Acceptable Use Policy

1. Definitions and Interpretation

Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Policy have the meanings given to them in Section 1 of the Website Terms of Use, including "Firm," "Website," "Content," "User," "Client," "Engagement Agreement," "Services," and "Applicable Law." As used in this Policy, "Submission" means any communication, file, or other material a User sends to the Firm through the Website, including by email.

2. Purpose and Scope

This Policy exists to keep the Website, its visitors, and the Firm's systems and personnel safe from misuse, and to ensure the Website is used only for lawful purposes consistent with its function as an informational and contact channel for a law firm. It applies to all access to and use of the Website, including passive browsing, sending Submissions, and any automated access.

This Policy governs conduct on the Website. It is separate from, and does not expand or limit, any professional-conduct obligation the Firm owes to a Client in connection with an actual legal engagement, and it is separate from any obligation a Client owes the Firm under an Engagement Agreement, such as an obligation to provide accurate instructions or to pay agreed Fees, which is governed by that Engagement Agreement rather than by this Policy.

3. Relationship to the Website Terms of Use

This Policy supplements, and should be read together with, the Website Terms of Use. In the event of a direct conflict between this Policy and the Website Terms of Use on a matter of acceptable conduct, this Policy governs; on all other matters, the Website Terms of Use govern.

4. General Standard of Lawful Use

You must use the Website only for lawful purposes and in a manner consistent with this Policy and Applicable Law. You are solely responsible for your own conduct on the Website and for any Submission you send, including its content, accuracy, and legality. The sections below describe specific categories of prohibited conduct; they are illustrative and not exhaustive. Conduct that is unlawful, deceptive, or harmful is prohibited whether or not it is specifically listed.

This standard applies regardless of the technical means used to access the Website, including standard browsers, mobile devices, and automated tools, and regardless of whether the conduct in question originates from a location where it might otherwise be lawful, if the conduct is directed at the Website, at Firm personnel, or at other Users. Where a User's conduct on the Website also relates to an existing engagement with the Firm, the applicable Engagement Agreement and professional-conduct rules govern the underlying representation; this Policy governs the separate question of proper use of the Website itself.

5. Fraud and Deception

You must not use the Website to engage in, facilitate, or further fraud, phishing, impersonation of the Firm or any other person or entity, identity theft, financial crime, money laundering, terrorist financing, or any other deceptive or dishonest scheme. This includes, without limitation: sending Submissions that misrepresent your identity or authority; using the Firm's name, emblem, or wordmark to deceive third parties, including in fraudulent correspondence purporting to originate from the Firm; attempting to use the Website or the appearance of an engagement with the Firm to lend false legitimacy to an unlawful transaction; and submitting fabricated documents, forged signatures, or falsified evidence in connection with an Inquiry or a prospective matter.

The Firm is aware that law firm names, emblems, and the general appearance of legitimate legal correspondence are sometimes misused by third parties to run advance-fee scams, fake settlement schemes, or fraudulent "found money" solicitations directed at members of the public. The Firm does not solicit advance payments from strangers by unsolicited message, and does not request payment by gift card, informal courier, or similar irreversible and untraceable means. A communication that does so, even if it displays the salamandralab name or emblem, is not genuine, and should be reported under Section 12.

6. Unauthorized Access and Technical Misuse

You must not attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Website, any related systems or networks, or any account, data, or information not intended for you. This includes probing, scanning, or testing the vulnerability of the Website or any related system without prior written authorization; circumventing or attempting to circumvent security or authentication measures; introducing viruses, malware, ransomware, or other malicious code; uploading malicious files or attachments through any Submission channel; interfering with or disrupting the Website's operation, including through denial-of-service activity; and attempting to reverse engineer, decompile, or extract source code from the Website beyond what is inherent in ordinary browser rendering.

This section is not intended to discourage good-faith, non-disruptive identification of security issues. A person who identifies a potential vulnerability is asked to report it responsibly to the contact address in Section 12, to avoid accessing, modifying, or exfiltrating data beyond what is necessary to demonstrate the issue, and to allow the Firm a reasonable opportunity to address the issue before any public disclosure. Nothing in this paragraph authorizes conduct that would otherwise be unlawful.

7. Misuse of Personal Information

You must not use the Website to collect, harvest, or misuse personal information about other Users or third parties, including by attempting to identify or contact other visitors, submitting another person's personal or sensitive information without a lawful basis to do so, or using any information obtained through the Website for unsolicited marketing, harassment, or any purpose inconsistent with the Privacy Policy. This includes a prohibition on submitting another individual's sensitive personal data (such as health, financial, or identity information) through an Inquiry unless you have a lawful basis and, where required, that individual's authorization to do so.

8. Abusive, Threatening or Harassing Communications

You must not send Submissions or otherwise use the Website in a manner that is abusive, threatening, harassing, defamatory, obscene, discriminatory, or otherwise likely to cause distress or harm to Firm personnel or other Users. This extends to repeated unwanted contact after being asked to stop, communications intended to intimidate Firm personnel in connection with a matter, and communications containing hate speech or discriminatory abuse directed at any individual. The Firm may decline to respond to, and may report, communications that cross this line, particularly where they contain threats of violence or unlawful conduct, and may preserve such communications as a record in case they become relevant to a report to an appropriate authority.

9. Intellectual Property Infringement

You must not use the Website to infringe the intellectual property rights of the Firm or any third party, including by copying, reproducing, or distributing Content beyond the limited license described in Section 7 of the Website Terms of Use, or by submitting material through the Website that infringes another person's copyright, trademark, or other proprietary rights. This includes a prohibition on removing or altering any copyright, trademark, or attribution notice appearing on Website Content, and on using the salamandralab name, wordmark, or emblem in a manner likely to cause confusion as to source or affiliation.

10. Automated Access and Scraping

Automated bulk extraction of Website Content ("scraping"), other than by search engine indexing crawlers operating in accordance with the Website's published crawler directives, is not permitted without the Firm's prior written consent. You must not use bots, scripts, or other automated means to access the Website in a manner that places an unreasonable load on it, circumvents access controls, or is used to republish or repurpose Content at scale. Automated tools used for accessibility purposes (such as screen readers) or for ordinary, non-disruptive personal browsing assistance are not "scraping" for purposes of this section and are not restricted by it.

11. Consequences of Violations

Where the Firm identifies conduct that violates this Policy, it may take any action it considers appropriate and lawful, including: refusing or restricting further access to the Website; declining to respond to a Submission; declining to accept a proposed engagement, consistent with Section 18 of the Website Terms of Use; preserving records of the conduct; and reporting unlawful conduct to appropriate authorities. Where the person responsible is an existing Client, any action affecting the underlying legal engagement will be taken consistently with the Firm's professional obligations and the applicable Engagement Agreement, not merely under this Policy.

The Firm will generally calibrate its response to the nature and severity of the violation. A technical or inadvertent breach may simply be flagged to the person responsible with a request to stop, while conduct involving fraud, attempted intrusion, threats, or other serious misconduct may result in immediate restriction of access, preservation of evidence, and referral to law enforcement or another appropriate authority without prior warning.

12. Reporting Violations

If you become aware of conduct on or directed at the Website that may violate this Policy — including a fraudulent communication purporting to come from the Firm — please report it to contact@salamandralab.example. Please include enough detail (such as dates, sender addresses, and copies of suspicious communications) to allow the Firm to assess the report. The Firm reviews reports on a best-efforts basis and cannot guarantee a substantive response to every report, particularly where a report concerns a third party impersonating the Firm rather than conduct on the Website itself, but genuine reports of fraud or impersonation are taken seriously and may be escalated internally or reported onward to an appropriate authority.

13. Monitoring and Enforcement Discretion

The Firm is not obligated to monitor use of the Website but may do so, and may investigate suspected violations of this Policy, to the extent it considers appropriate and consistent with the Privacy Policy and Applicable Law. Enforcement of this Policy is at the Firm's reasonable discretion and does not create any right for a third party to compel enforcement action. Nothing in this Policy requires the Firm to take any particular investigative step, to disclose the outcome of an investigation to a third party, or to explain the basis for declining to take enforcement action in a given case, except where Applicable Law requires disclosure.

14. No Waiver

A failure or delay by the Firm in enforcing this Policy in a particular instance does not waive its right to enforce this Policy in that or any other instance, whether or not the Firm has expressly reserved that right at the time.

15. Relationship to Applicable Law

Nothing in this Policy authorizes conduct that Applicable Law prohibits, and nothing in this Policy limits any right or remedy available to the Firm or to a third party under Applicable Law in respect of prohibited conduct, including civil claims or criminal referral where warranted. Where a provision of this Policy is narrower than what Applicable Law would otherwise prohibit, Applicable Law continues to apply of its own force, independent of this Policy.

16. Changes to This Policy

The Firm may update this Policy from time to time, consistent with Section 21 of the Website Terms of Use. The effective date at the top of this page reflects the date of the most recent update.

17. Contact Information

Questions about this Policy, or reports of a suspected violation, may be sent to contact@salamandralab.example.