Website Terms of Use

1. General Information; Not Legal Advice

The Site provides general information about Climate Justice Counsel, our work, research, publications, legal developments, and related subjects.

Information on the Site is provided for informational and educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice concerning your particular circumstances.

Law and procedure vary by jurisdiction and depend on specific facts. Legal information may also become outdated as statutes, regulations, judgments, and other authorities change.

Do not take, refrain from taking, or delay action in a legal matter solely because of information appearing on the Site. In particular, do not rely on the Site to calculate or protect a limitation period, filing deadline, or other time-sensitive legal obligation.

2. No Attorney-Client Relationship

Visiting the Site, subscribing to our communications, participating in an event, making a donation, or contacting Climate Justice Counsel does not, by itself, create an attorney-client relationship with Climate Justice Counsel or any lawyer or other person associated with it.

Any decision to undertake legal representation and the scope of that representation will be confirmed separately, ordinarily through an appropriate written agreement.

Descriptions of our team and international activities do not mean that every lawyer associated with Climate Justice Counsel is licensed to practice in every jurisdiction mentioned on the Site. Legal services are provided only as permitted by applicable law and professional rules.

Nothing in these Terms limits duties imposed by applicable law or professional rules, including duties that may arise in relation to prospective clients.

3. Contacting Climate Justice Counsel

Do not send confidential, privileged, sensitive, or time-sensitive legal information through general website forms, public channels, or ordinary email unless we have specifically instructed you to use that channel.

An initial communication should provide only a general description of the matter and appropriate contact information.

Sending a communication:

• does not mean that Climate Justice Counsel has agreed to consider or accept a matter;
• does not establish an attorney-client relationship;
• does not mean that we have agreed to protect a legal deadline; and
• does not necessarily prevent us from representing another person whose interests may differ from yours, subject to applicable professional obligations.

We may provide appropriate instructions if further information is needed.

The Site and general email accounts are not emergency legal services.

4. Research, Legal Theories, and Case Descriptions

The Site may describe:

• legal theories;
• model or hypothetical claims;
• potential litigation;
• proposed research;
• matters in development;
• comparative legal analysis;
• potential remedies; and
• litigation or advocacy strategies.

Discussion of a possible claim, remedy, defendant, or jurisdiction does not necessarily mean that proceedings have been filed, that a particular court has accepted the argument, or that Climate Justice Counsel represents a particular person or community.

Maps, estimates, scenarios, illustrations, research tools, and demonstrations appearing on the Site are not, unless expressly stated otherwise, judicial findings, legal determinations, land surveys, valuations, or expert evidence prepared for a particular proceeding.

Descriptions of past results, judicial decisions, or possible remedies do not guarantee any future outcome.

5. Information and Materials Submitted to Us

Do not submit information or materials that you do not have the right to disclose.

This includes another person's confidential information, restricted research or community information, copyrighted materials that you are not authorized to provide, and information subject to legal restrictions.

Providing a document, photograph, dataset, research material, or other content to Climate Justice Counsel does not automatically:

• transfer ownership of the material to us;
• authorize us to publish it;
• grant us unrestricted rights to use it; or
• make it part of a legal proceeding.

Any permissions required for representation, publication, research, evidence gathering, or other substantive use will be addressed separately where appropriate.

6. Intellectual Property

Unless otherwise stated, the Site and original text, design, graphics, photographs, marks, and other materials published by Climate Justice Counsel are owned by Climate Justice Counsel or used with permission.

You may link to publicly available pages on the Site and may download or print materials for personal use, education, or noncommercial research, subject to any notice accompanying particular material.

When using Climate Justice Counsel materials, you should preserve attribution, copyright notices, and the context in which the material was published.

Nothing in these Terms limits rights available under applicable copyright law, including fair use, or rights in material that is in the public domain.

Third-party publications, photographs, data, software, and other materials may be subject to separate rights and conditions.

Where Climate Justice Counsel expressly releases software, data, documentation, or other material under an open-source or other license, that license governs the material covered by it.

Climate Justice Counsel's name, seal, logos, and other identifying marks may not be used in a manner that falsely suggests sponsorship, endorsement, affiliation, or authorization.

7. Acceptable Use

You may use the Site only for lawful purposes.

You must not:

• attempt to gain unauthorized access to restricted systems, accounts, research repositories, or evidence workspaces;
• circumvent technical or security measures;
• introduce malicious software or code;
• intentionally interfere with operation of the Site;
• impersonate another person or organization;
• use the Site to disclose information unlawfully;
• systematically harvest personal information for unsolicited communications; or
• falsely represent that Climate Justice Counsel endorses or participates in an activity.

Reasonable automated access that does not circumvent access controls or materially impair operation of the Site is not prohibited by these Terms.

We may take reasonable steps to protect the Site and restrict access associated with abuse, security threats, or unlawful activity.

8. Donations

Donations support the charitable work of Climate Justice Counsel.

A donation:

• does not constitute payment for legal services;
• does not create an attorney-client relationship;
• is not an investment;
• does not give the donor any ownership interest in Climate Justice Counsel;
• does not entitle a donor to litigation proceeds or other recoveries; and
• does not give a donor control over legal strategy, client representation, professional judgment, or case selection.

A restriction on the use of a donation is effective only if Climate Justice Counsel agrees to accept the restriction.

A comment, designation, or message submitted with a payment does not, by itself, establish a binding restriction.

Donations may be processed through an external fundraising or payment platform. That provider's terms and privacy practices also apply to your direct interaction with its service.

Tax deductibility depends on applicable law and the donor's circumstances. Nothing on the Site constitutes individualized tax advice.

9. Events and Third-Party Services

Events, registrations, collaborative activities, or other services may be subject to additional terms, conditions, privacy notices, recording notices, or participation requirements.

The Site may contain links to websites and resources operated by third parties.

Links are provided for convenience and information. Unless expressly stated otherwise, a link does not mean that Climate Justice Counsel endorses, controls, or accepts responsibility for the linked website or its contents.

Your use of an external service is subject to the terms and policies of that service.

10. Privacy and Cookies

Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal information and use cookies and similar technologies.

We use optional analytics to understand how visitors use the Site and improve its content and functionality. Optional analytics are enabled by default, but you may turn them off at any time through Cookie Settings available on the Site.

11. Website Availability and Accuracy

We seek to provide accurate and useful information, but we do not guarantee that every item on the Site is complete, current, or free from error.

We may correct, update, suspend, modify, or remove content and functionality.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, the public Site is provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties regarding uninterrupted availability, accuracy, completeness, or fitness for a particular purpose.

12. Limitation of Liability

To the extent permitted by applicable law, Climate Justice Counsel will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or similar losses arising solely from the use of, or inability to access, the public Site.

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

In particular, nothing in these website Terms limits obligations or liability arising from:

• legal services actually undertaken;
• duties owed to clients or prospective clients;
• professional confidentiality obligations;
• fraud;
• willful misconduct;
• gross negligence; or
• any other liability that applicable law prohibits us from limiting.

13. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, to the extent permitted by applicable law.

They do not override mandatory laws applicable to a particular person or transaction and do not determine the law governing a separate attorney-client, employment, research, funding, or other contractual relationship.

Any separate agreement may contain its own governing-law or dispute-resolution terms.

14. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time.

The current version will be posted on this page with its effective date. Changes apply prospectively unless otherwise required or permitted by law.

If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue to apply to the extent permitted by law.

15. Contact

Questions concerning the Site or these Terms may be sent to:

Climate Justice Counsel
report@climatejusticecounsel.org