Terms of Use

This website of Fort Law Firm, LLC (the Company) provides information about the Company, offered services, blog content, and ways to contact the Company.  Your access to and use of this Site, as well as all related Sites operated by the Company (collectively, the Site) is subject to the following Terms of Use (“Terms of Use”) and all applicable laws. By accessing, using and/or browsing the Site, you accept, without limitation or qualification, the Terms of Use and acknowledge that any other agreements between you and the Company are superseded and of no force or effect. We reserve the right to change these Terms of Use from time to time without notice to you. All changes are effective immediately when we post them, and it is your responsibility to review these Terms of Use periodically, so that you are aware of any changes. ​

International Users

The Site is owned and operated in the United States. We welcome users from countries outside of the United States to access the Site and services. If you reside outside of the US, you are responsible for compliance with local and federal laws (including compliance with Global Data Protection Regulation or “GDPR” if you reside in the European Union or “EU”).  We reserve the right to deny access to the Site for IP addresses from any prohibited countries for any purpose or reason.

​Rules of Use

In consideration for access to the Site, you agree to the following rules:

  1. You must be at least eighteen (18) years of age or older. 

  2. You must not use the Site for any illegal activities, including, without limitation, altering the Site without prior authorization, uploading any viruses, malware, spyware, etc. to the Site, or any kind of activity that may cause interference with other users or otherwise affect the information or content published by others within the Site.

  3. You must not abuse the electronic communication options (e.g., live chat, commenting, notification or email) on the Site, as these features are only for communication for the purpose of the Company’s business. This includes sending or uploading any unauthorized files (e.g., malware, spyware, pirated files, pornography, images and videos that depict a graphic nature, etc.). You agree to remain professional and respectful at all times and shall not engage in any personal conversations or any dialogue not related to the information or Services provided through the Site.

  4. When engaging with other users on the Site or via social media, you agree to adhere to the rules regarding cyberbullying. Any attacks based on a person’s race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or the like will not be tolerated. Violation of this rule may result in being prohibited from accessing the Site and any of Company’s other websites or social media pages.

  5. Any doxxing of users or staff of the Site is a violation of our privacy rules. Knowingly violating this will result in being banned from the Site and any of Company’s other Sites or social media pages.

  6. If comments are allowed on blog posts, please note that all comments will be reviewed prior to approval and posting. All comments that include inappropriate language, cyberbullying, threats of violence, sexually suggestive comments, or the like will be automatically rejected. The pre-approval screening is in place to accomplish this and to prevent any kind of spam comments.

  7. While engaging with us or other users on our social media channels, all of these rules shall apply. Failure to follow these rules will result in being banned from commenting or sharing on our social media pages. 

​Blog Comments and Communications

Communication with us by way of email, phone, or live chat is confidential and will not be displayed publicly. However, any communication by way of our blog (including blog comments) or social media channels is not confidential and will be displayed to the public. We reserve the right to review comments before publishing on the Site and to decline to publish any comments for any reason. We also reserve the right to delete any content that you may have posted (including blog comments, pictures, videos, social media comments, etc.) whether they violate these Terms of Use or not. We own any or all communication that we have with you as allowed by your country. We will not pay royalties for any blog comments or engagement on social media. Please refer to our Privacy Policy (linked above) for any information regarding where we store any communication made by you on the Site. ​

As owners of the Site, we are not responsible for the following:

  1. Any costs pertaining to your data when you access the Site on your phone or mobile device.

  2. External links that appear on the Site that are linked to other companies or websites.

  3. Anything that may happen on the Site in response to you sharing any pictures, videos or other information on the Site. 

  4. Any of your content that is stolen or plagiarized on the Site by someone else. 

  5. Any errors or omissions in the Content of the Site.

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Use of the Site is completely at your own risk. As owners of the Site, we do have the right to take down the Site at any time or prevent you from using the Site in the future without informing you beforehand.

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Intellectual Property

You agree that the Site itself, as well as all content, code, design, software, displays, artwork, photos, documents, text, downloads, videos, training materials, products, HTML/CCS, Javascript, graphics, voice and sound recordings, services and/or other materials, made available on the Site by us or other third parties, as well as the look and feel of all of the foregoing, (collectively referred to as the “Content”) are maintained for your personal use and information by the Company and are the property of the Company and/or its third- party providers and are protected under United States and international copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property and unfair competition laws.

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Subject to your compliance with these Terms of Use, the Company hereby grants you a limited license, which is non-exclusive, non-transferable, and non-sublicensable, to access, view, and use the Site solely for your personal purposes. No Company Content may be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, transmitted, distributed, used for public or commercial purposes, or downloaded in any way unless written permission is expressly granted by the Company, as well as other authors who created the materials, and may be subject to monetary damages and penalties. You may not distribute, modify, transmit or use the content of the Site or any Content, including any and all software, tools, articles, blog posts, graphics and/or sound files, for public or commercial purposes without the express written permission of the Company. In using the Site, you agree to abide by all copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws, and you shall be solely responsible for any violations thereof. 

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All Content are copyrighted unless otherwise noted and are the property of the Company and/or a supplier to the Company. No such materials may be used except as provided in these Terms of Use. Nothing contained in these Terms of Use or in the Site shall be construed as granting, by implication or otherwise, any license or right to use any Trademark or other proprietary information without the express written consent of the Company or third-party owner.  

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No Express or Implied Warranties

Neither the Company nor any other party involved in creating, producing, or maintaining the Site and/or any content on the Site shall be liable under any circumstances for any direct, incidental, consequential, indirect, or punitive damages arising out of your access to or us of the Site. Without limiting the foregoing, all Content on the Site is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. The Company does not warrant or make any representations regarding the use of the materials in the site, the results of the use of such materials, the sustainability of such materials for any user’s needs or the likelihood that their use will meet any user’s expectations, or their correctness, accuracy, reliability or correction. The Company likewise does not warrant or make any representations or guarantees that you will earn any money or derive benefit from using the Site or the Company’s technology or services. You accept all responsibility for evaluating your own earning potential as well as executing your own business and services.

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TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE COMPANY HEREBY DISCLAIMS, WITHOUT LIMIT, FOR THE SITE AND THE SERVICES, ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

THE SITE, ITS CONTENT, THE SERVICES, AND ANY OTHER SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE SITE ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. THE COMPANY AND ITS AFFILIATES MAKES NO WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION WITH RESPECT TO THE FOLLOWING:

  1. THE COMPLETENESS, SECURITY, RELIABILITY, QUALITY, ACCURACY, OR AVAILABILITY OF THE SITE;

  1. THAT THE SITE IS ACCURATE, RELIABLE, ERROR-FREE, OR UNINTERRUPTED;

  2. THAT DEFECTS ON THE SITE WILL BE CORRECTED;

  3. THAT THE SITE OR THE SERVER THAT MAKES IT AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS; 

  4. THAT THE SITE, THE SERVICES, OR ANY OTHER SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE SITE WILL HELP YOU ACHIEVE CERTAIN RESULTS; OR

  5. THAT THE SITE, THE SERVICES, OR ANY OTHER SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE SITE WILL OTHERWISE MEET YOUR NEEDS OR EXPECTATIONS. 

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Other Service Providers

The Company shall not be responsible for any performance or service problems caused by any third-party website or third-party service provider, including, for example, your web, payment and/or software service providers. Any such problem shall be governed solely by the agreement between you and that provider. The Company reserves the right to determine, in its sole discretion, whether the Company is responsible for such malfunction or disruption.

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Account, Service or Subscription Termination

The Company also reserves the right to limit your use of the Site and/or the Content or to terminate your account should the Company determine that you have violated these Terms of Use, or that you have violated any other rules or conditions of the Site. The Company reserves the right to refuse access to the Site and/or the Content, products and/or services to anyone in its sole discretion

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Advertisements and Affiliates

This website may contain advertisements in the form of banner advertising, sponsored posts or affiliate links (unique trackable links) to third-party sites.  If you make a purchase through an advertisement or affiliate link from our Site, the Company may receive an affiliate commission or compensation with no additional cost to you. We are not liable for any benefits or consequences you receive from clicking on an advertisement or affiliate link to an external site. You agree and understand that it is your personal responsibility to perform due diligence when you click on a link to an external site, as you do so completely at your own risk. 

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Testimonials

The testimonials provided on the Site are to the best of our knowledge, all true and accurate and provided willingly, without any compensation offered in return. You agree and understand that these testimonials are provided for informational purposes only and in no way serve as a guarantee of similar results and success if you use the same product or service offered on the Site. Each individual’s performance is unique, and results will vary accordingly.

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Limitation of Liability

Company shall not be liable for any claims, demands, actions, suits, obligations, losses, damages, liabilities, expenses or costs, arising out of or relating to the Site, the Services, or your use of either.

In no event shall Company or its officers, employees, managers, directors, partners, members, agents, contractors, shareholders, affiliates, licensors, successors, or assigns have any liability to you for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, multiple, exemplary, punitive, or consequential damages, or for lost profits, loss of use, business interruption, costs of procurement of substitute goods or services, either in contract, tort or under any other theory of liability, whether or not the possibility of such damage has been advised to you.

In no event shall Company’s maximum liability hereunder exceed the fees paid by you for the Services, whether in contract, tort or under any other theory of liability. 

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No personal liability shall accrue hereunder against any individual, member, partner, officer, director, representative, employee, trustee, fiduciary, or principal (disclosed or undisclosed) of Company.

Furthermore, we are not responsible for any of the actions or conduct of our users. This also includes what a user says online in a public forum (e.g., comments on a blog post or on social media). We are also not responsible for any actions or words stated both on or off the Site. We also claim no responsibility should a user decide to upload any inappropriate material or viruses, malware, or spyware. 

Indemnification

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You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Company and its officers, employees, managers, directors, partners, members, agents, contractors, shareholders, affiliates, licensors, successors, and assigns from and against any and all costs, claims, losses, damages, liabilities, expenses, fees, demands, and judgments, including court costs and attorney’s fees, which may arise out of your violation of these Terms of Use, your use of the Site, Content or Services.

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Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms of Use and your use of the Site and the Services, and any disputes or claims arising therefrom or related thereto, are governed by Illinois law. Subject to the Dispute Resolution provision below, you expressly agree to be subject to the jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Cook County, Illinois without giving effect to any choice or conflict of law provision or rule (whether of the State of Illinois or any other jurisdiction).

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Dispute Resolution

You understand and agree that prior to taking any legal action, you agree to first attempt to resolve any issues with the Site or the Services by contacting us via the contact information listed below. To the extent that issues or disputes remain unresolved, you agree to attempt to resolve such disputes through non-binding mediation subject to the Rules of Mediation of the American Arbitration Association.

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TO THE EXTENT THAT DISPUTES REMAIN UNRESOLVED FOLLOWING THE ABOVE PROCEDURES, ANY UNRESOLVED DISPUTE OR CLAIMS MAY, AT THE DISCRETION OF THE COMPANY, FIRST BE SUBMITTED TO CONFIDENTIAL AND BINDING ARBITRATION UNDER THE RULES OF ARBITRATION OF THE AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION IN THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, EXCEPT IN CASES INVOLVING DISPUTES OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, INTERFERENCES OF SERVICES, OR UNAUTHORIZED HANDLING OF A SERVICE.

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Entire Agreement

These Terms of Use, together with our Privacy Policy, Disclaimer, and any notices contained or referenced herein or therein (collectively, the “Company Policies”), contain the entire agreement between you and Company with regard to the Site, Content and the Services. The Company Policies supersede any prior written or oral agreements between you and Company. 

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Severability 

If any provision of these Terms of Use shall be held to be invalid or unenforceable for any reason, the remaining provisions shall continue to be valid and enforceable. If a court finds that any provision of these Terms of Use is invalid or unenforceable, but that by limiting such provision it would become valid and enforceable, then such provision shall be deemed to be written, construed, and enforced as so limited. 

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Changes and Updates

We reserve the right to make changes and update these Terms of Use as needed. We will notify you of any material changes via email or by posting a notice on the Site. We advise you to review our policies from time to time as your continued use of the Site and/or Services will constitute acknowledgement and acceptance of these policies. 

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Contact Information

While we provide you with these Terms of Use, we will do our best to ensure that you better understand them so you can use our website legally and lawfully. We welcome your questions, comments or concerns regarding these Terms of Use. To convey any of the foregoing to us, you can contact us at jfort@jfortlaw.com