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Effective Date: August 8, 2026 · Version 1.0
These Client Portal Terms of Use (“Portal Terms”) govern your access to and use of the client portal at penwell.law (the “Portal”), operated by Liam J Penwell, Attorney at Law (State Bar of California No. 339157) (“Attorney,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). You must accept these Portal Terms to use the Portal, and if you accept on behalf of a business entity, you represent that you are authorized to bind that entity. If you decline, you may not use the Portal, and we will deliver your Statement of Work, Fee Agreement, and invoices to you by email instead. Declining will not affect your matter, your fees, or the services you receive.
Nothing in these Portal Terms limits, waives, modifies, or excuses any obligation we owe you under the California Rules of Professional Conduct, the State Bar Act, or other applicable law, including our duties of competence and confidentiality, our obligation to notify you of a breach affecting your confidential information, your right to fee arbitration under California Business and Professions Code §§ 6200–6206, or any liability for (a) professional malpractice, (b) gross negligence or willful misconduct, (c) fraud or intentional misrepresentation, or (d) anything that cannot be limited under California Civil Code § 1668 or other applicable law. Every other provision of these Portal Terms is subject to this Section 1, and no provision may be read to conflict with it.
The Portal is an administrative convenience for reviewing and completing engagement paperwork: Statements of Work, Fee Agreements, and invoices. It does not contain legal work product, deliverables, or legal advice. Your Fee Agreement and each Statement of Work govern our representation of you; these Portal Terms govern only your use of the Portal. If these Portal Terms conflict with your Fee Agreement or any Statement of Work on any matter concerning the representation, the Fee Agreement or Statement of Work controls.
Access to the Portal, acceptance of these Portal Terms, and review or acceptance of a Statement of Work do not by themselves create an attorney-client relationship. Consistent with our Terms of Use (penwell.law/terms), that relationship is formed only as provided in a fully executed written engagement agreement and, where that agreement so requires, payment of the initial invoice in full. Until then, we owe you the confidentiality obligations owed to a prospective client under California Rule of Professional Conduct 1.18. We may withdraw Portal access at any time; withdrawal of access does not by itself terminate any representation.
We maintain reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards consistent with California Civil Code § 1798.81.5, including access control, single-use passcodes, and encryption in transit and at rest. No system is immune from compromise, and we do not guarantee that the Portal will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free from unauthorized access. Invoice payments are processed by Stripe through Stripe's embedded payment fields; your payment card information is transmitted directly from your browser to Stripe, and we do not receive or store your full payment card details. Payment is deemed received only when we receive confirmation of settlement from Stripe, not when you submit it. Bank transfer payments may be returned or reversed after they appear to have succeeded, in which case the payment is treated as not made. The amount due differs by payment method, as disclosed to you before you select a method and in your Fee Agreement. THE PORTAL IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND UNINTERRUPTED OR SECURE OPERATION. There is no service-level commitment, and we may suspend the Portal for maintenance or security at any time.
Access is by single-use passcode sent to the email address in our records. You are responsible for the security of that email account and of your own devices, and you must not share passcodes or permit anyone else to use your access. Actions taken through an authenticated Portal session are presumed to be yours, unless you show the session was accessed without your fault and not as a result of our failure to use reasonable security. We are not responsible for any loss arising from your sharing of access credentials or from compromise of your own email account, devices, or networks. You consent to electronic delivery of documents and notices, and you acknowledge that ordinary email is not encrypted.
You may not scrape the Portal, access it by automated means, conduct security or penetration testing, attempt to access information belonging to anyone else, or upload malicious code. We may suspend access for violation. You will indemnify and hold us harmless from any claim, loss, or expense arising from your breach of this Section 6 or your misuse of the Portal.
Subject to Section 1, and to the fullest extent permitted by law: (a) we are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, goodwill, or data, arising from the operation or availability of the Portal; (b) if you are a business entity, our total aggregate liability for any claim arising solely from the operation or availability of the Portal, as distinct from our professional services, will not exceed the greater of the fees you paid for the matter to which the claim relates or $1,000, and this subsection (b) does not apply to individual (natural person) clients; and (c) any claim arising solely from the operation or availability of the Portal must be brought within one year after it accrues, except for any claim governed by California Code of Civil Procedure § 340.6 or reserved by Section 1. Each subsection above is independent. If any is held unenforceable, it will be reformed to the minimum extent necessary or, if that is not possible, severed, without affecting the remainder.
Please read this Section carefully. You may consult independent counsel before accepting these Portal Terms, and we encourage you to do so. Subject to Section 1, any dispute arising out of or relating to the Portal or these Portal Terms will be resolved by binding individual arbitration before JAMS under its applicable rules, including its consumer arbitration minimum standards where those apply, seated in San Mateo County, California, before a single neutral arbitrator, with adequate discovery and a written reasoned award. We will pay the arbitration provider's and arbitrator's fees to the extent required by those rules and applicable law. The arbitrator may award any remedy available in court. You and we each waive any right to bring or participate in a class, collective, consolidated, or representative action. This waiver does not apply to claims for public injunctive relief, which may be brought in court. Nothing in this Section waives your right to fee arbitration under California Business and Professions Code §§ 6200–6206, or limits our liability in any way.
We retain a record of your acceptance of these Portal Terms, including the date, time, and version you accepted. We will present any material change to these Portal Terms in the Portal for your acceptance before it applies to you, and changes are prospective only. On request we will provide copies of your Portal documents, and on termination of a representation we will return your file and refund any unearned fees as required by California Rule of Professional Conduct 1.16(e). Our Privacy Policy (penwell.law/privacy) describes our general data practices; information you provide in the Portal is also protected by our professional duty of confidentiality, which is stricter. We will not modify these Portal Terms in a manner that restricts your ability to post honest reviews or commentary, consistent with California Civil Code § 1670.8.
These Portal Terms are governed by California law without regard to its conflict of laws principles. Any matter not subject to arbitration will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in San Mateo County, California, and you consent to personal jurisdiction there. Sections 1 through 10 survive termination of your Portal access to the extent applicable. If any provision is held unenforceable, it will be modified to the minimum extent necessary or severed, and the remainder will remain in full force and effect.