. It is an administrative check and does not reduce your own responsibility for the accuracy of your credentials.

5. LICENSING AND COMPLIANCE

5.1 You warrant, on a continuing basis, that:

(a) you hold every licence, registration or appointment required for the services you offer, including under Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2022 regulating the advocacy and legal consultancy professions, or the applicable notarial or free-zone rules;

(b) each licence is valid and in good standing;

(d) all information and credentials you publish on the Platform are true and current.

5.2 You must tell the Platform within 5 business days of any suspension, condition, lapse, disciplinary proceeding or criminal charge that affects you.

5.3 You must comply with all laws, codes of conduct and professional advertising rules that apply to you.

6. YOUR PROFILE

6.1 Clients see you under a public nickname that you choose, together with your emirate, languages, specialisation, experience, education, short biography and rating. Your real name, e-mail and phone number are kept private.

6.2 The Platform will disclose your full name and licence details to a Client only where the law requires it, or where it is needed for a power of attorney, an engagement letter or a complaint to a regulator.

6.3 You grant the Platform a licence to display your nickname, credentials, specialisation, experience and ratings on the Platform and in its marketing, for as long as you are listed.

6.4 Profile indicators such as the number of completed cases, success figures or rankings come from Platform records and, in some cases, from assessments made by the Platform's administration, particularly while you are new to the Platform.

6.5 Profile content must be accurate, must not infringe anyone's rights and must comply with professional advertising rules. The Platform may edit or remove content that does not.

7. RECEIVING REQUESTS

7.1 The Platform matches Requests to Specialists by area of law, language and location. You may choose to receive Requests only within your specialisation, only online or offline, only in certain emirates, or only for certain categories of case.

7.2 You set your own working hours and rest time. You may also opt in to receive urgent Requests, including on weekends and public holidays.

7.3 Requests may come to you in three ways:

(a) Fixed price – you accept a Request for a standard Service at the price shown on the Platform;

(b) Quotation Request – you are invited to propose your own price, and the Client chooses. Your proposal remains open for [number] days unless you withdraw it before the Client accepts. This function is released in stages as described in clause 2.5; until it is available in automated form, a Platform manager may invite your proposal and present it to the Client manually, with the same effect; or

7.4 The Platform does not guarantee any number of Requests or any level of income.

8. CONFLICTS AND ACCEPTING AN ORDER

8.1 Run your own conflict check before accepting a Request. If a conflict exists, decline and tell the Platform, so that the Client can be matched with another Specialist.

8.2 You may also decline a Request for another objective or professional reason. Do not accept urgent matters that you cannot handle in time.

8.3 Accepting a Request creates an engagement with the Client for the scope shown at checkout. Work begins only after the Client has paid and the Case channel has opened.

8.4 If you consider that the Platform's access to Communications and Documents would conflict with your professional duties in a particular matter, you must tell the Client and the Platform before accepting it.

9. SERVICE STANDARDS

9.1 You must work with the skill and care of a competent professional in your field. In particular, you must:

(a) respond to accepted Orders within 30 minutes for Emergency Orders, including weekends and public holidays, and within one (1) Business Day for all other Orders, excluding weekends and public holidays;

(b) attend consultations and hearings punctually;

(d) explain clearly the scope and limits of your advice; and

(e) keep the Case status on the Platform up to date.

9.2 You must keep your cancellation rate, response time and rating within the thresholds the Platform publishes. Persistent failure may reduce your visibility or lead to removal.

9.3 The Platform monitors response times, case outcomes and Client ratings, and may give you feedback and recommendations for improvement.

9.4 For Emergency Services you have accepted, you must attend as quickly as reasonably possible and keep the Client and the Platform informed of your arrival time.

10. RUNNING A CASE

10.1 The Platform may, at your request, keep the Client informed of the progress of the Case, so that you can focus on the legal work. You remain responsible for giving the Platform accurate updates.

10.2 The Platform may support you during a consultation, including by helping to find and send the Client relevant legislation.

10.3 If a matter turns out to need more than the scope paid for (for example because of new facts, government fees or extra hearings), you must explain the reason to the Client in the Case channel. The Platform will then issue a separate invoice. You may carry out additional work only after the Client has accepted and paid that invoice.

10.4 A Client may decline a price reassessment and may challenge it through Arbitration.

10.5 When you report that the work is complete, the Platform may review the result before the Case is closed. You must answer the Client's questions and correct anything missing during the guarantee period, at no extra charge.

10.6 If you cannot continue a Case for any reason, tell the Platform straight away. With the Platform's agreement, you may work jointly with another Specialist or hand the Case over to a colleague on the Platform.

10.7 You may engage a qualified paralegal through the Platform to help with specific tasks. You remain responsible for that person's work and confidentiality.

11. COMMUNICATIONS AND DOCUMENTS

11.1 All communication with Clients about a matter must take place through the Platform. You must not move a matter off the Platform or exchange phone numbers, e-mail addresses or other contact details for that purpose. This does not apply where in-person attendance, a court appearance, notarisation or signing is needed, or where the law requires otherwise.

11.2 You can see only the documents a Client has shared with you within an active or completed Case. You never have access to a Client's full archive or to documents shared with another Specialist on another matter.

11.3 For Quotation Request, you and the other invited Specialists have temporary access to the attached documents while the auction is open. If you are not selected, your access ends when the auction closes, and you must not keep, copy or use those documents.

11.4 All Communications and Documents pass through and are stored on systems operated by or for the Platform. The Platform is not end-to-end encrypted. The Platform may access, review, retain and, where required, disclose Communications and Documents for operating the service, security, preventing fraud and off-platform dealing, Support, quality control, Arbitration and legal compliance, as described in the Privacy Policy.

11.5 You consent to this access and confirm that it is compatible with your duties of professional secrecy. You will tell each Client that the Platform can access the channel, and you will not describe it as private or privileged. Do not use the Platform for any matter where its access would breach a professional duty, court order or undertaking.

11.6 Voice and video consultations may be recorded through the Platform after all participants have been told. You must not record a consultation by any other means without the consent of all participants.

12. CONFIDENTIALITY AND DATA PROTECTION

12.1 Keep Client information confidential and use it only for the matter concerned. This obligation continues after you leave the Platform.

12.2 You act as an independent controller under Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 on the Protection of Personal Data for the data you process in providing Specialist Services. The Platform is a controller for the operation of the Platform.

12.3 Secure any copies you export, and keep or delete them in line with your professional record-keeping rules.

12.4 Tell the Platform within 24 hours of any data breach affecting Client data obtained through the Platform.

12.5 Do not use Client contact details for marketing or for any purpose other than the Case.

13. FEES AND PAYOUTS

13.1 The Client pays the Platform in advance for every Order. The amount the Client pays consists of your fee for the Specialist Services and the Platform Fee for the Platform Services, each priced for that Order individually. You authorise the Platform to collect your fee on your behalf, and the Client's payment to the Platform settles the Client's debt to you.

13.2 No commission is deducted from your fee. The Platform is paid for its own services through the Platform Fee, which is charged to the Client in addition to your fee. Your fee for each Order, any subscription or other amount payable by you, and your payment terms are agreed with you individually in your Specialist Agreement.

13.3 Once the work is delivered and the guarantee period has ended, or any Arbitration has been decided, the Platform pays your fee in full to the bank account you have nominated within [number] business days, subject only to the deductions permitted by clause 13.5.

13.4 Amounts awaiting payout are held under a commercial collection arrangement, not in trust, and do not earn interest.

13.5 The Platform may set off against your payouts any refund, credit or chargeback given to a Client because of your work, and any other sums you owe the Platform.

13.6 You are solely responsible for your own VAT registration, tax invoices and corporate tax. Keep your payout, tax and licensing details accurate and up to date.

13.7 Where you pay a subscription, it renews automatically until cancelled. You may cancel at any time, with effect from the end of the current billing period. Fees for a period already started are not refunded unless your Specialist Agreement says otherwise. Subscriptions bought through the Apple App Store or Google Play must be cancelled through the store account.

14. NON-CIRCUMVENTION

14.1 For as long as you use the Platform, and for 12 months after you leave, you must not take an engagement first introduced through the Platform off the Platform, or ask for or accept payment directly from a Client introduced through it.

14.2 If you breach this section, the Platform may suspend or remove you and claim the Platform Fees it would have earned on the diverted work, together with any other loss it can lawfully recover.

15. CANCELLATIONS, COMPLAINTS AND ARBITRATION

15.1 If you cancel a consultation, fail to attend, or do not deliver, the Client may receive a refund, a credit or a new Specialist under the Cancellation and Refund Policy. The Platform may recover the refunded amount from your payouts.

15.2 If a Client raises a complaint, try first to resolve it with the Client in the Case channel.

15.3 If the Client opens Arbitration, work on the Case may be paused. You must answer the Platform's questions and provide the information and documents it asks for within 3 business days.

15.4 Arbitration is carried out by Platform staff who are not involved in the Case. Depending on the facts, the outcome may be that you complete or correct the work at no extra charge, that the Case is moved to another Specialist, that the Client receives a full or partial refund or credit, or that you are suspended or removed from the Platform. You will be given written reasons.

15.5 A Specialist can only be replaced on a Case through Arbitration.

15.6 Arbitration reviews how the Service was delivered. Whether a legal opinion was professionally correct remains a matter for your regulator or the courts, and nothing in these Specialist Terms limits a Client's right to complain to your regulator.

16. REVIEWS AND RATINGS

16.1 Clients may rate and review your work after each Service. The Platform moderates reviews and may remove those that are false or reveal confidential information, but it does not remove reviews only because they are negative.

16.2 You may reply to reviews without revealing confidential information. You must not solicit, buy, write or manipulate reviews.

17. ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMES

17.1 The Platform may offer optional programmes to Specialists, including free courses, webinars and seminars on running a legal practice, events and conferences, the use of the Platform's office for client meetings, recruitment help for your firm, promotion of your profile under your nickname (for example articles, videos and speaking at events), pro bono projects, rewards for promoting the Platform, and an annual "Lawyer of the Year" award.

17.2 These programmes are voluntary. Each may be subject to its own rules, which the Platform will publish or send to you, and the Platform may change or end them at any time.

17.3 Promotion is carried out under your Platform nickname. The Platform will not publish your real name or the name of your firm without your written consent.

18. CONDUCT

18.1 You must treat Clients, other Specialists and Platform staff with courtesy.

18.2 You must not use the Platform to assist any offence, launder money, evade sanctions, or falsify documents or evidence, and you must not upload unlawful, defamatory, discriminatory or infringing content.

18.3 You must not impersonate any person, misrepresent your qualifications, get around the Platform's security measures, or copy, sell or reverse engineer the Platform.

18.4 Comply with all anti-bribery, anti-money-laundering, counter-terrorist-financing and sanctions laws, including any obligations that apply to you as a designated non-financial business or profession in the UAE. You confirm that you are not a sanctioned person and will not serve one through the Platform.

19. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

19.1 You keep ownership of the advice and documents you create. You grant the Client the right to use them for the matter for which they were prepared.

19.2 The Platform, its software, databases, design, templates and the AdvoAssist name and logo belong to the Platform or its licensors. You may use them only to provide Specialist Services through the Platform.

19.3 The Platform may use any feedback or suggestions you give about the Platform freely and without payment.

20. AI AND AUTOMATED TOOLS

20.1 The Platform uses automated tools and artificial intelligence ("AI Tools") to support the Platform Services. Depending on the stage of release described in clause 2.5, AI Tools may be used to:

(a) route and match Requests to Specialists;

(b) read, summarise, translate and classify Client documents and Requests, and identify the area of law involved;

(d) suggest next steps, document templates and draft text for you to review;

(e) produce indicative estimates of cost, duration or the likelihood of a particular outcome; and

(f) scan content for malware, spam, fraud, abuse and the exchange of contact details.

20.2 AI Tools are an aid, not advice. Any output of AI Tools, including summaries, risk indicators, draft text and probability estimates, is generated automatically from limited information. It is not legal advice, it may be incomplete or incorrect, and it does not replace your own professional judgment.

20.3 Your professional responsibility. You remain fully responsible for the accuracy, confidentiality, legality and professional adequacy of the work you deliver. You must verify every AI-generated summary, analysis, citation or draft before relying on it or sending it to a Client, and you must not present AI output to a Client as your professional advice without such verification.

20.4 Use of your own AI tools. If you use artificial intelligence or other automated tools of your own in providing Specialist Services, you remain responsible for the result and must comply with your professional rules, your duty of confidentiality and applicable data protection law. You must not upload Client documents to any tool that does not provide an adequate level of confidentiality and security.

20.5 Content held for review. Content flagged by an automated scan may be held back until a member of the Platform's staff has reviewed it.

20.6 No solely automated decisions. No decision to suspend or remove you, to decide an Arbitration or to withhold a payout is taken by AI Tools alone. A member of the Platform's staff is always involved, and you may ask for a human review of any automated decision that affects you.

20.7 Manual performance during development. While the Platform is under development, the analysis, matching and case-management steps described in this section may be performed manually by the Platform's staff instead of by AI Tools. The obligations in this section apply in the same way to the results of manual analysis.

21. LIABILITY

21.1 You are liable to the Client for your Specialist Services, including negligence, delay, breach of confidence and misconduct.

21.2 You will compensate the Platform for losses, claims, fines and reasonable legal costs arising from your services, your breach of these Specialist Terms or of any licensing, data protection, tax or anti-money-laundering obligation, and any content you upload. This clause continues after you leave the Platform.

21.3 The Platform is not liable to you for loss of profit, clients, income or reputation arising from suspension, removal, downtime or changes to the Platform, or for any indirect or consequential loss.

21.4 To the extent the law allows, the Platform's total liability to you in any 12-month period is limited to the total of the subscription and other amounts you paid to the Platform in that period or, where you paid none, to [AED amount].

21.5 Nothing in these Specialist Terms limits liability for fraud, wilful misconduct or gross negligence, or any liability that cannot be limited under UAE law.

22. AVAILABILITY OF THE PLATFORM

22.1 The Platform aims to be available at all times but cannot guarantee uninterrupted access. Maintenance and failures of third-party services (such as the payment service provider, hosting providers, Apple or Google) may cause downtime.

22.2 The Platform may change or improve its features. Material changes that affect how you receive Requests or get paid will be notified to you in advance.

23. SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION

23.1 The Platform may suspend, de-list or terminate you immediately if:

(a) a warranty in section 5 stops being true, or a licence lapses or is restricted;

(b) a credible complaint of misconduct is received;

(d) you persistently miss the service standards; or

(e) your presence creates legal, regulatory or reputational risk.

23.2 Where lawful and practicable, you will be told the reason and given a chance to respond.

23.3 Either party may end the relationship for any reason on 30 days' written notice.

23.4 On termination you must complete paid Orders or cooperate in re-matching the Client and any refund. Accrued payouts are paid net of set-offs. The confidentiality, data protection, non-circumvention and indemnity obligations continue after termination.

24. FORCE MAJEURE

24.1 Neither party is liable for failure or delay caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including war, civil unrest, epidemic, natural disaster, power, telecoms or internet failure, cyber-attack or government action. The affected party must notify the other within 5 days, and obligations are suspended while the event continues.

25. CHANGES TO THESE SPECIALIST TERMS

25.1 The Platform may update these Specialist Terms. The new version will be published on the Platform and notified to you by e-mail or in your account at least 30 days before it takes effect, unless the law requires a change sooner.

25.2 Material changes to your commercial terms require 30 days' notice, during which you may terminate without penalty.

26. GOVERNING LAW AND DISPUTES

26.1 These Specialist Terms are governed by the federal laws of the United Arab Emirates and the laws of the Emirate of Dubai.

26.2 The parties will first try to settle any dispute amicably within 14 days. If that fails, the courts of Dubai have exclusive jurisdiction.

27. GENERAL

27.1 Nothing in these Specialist Terms creates a partnership, agency or employment relationship between you and the Platform.

27.2 If any part of these Specialist Terms is found invalid, it is removed and the rest remains in force.

27.3 You may not transfer your rights or obligations without the Platform's written consent. The Platform may transfer them to a company that takes over the Platform.

27.4 Notices to the Platform must be sent to support@advoassist.com. Notices to you are sent to your registered e-mail address or by in-app message.

28. ACCEPTANCE AND ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE

28.1 Before you use your account for the first time, the Platform displays the current version of these Specialist Terms and the Privacy Policy and asks you to confirm that you accept them.

28.2 You give that confirmation by typing your first name and family name in the field provided and confirming. You agree that typing your name in this way constitutes your electronic signature, that it has the same legal effect as a handwritten signature, and that it binds you to the versions displayed to you at that moment.

28.3 The Platform records and retains, for each acceptance, the version and date of each document accepted, the name you entered, the date and time of acceptance, the account concerned and technical data such as the IP address, and you may request a copy of those records.

28.4 Acceptance and signature in this manner, and the electronic signature of your Specialist Agreement, are made in accordance with Federal Decree-Law No. 46 of 2021 on Electronic Transactions and Trust Services.

28.5 Where a new version of these Specialist Terms takes effect under section 25, you may be asked to accept it again in the same way, and access to your account may be limited to the acceptance screen until you do so.

29. CONTACT

ADVOASSIST PORTAL L.L.C

Address: Office 012-301, Building 301 – Control Tower, Al Hebiah First, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

E-mail: support@advoassist.com

Phone: +971 56 996 2815

Website: www.advoassist.ae