TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE

IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ THESE LEGAL NOTICES AND TERMS OF USE (THE”TERMS OF USE”) CAREFULLY BEFORE ACCESSING THIS WEBSITE

The Terms of Use create a legal agreement between you and the Balbus Law Firm that governs: (1) the information, materials or graphics the Balbus Law Firm has made available through this website (the “Content”); (2) the nature of the relationship between you and the Balbus Law Firm; (3) certain other matters of professional responsibility; (4) the Balbus Law Firm’s use of your information gathered by it through this website; and (5) your use of this website, and the Content (collectively, the “Balbus Law Firm Site”). Your access or use of any part of the Balbus Law Firm Site indicates that you have read and understood, and that you accept and agree to be bound by, these Terms of Use, which may be amended from time to time by the Balbus Law Firm pursuant to the terms herein. If you do not agree to these Terms of Use, you are not permitted to access the Balbus Law Firm Site. Please leave the Balbus Law Firm Site immediately.

1. NO LEGAL ADVICE
The Content is made available to the public for educational and general informational purposes only, and is not intended to constitute legal advice or to be a substitute for legal advice from qualified counsel. Although we try to ensure the accuracy of the Content, laws are often changing, and, the Content may not reflect recent developments in the law, may not be complete, and may not be accurate in, or applicable to, your jurisdiction. Because the Content is general in nature and may not pertain to your specific circumstances, you should not act or refrain from acting based on any Content without first obtaining advice from professional counsel qualified in the applicable subject matter and licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.

2. NO ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP
The Balbus Law Firm enters into attorney-client relationships with its clients only in accordance with certain procedures which include, but are not limited to, executing a written retention agreement and addressing potential and actual conflicts of interest. If you have not received a written letter confirming our retention and the scope of our representation, you are not a client of the Balbus Law Firm. You agree that your access to the Balbus Law Firm Site, any transmission of electronic mail to the Balbus Law Firm Site, and any reply thereto do not, in and of themselves, create an attorney-client relationship between you and the Balbus Law Firm. Providing information to the Balbus Law Firm (via electronic mail on the Balbus Law Firm Site or otherwise) will not create an attorney-client relationship in the absence of an express agreement by the Balbus Law Firm to create such a relationship, and will not disqualify the Balbus Law Firm from representing any other party in connection with the matter in question or a related matter.

3. NON-CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT OF INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE.
If you send electronic mail or otherwise communicate with the Balbus Law Firm through the Balbus Law Firm Site, your communication is not confidential, and may not be secure. Do not send any information to the Balbus Law Firm Site that you wish to keep confidential. If you are a current client of the Balbus Law Firm, please do not send confidential information to us through the Balbus Law Firm Site until you receive our permission to send us that information.

4. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
Although the Balbus Law Firm Site is not intended to be an advertisement or solicitation, it may constitute Attorney Advertising under the Connecticut and New York Rules of Professional Conduct. Viewers of the Balbus Law Firm Site are advised that any prior results described on the Balbus Law Firm Site do not guarantee a similar outcome.

5. PRINCIPAL OFFICE; RESPONSIBLE ATTORNEY.
To the extent the requirements of the Rules of Professional Conduct require such designation: the Balbus Law Firm’s principal office is located at 108 Mill Plain Road, Suite 200, Danbury, CT 06811. The Balbus Law Firm’s responsible attorney for the Balbus Law Firm Site is Andrew G. Balbus.

6. AUTHORIZED JURISDICTIONS; CERTIFICATIONS.
The Balbus Law Firm practices law in the jurisdiction in which its offices are located as well as other jurisdictions in which a Balbus Law Firm attorney is licensed to practice, which are set forth in that attorney’s biography on the Balbus Law Firm Site. Except as specifically stated, no Balbus Law Firm attorney has been certified as a specialist by any professional or government authority. The listing of a Balbus Law Firm attorney as having received a Masters of Laws degree in Bankruptcy is not intended to indicate any professional or governmental certification as a specialist in that area.

7. PROHIBITED USES.
You will not use the Balbus Law Firm Site or the Content in any manner that will violate any applicable local, state, national, international or foreign law, including, but not limited to any regulations having the force of law. Without limiting the foregoing, you will not use the Balbus Law Firm Site in connection with (a) the infringement of intellectual property rights including the Balbus Law Firm’s rights in its marks and its articles; (b) the unauthorized transmission of unsolicited commercial electronic mail; (c) the transmission of defamatory materials; or (d) fraud. You will not impersonate another person in your use of the Balbus Law Firm Site or in sending an e-mail to an address listed on the the Balbus Law Firm Site. You will not violate, attempt to violate, or knowingly facilitate the violation of the security (including access control or authentication systems) or integrity of the Balbus Law Firm Site. You will not use the Balbus Law Firm Site in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden or impair the Balbus Law Firm Site (including launching denial-of-service attacks against the Balbus Law Firm Site), interfere with any other party’s use and enjoyment of the Balbus Law Firm Site or compromise the integrity of, or otherwise modify, the Content.

8. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© 2012 Balbus Law Firm. All rights reserved. The Balbus Law Firm claims a copyright in all proprietary and copyrightable text, graphics, and computer code on the Balbus Law Firm Site, the overall design of the Balbus Law Firm Site, and the selection, arrangement and presentation of all information and materials on the Balbus Law Firm Site, including information in the public domain.

9. GRANT OF LIMITED LICENSE.
Subject to your agreement to abide by these Terms of Use, the Balbus Law Firm grants to you a limited, non-transferable, non-exclusive, revocable, personal license solely to access, view, download, and print the Content solely for your personal, non-commercial, educational and informational purposes. You may not modify the Content in any way and you may not remove or obscure any copyright or permission notice provided on or in connection with the Content. The Balbus Law Firm Site may not be framed on any other site, nor may you create a link to any part of the Balbus Law Firm Site other than the home page. The Balbus Law Firm reserves the right to withdraw linking permission without notice. Except as expressly described in the limited license above, without the express written consent of the Balbus Law Firm, you may not modify, copy, distribute, transmit, display, publish, transfer, sell or create derivative works from the Content or use the Content for any purpose whatsoever. For consent to reuse any of the Content, other than as expressly provided by the limited license above, please contact the Balbus Law Firm. Except for the limited license expressly granted to you in these Terms of Use or otherwise in writing, the Balbus Law Firm reserves for itself all other right, title and interest in and to the Balbus Law Firm Site, including the Content, except for content provided by third parties.

10. THIRD PARTY CONTENT.
The Balbus Law Firm may link to or otherwise make third party information available on the Balbus Law Firm Site. This is done solely for the purposes of convenience of the user. The Balbus Law Firm does not recommend, endorse, approve of, or accept any responsibility for, any such third party information or such third parties.

11. PRIVACY POLICY
11.1 Privacy Generally. The Balbus Law Firm is committed to respecting and safeguarding the personal information that has been placed in its trust so that it is not improperly disclosed to or misused by third parties.
11.2 Website Privacy. By using the Balbus Law Firm Site, you accept the Balbus Law Firm’s privacy policy (the “Privacy Policy”) and agree to the collection and use of information by the Balbus Law Firm in accordance with this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not use the Balbus Law Firm Site. This Privacy Policy is intended to summarize the Balbus Law Firm’s data protection practices generally, and to advise our clients, interested law students, job applicants, the Balbus Law Firm Site visitors, and other third parties who provide personal information to the Balbus Law Firm or who visit the Balbus Law Firm’s Site about the Balbus Law Firm’s Privacy Policy that may be applicable to them. This Privacy Policy describes certain information that the Balbus Law Firm collects through the Balbus Law Firm Site and how we use that information. Please note that this Privacy Policy applies solely to our online information-gathering and dissemination practices in connection with the Balbus Law Firm Site, and does not apply to any of our practices conducted offline. For information regarding our offline practices, see “Non-Website Privacy Protection Policy” below. This Privacy Policy does not pertain to, and the Balbus Law Firm is not responsible for, the privacy practices of any third party websites to which the Balbus Law Firm Site links.
11.2 Non- Personally Identifiable Information. When you use the Balbus Law Firm Site, which may be hosted in part or in its entirety by a third party, the Balbus Law Firm Site may collect non-personally identifying information indirectly and automatically about your activities. “Non-personally identifiable information” refers to information that does not identify you but which can be used to track certain Internet conduct. For instance, your computer’s IP address, “cookies,” your web browser’s identity, the date and time you accessed the website, the page or pages you visited and images you accessed, the website you arrived to the Balbus Law Firm Site from and the website that you depart to, as well as the IP address of the computer being used to access the Balbus Law Firm Site, may be all collected without any action on your part. A cookie is a text file sent by a server and placed on your computer by your browser. Websites use cookies to track logins and to filter data that a logged-in user has access to. You may set your browser to refuse all cookies or to allow your browser to alert you when a cookie is set, but if you do so, it is possible that some areas of web sites that use cookies will not function properly when you view them. The Balbus Law Firm may use this non-personally identifying information for internal purposes such as to administer the Balbus Law Firm Site, to improve the Balbus Law Firm Site, to provide or enhance security, or to help the Balbus Law Firm understand how the Balbus Law Firm Site is being used. In addition, the Balbus Law Firm may use your non-personally identifiable information to investigate possible illegal conduct or violations of the Terms of Use governing your use of the Balbus Law Firm Site, or disclose non-personally identifiable information to comply with legal process (e.g. subpoenas), to assist law enforcement agencies, or as otherwise required or permitted by law. Except as otherwise set forth in this Privacy Policy, the Balbus Law Firm does not sell or share your non-personally identifiable information with third parties.
11.3 Personally Identifiable Information. The Balbus Law Firm Site is designed so that you may generally browse it without providing any personally identifiable information. “Personally identifiable information” means information that directly identifies you, such as your name, physical or electronic mail address, and telephone number. Certain areas of the Balbus Law Firm Site, however, may allow you to voluntarily submit personally identifiable information, such as a resume. The Balbus Law Firm uses your personally identifiable information for the purposes for which it was submitted by you to the Balbus Law Firm. In addition, the Balbus Law Firm may use your personally identifiable information to investigate possible illegal conduct or violations of the Terms of Use governing your use of the Balbus Law Firm Site, or disclose personally identifiable information to comply with legal process (e.g. subpoenas), to assist law enforcement agencies, or as otherwise required or permitted by law. Except as otherwise set forth in this Privacy Policy, the Balbus Law Firm does not sell or share your personally identifiable information with third parties.
11.4 Security. The Balbus Law Firm has implemented measures to protect against the risks of unauthorized access to, erroneous disclosure of, and unlawful interception of personally identifiable information. While the Balbus Law Firm strives to maintain user privacy and the confidentiality of personally-identifiable information provided by a visitor to the Balbus Law Firm Site, the Balbus Law Firm cannot fully eliminate such risks. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. Furthermore, the Balbus Law Firm cannot fully ensure that your personally identifiable information will not be disclosed to third parties who circumvent the Balbus Law Firm’s security measures to unlawfully intercept or access transmissions. As a result, the Balbus Law Firm cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us online and you do so at your own risk. In addition, although the Balbus Law Firm provides links to third-party web sites, they are not covered by this Privacy Policy. The Balbus Law Firm assumes no responsibility for the privacy or security of information you provide to any third party through linked web sites or any other means. We urge you to review the privacy policy of any web site that you visit.
11.5 Sensitive Communications. You agree that electronic mail sent by you to the Balbus Law Firm will not be treated as confidential or invoke an attorney-client privilege; provided, however, that if you are an existing client of the Balbus Law Firm and you send an electronic mail to the Balbus Law Firm pertaining to a matter in which the Balbus Law Firm then represents you, such electronic mail may be entitled to be treated as confidential or privileged. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you acknowledge that electronic mail and the Internet are generally insecure media of communication, and the Balbus Law Firm cannot guarantee the confidentiality of any electronic mail sent to, or received by, it or any information submitted by you to the Balbus Law Firm through the Balbus Law Firm Site.
11.6 Access or Change Your Personally Identifiable Information. If you are an individual, you may have certain rights under applicable data protection legislation which includes the right for you to review and correct the personally identifiable information the Balbus Law Firm holds about you. By contacting us at the mailing address listed below, you can access, correct, amend, or delete the personally-identifiable information that you have provided through the Balbus Law Firm Site. If you wish to review the personally-identifiable information we have on file about you, please send a written request with information sufficient for us to identify the personally-identifiable information and any communications you have received from us along with a check payable to the Balbus Law Firm for $15 (processing fee) addressed to Webmaster, Balbus Law Firm, 108 Mill Plain Road, Suite 200, Danbury, CT 06811.
11.7 Children. The Balbus Law Firm Site is not intended for children under the age of 18. In order to respect the privacy of children online, the Balbus Law Firm does not knowingly collect, maintain, or process personally-identifiable information submitted by children under the age of 18. If you have reason to believe that we have collected personally-identifiable information from someone under 18 years of age, please contact us immediately and we will remove the information.
11.8 Changes. The Balbus Law Firm reserves the right to revise this Privacy Policy at any time. The Balbus Law Firm will notify you of any material changes to this Privacy Policy by posting the new Privacy Policy here and by changing the “Effective Date” at the end of the Privacy Policy. You should periodically read this Privacy Policy to learn of any revisions.
11.9 Marketing. The Balbus Law Firm may inform clients, personnel, and other interested parties regarding activities of the Balbus Law Firm or legal developments of interest to them. If you do not want to receive such information, please let the Balbus Law Firm know by sending an email with your instructions.
11.10 Effective Date. This Privacy Policy is effective as of March 1, 2011.
11.11 Non-Website Privacy Protection Policy. All employees of the Balbus Law Firm are required to ensure that personal information which has been placed in our trust is kept secure while in our possession, is not improperly disclosed to or misused by third parties and is properly disposed of.
“Personal information” means information capable of being associated with a particular individual through one or more identifiers, including, but not limited to, a Social Security number, a driver’s license number, a state identification card number, an account number, a credit or debit card number, a passport number, an alien registration number or a health insurance identification number, and does not include publicly available information that is lawfully made available to the general public from federal, state or local government records or widely distributed media.
The Balbus Law Firm limits access to personal information to only those employees with a legitimate purpose and provides those employees with appropriate training. The confidentiality of personal information is protected through the use of data encryption and secure data storage. Prior to disposal, personal information is destroyed, erased, or otherwise made unreadable. The Balbus Law Firm regularly reviews its physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to ensure that they effectively protect the confidentiality of, and prohibit the unlawful disclosure of, personal information. With respect to Social Security numbers in particular, the Balbus Law Firm (1) protects the confidentiality of Social Security numbers, (2) prohibits the unlawful disclosure of Social Security numbers, and (3) limits access to Social Security numbers.
The Balbus Law Firm will not disclose personal information except where authorized by the client or where required or permitted by applicable law or provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct.
Violation of any provision of this policy by an employee of the Balbus Law Firm may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment, as well as civil penalties as provided in Connecticut Public Act No. 08-167.

12. DISCLAIMERS
12.1 No Representations or Warranties. THE BALBUS LAW FIRM MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO ANY CONTENT ON THE BALBUS LAW FIRM SITE. THE CONTENT ON BALBUS LAW FIRM SITE IS PROVIDED TO YOU ON A STRICTLY “AS IS” BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE BALBUS LAW FIRM SITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW AND THE RULES OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE APPLICABLE JURISDICTION, THE BALBUS LAW FIRM HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL CONDITIONS, REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, ACCURACY OF INFORMATIONAL CONTENT, SYSTEM INTEGRATION, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS, QUIET ENJOYMENT, AND UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE OPERATION.
12.2 Disclaimer of Liability. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW AND THE RULES OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE APPLICABLE JURISDICTION, THE BALBUS LAW FIRM, ITS PRINCIPALS AND AFFILIATES DISCLAIM LIABILITY UNDER ANY THEORY OF RECOVERY, AT LAW OR IN EQUITY, FOR ANY LOSS, INJURY OR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF USE OR LOST PROFITS OR INCOME, LOST BUSINESS, OR LOST DATA), ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THE BALBUS LAW FIRM SITE, OR ANY LINKED WEB SITE, OR IN ANY MANNER CONNECTED WITH THE USE OF CONTENT, OR THE FAILURE TO PROVIDE CONTENT, ON THE BALBUS LAW FIRM SITE OR ANY LINKED WEB SITE. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, THE BALBUS LAW FIRM EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE TO, OR VIRUSES THAT MAY INFECT, YOUR COMPUTER EQUIPMENT OR OTHER PROPERTY AS YOU ACCESS OR DOWNLOAD MATERIALS FROM THE BALBUS LAW FIRM SITE OR ANY LINKED WEB SITE. YOUR USE OF THE BALBUS LAW FIRM SITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE CONTENT PRESENTED ON THIS SITE MAY NOT REFLECT THE MOST CURRENT LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS. THE CONTENT MAY BE CHANGED, IMPROVED, OR UPDATED WITHOUT NOTICE.

13. CHOICE OF LAWS; CHOICE OF VENUE
The Balbus Law Firm Site (excluding any linked website) is controlled by the Balbus Law Firm from its offices within the State of Connecticut. You agree that your use of the Balbus Law Firm Site, and all transactions occurring in connection with such site, shall be deemed to have occurred and taken place solely in the State of Connecticut. Further, you agree that all matters relating to access to, the use of, or any dispute arising out of or in connection with the Balbus Law Firm Site or these Terms of Use will be governed by the laws of the State of Connecticut without regard to conflict of laws principles that would require the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction, and you submit to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in Connecticut.

14. INDEMNITY
You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Balbus Law Firm, its principals, employees, affiliates and authors of Content, from and against any claim, demand, liability, dispute, damage, cost, expense, or loss, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs of litigation, arising out of, or in any way connected with, your use of or access to the Balbus Law Firm Site, your use of the Content, your linking to the Balbus Law Firm Site or your violation of these Terms of Use.

15. SEVERABILITY; WAIVER; ENTIRE AGREEMENT
If any provision of these Terms of Use is invalid or unenforceable under applicable law, then it shall be, to the extent invalid or unenforceable, deemed omitted and the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect. No waiver shall be deemed a continuing waiver or a waiver of any other term. Unless specifically provided herein, these Terms of Use constitute the entire agreement between you and the Balbus Law Firm with respect to your use of the Balbus Law Firm Site or the Content. These Terms of Use shall supersede all prior agreements, understanding, negotiations and discussions, either oral or written, between the parties in respect of your use of the Balbus Law Firm Site or the Content.

16. LIMITATION OF ACTIONS
You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to your use of the Balbus Law Firm Site, the Content or these Terms of Use must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred. Within this period, any failure by the Balbus Law Firm to enforce or exercise any provision of these Terms of Use or related right shall not constitute a waiver of that right or provision.

17. TERMINATION OF ACCESS
Your license to access and use the Balbus Law Firm Site and the Content shall automatically terminate if you are in breach of any of the Terms of Use. The Balbus Law Firm reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate your access to the Balbus Law Firm Site, and to terminate your use of the Content, or any portion thereof, at any time without notice. However, the failure of the Balbus Law Firm to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms of Use shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

18. MISCELLANEOUS
If you discover a link on the Balbus Law Firm Site that is not active or other information that you believe is out-of-date, we invite you to submit this information to us webmaster@balbuslaw.com.
In the event that you gain access to information not intended to be accessed by you, you agree that you will immediately notify the Balbus Law Firm and lawfully destroy all copies of such information in your possession.
You agree to cease sending electronic mail to any Balbus Law Firm address upon the Balbus Law Firm’s request.
Any of the Content on our site may be out of date at any given time, and we are under no obligation to update such material.
The information and materials on this website could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors.
Changes are periodically made to the information contained herein.

19. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
You acknowledge (a) that you have read and understood these Terms of Use; and (b) that these Terms of Use have the same force and effect as a signed agreement. Your access or use of any part of this site constitutes your agreement to abide by these Terms of Use in full.

20. Modification of the Terms of Use
The Balbus Law Firm reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify, alter or otherwise update these Terms of Use at any time and your continued use of the website constitutes your agreement to be bound by such modifications, alterations or updates. The Balbus Law Firm reserves the right to suspend, modify or discontinue this Web site, temporarily or permanently, at any time without notice.

21. CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions regarding these Terms or the Site, please contact the Balbus Law Firm at webmaster@balbuslaw.com