Engagement Agreement — Consultation Services

This Engagement Agreement (this "Agreement") sets out the terms on which THE JO LAW FIRM, PC ("Firm," "we," "us," or "our") will represent the natural person or entity that electronically accepts it during intake on the DMCAFiler platform at dmcafiler.com ("you" or the "Client") for a single written consultation, on the limited terms described below.

Pursuant to the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (15 U.S.C. § 7001 et seq.) and any analogous state law, the Client's electronic acceptance of this Agreement constitutes the Client's signature for all purposes. The mechanics of acceptance are described in How This Agreement Is Executed at the end of this document.

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1. Identification of Client

The Firm represents the natural person or entity that electronically accepts this Agreement during intake on the DMCAFiler platform (referred to throughout this Agreement as "you" or the "Client") in connection with this single consultation only. If at intake you indicate you are inquiring on behalf of an entity, the Client is the entity, and you, as the individual accepting on its behalf, represent and warrant that you have authority to bind the entity to this Agreement.

The attorney–client relationship under this Agreement runs to the Client only and is strictly limited in scope and duration as set forth in Section 2.

2. Scope of the Engagement

The scope of this engagement is strictly limited to a single written attorney consultation, conducted asynchronously through the DMCAFiler consultation thread, comprising:

• Your written question(s) submitted at intake;
• Any reasonable clarifying questions the Firm asks during triage and your responses;
• A single written response from a Firm attorney addressing the topic(s) presented at intake; and
• One (1) follow-up question submitted by you within seven (7) calendar days of the Firm's initial response, and the attorney's written reply to that one follow-up.

The scope of this engagement is subject to triage by the Firm. Upon receiving your intake, the Firm will categorize the consultation into one of the following triage outcomes:

• Approved. The consultation is within the Firm's areas of practice and the Firm has conducted a satisfactory conflict check. The Firm proceeds to provide the consultation as described above.
• Redirected. The consultation is outside the Firm's areas of practice or relates to a matter for which the Firm believes a different DMCAFiler service tier (DIY, Basic, Standard, Premium, or E-Filing) or outside counsel would better serve you. The Firm provides a brief written redirect message and refunds the consultation fee in full per Section 7.
• Declined. The Firm declines to proceed (for example, due to a non-waivable conflict of interest, a request to assist with conduct that would be unlawful or unethical, or facial inadequacy of the question for written response) and refunds the consultation fee in full per Section 7.

The scope of this engagement expressly DOES NOT include:

(a) Any drafting or transmittal of a DMCA takedown notice (which is the subject of a separate Takedown Engagement Agreement at /legal/engagement-takedown); (b) Any preparation or filing of a federal complaint or other litigation document (which is the subject of a separate E-Filing Engagement Agreement at /legal/engagement-efiling); (c) Any litigation, settlement negotiation, court appearance, or interaction with any third party on the Client's behalf; (d) Any ongoing advisory, monitoring, or "of counsel" relationship beyond the single response and one follow-up described above; (e) Tax, corporate, regulatory, or non-copyright legal advice; (f) Compliance with the Corporate Transparency Act or beneficial-ownership reporting; (g) Foreign-law advice, including (without limitation) advice under the South Korean Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, Japanese copyright law, or the EU Copyright Directive; and (h) Notice-and-takedown work governed by foreign safe-harbor regimes.

After the Firm transmits the response to your follow-up question (or, if you do not submit a follow-up question within seven (7) calendar days, after the seven-day window expires), this engagement is complete. The Firm has no further obligation to advise you. If you wish to engage the Firm for further services, you must do so under a separate engagement.

3. Nature of the Advice

The Firm's response is legal advice tailored to the specific facts you have disclosed in writing during this consultation. It is not a comprehensive legal opinion, an opinion letter, or a substitute for ongoing representation. The Firm has not investigated the facts beyond what you have disclosed and has not performed independent factual or evidentiary verification.

You acknowledge that:

• The Firm's advice is based on the information you have provided. Material omissions or misstatements in the information you provide may render the advice inapplicable or incorrect.
• The advice reflects the law in effect, in the relevant jurisdiction, on the date the response is transmitted. Subsequent changes in law, fact, or circumstance may render the advice inapplicable.
• The Firm's attorneys are licensed to practice in California and, with respect to federal copyright matters, in federal courts where they are admitted. The Firm does not provide legal advice on the law of any jurisdiction in which its attorneys are not admitted, except to the extent that federal copyright law applies uniformly across the United States. If you reside or operate primarily outside California, you should consult local counsel on any state-law dimension of the matter.

4. No Guarantee of Outcome

The outcome of any legal matter is subject to inherent risks and other factors beyond our control. Therefore, we have not made, and cannot make, any guarantees or promises concerning any course of action you may take in reliance on the advice provided in this consultation.

5. Use of Artificial Intelligence

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools in this matter — for example, in drafting, summarizing your intake materials, or drafting the response — consistent with our duty of competence. The Firm retains responsibility for all professional judgment exercised on your behalf, regardless of whether AI tools were used. We do not consent to the use of your privileged or confidential information for the training of third-party general-purpose AI models. By accepting this Agreement, you consent to such use.

6. Fees

The flat fee for this engagement is $199 (U.S. dollars), payable at intake.

This fee is earned in full upon transmittal of the Firm's response (or upon expiration of the seven-day follow-up window, whichever is later) and is non-refundable except as expressly provided in Section 7 or as required by applicable law and rules of professional conduct.

The Firm bills its time on this matter at an hourly rate of $700 per hour in six-minute (one-tenth-of-an-hour) increments, always rounding up, solely for the purpose of computing any partial refund under Section 7(c) if the engagement is terminated after triage approval but before the Firm transmits its response. Specifically, if a Firm attorney answers a phone call that takes 1 minute, 6 minutes will be billed; if the call takes 7 minutes, 12 minutes will be billed.

7. Refunds

This Section sets out the complete and exclusive terms governing any refund of the flat fee in Section 6. This Section does not depend on, and is not modified by, any separate refund policy that may appear elsewhere on the DMCAFiler website.

(a) Pre-triage cancellation — full refund. If you cancel before the Firm has issued a triage outcome, the Firm refunds the $199 fee in full (less non-recoverable payment-processor fees).

(b) Decline or redirect — full refund. If the Firm declines or redirects the consultation under Section 2, the Firm refunds the $199 fee in full (less non-recoverable payment-processor fees).

(c) Termination after triage approval but before response — time-based formula. If the Firm approves the consultation and begins work, but the engagement is terminated (whether by you under Section 10(b), by the Firm under Section 10(a), or by mutual agreement) before the Firm transmits its initial response, the Firm is entitled to be paid for all services rendered through the date of termination at the hourly rate of $700 per hour described in Section 6. The refund payable to you (if any) is calculated as:

Refund = $199 − (Hours Worked × $700) − Non-recoverable Payment-Processor Fees

Because the per-hour rate consumes the $199 fee in approximately seventeen (17) minutes of attorney time, it is very possible that no portion of the fee will be returned. By accepting this Agreement, you acknowledge this possibility.

(d) Post-response — no refund. Once the Firm has transmitted its initial response under Section 2, the fee is fully earned and is non-refundable, regardless of whether you submit a follow-up question.

(e) Refund timing. Any refund payable under this Section is paid within thirty (30) calendar days, and in any event no later than sixty (60) calendar days, after the date of cancellation, triage outcome, or termination (as applicable).

(f) Refund method. Refunds are paid via the original method of payment where the payment processor permits (typically a credit-card or debit-card refund through Stripe). Where a refund cannot be paid via the original method (for example, where you paid by international wire transfer), the refund will be paid only by wire transfer to a bank account held in the United States in the Client's name. You are solely responsible for providing accurate account information for any such refund, and are solely responsible for any international wire transfer fees, foreign-transaction fees, currency-conversion losses, refund-processing fees, or other charges incurred in processing the refund.

(g) No tax documentation. The Firm does not issue, prepare, or file any value-added tax (VAT), goods-and-services tax (GST), or similar tax invoices, receipts, or documentation required under any foreign jurisdiction's tax laws. If you require such documentation for tax compliance in your jurisdiction, you must obtain it from your own tax adviser.

(h) No money-back guarantee. The Firm does not offer, and has not undertaken, any "money-back guarantee" in connection with the consultation services. Any statement to the contrary on a third-party site or in historical marketing material is superseded by this Agreement.

8. Communication

The Firm will communicate with you exclusively through the in-app consultation thread on the DMCAFiler platform. Notifications of new messages are sent to the email address associated with your account. If you cannot access the platform during the engagement, please contact support@thejolawfirm.com.

You agree to keep your contact information current in your DMCAFiler account.

9. Conflicts of Interest

Because of the Firm's size, geographical reach, and broad legal practice, it is possible that our attorneys may now or in the future represent parties in matters in which their interests are adverse to your interests or those of your affiliates. You hereby agree that we may continue to represent or may in the future represent new or existing clients in any matter that is not substantially related to our work for you, even if the interests of such clients in those matters may be adverse to you (directly or indirectly). To minimize risks, no attorneys working on this engagement will work on any conflicting matter, and an ethical wall will be created if necessary. Sensitive, proprietary, or other confidential information of a non-public nature concerning you that we acquire as a result of this consultation will not be transmitted to lawyers who may work on such matters.

In the event that an actual conflict arises during triage or after the consultation begins, we may withdraw under Section 10. By accepting this Agreement, you confirm that you have had an opportunity to consult with independent counsel regarding the terms of this waiver.

10. Withdrawal and Termination

(a) Firm withdrawal. The Firm may withdraw from this engagement upon written notice for good cause, including (i) discovery of a conflict of interest that cannot be waived, (ii) discovery of a material misrepresentation or omission in the information you have provided, or (iii) a request to provide advice that would be unlawful or unethical to render. Where the Firm withdraws after the consultation has begun but before the response is transmitted, the Firm refunds the $199 fee in full.

(b) Client termination. You may terminate this engagement at any time by written notice through the DMCAFiler platform or to support@thejolawfirm.com. Any refund of the flat fee is governed exclusively by Section 7.

(c) Effect of termination. Termination does not terminate the Firm's continuing duties of confidentiality under applicable rules of professional conduct.

11. Client Documents and Retention

We will maintain the consultation thread, including the Firm's response and any follow-up exchange, in your DMCAFiler account for a period of five (5) years consistent with our written file-retention policy and California Rule of Professional Conduct 1.16(e). After that period, the consultation record may be destroyed in accordance with that policy. You may request a copy of the consultation record at any time during the retention period at no charge.

12. Privacy and Confidentiality

Information that you provide to the Firm in the course of this consultation is generally subject to the attorney–client privilege and to the duty of confidentiality under applicable rules of professional conduct (including, where applicable, ABA Model Rule 1.6 and California Rule of Professional Conduct 1.6). The privilege attaches once the Firm has accepted the engagement (i.e., upon issuance of an approved triage outcome) and the Firm has begun preparing your response.

For clarity, information you submit during the intake or pre-triage phase is treated by the Firm as confidential under the rules of professional conduct governing prospective clients (including, where applicable, ABA Model Rule 1.18 and California Rule of Professional Conduct 1.18), even where the Firm ultimately declines or redirects the consultation.

We may be under an independent ethical or legal duty to reveal otherwise privileged information if (a) it concerns the commission of illegal or fraudulent acts that are committed in the course of this engagement, (b) it concerns the intent to commit a crime, or (c) we are required to disclose the information by law or court order.

Please carefully read the DMCAFiler Privacy Policy (/legal/privacy) and the DMCAFiler Terms of Service (/legal/terms), each of which is part of this overall relationship between you and the Firm, except as provided in Section 15 below.

We may store some or all of your files on a variety of platforms, including third-party cloud-based servers (currently including Cloudflare R2 and our SMTP, payment, and infrastructure providers identified in the Privacy Policy). Although we take reasonable precautions to make sure these servers are encrypted and secure, there remains a risk that your confidential or privileged information may be disclosed. By accepting this Agreement, you consent to our use of such storage services.

13. Arbitration

The parties agree that any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or related to this Agreement or any breach of this Agreement shall be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.) and submitted to and decided by binding arbitration in San Francisco County, California before a single arbitrator. Arbitration shall be administered by JAMS, Inc. in accordance with the JAMS Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures (given the limited amount in controversy). A copy of the JAMS rules is available at https://www.jamsadr.com/. You may also call JAMS at (415) 982-5267 with questions about the arbitration process. Any arbitral award shall be final and binding upon the parties.

This agreement to arbitrate is freely negotiated between the parties and is mutually entered into. Each party fully understands and agrees that they are giving up certain rights otherwise afforded by civil court actions, including but not limited to the right to a jury trial.

To the extent that applicable law (including, where applicable, California Rule of Professional Conduct 1.4.2 or any successor rule and decisional authority including Powers v. Dickson, 54 Cal. App. 4th 1102 (1997)) prohibits the pre-dispute arbitration of legal-malpractice claims or requires specific disclosures and consents as a condition of enforceability, any such legal-malpractice claim may be pursued in the manner and forum required by applicable law, and this Section shall be construed accordingly. Nothing in this Section precludes you from filing a complaint with any state bar disciplinary authority or a fee-dispute petition under any applicable mandatory fee-arbitration program.

14. Choice of Law

This engagement, for all purposes, shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles.

15. Order of Precedence

This Agreement, the DMCAFiler Terms of Service (/legal/terms), and the Privacy Policy (/legal/privacy) together govern the relationship between you and the Firm.

As to the professional services delivered under this Agreement — including the scope of the consultation, fees, refunds, conflicts of interest, attorney withdrawal, attorney–client privilege, and the duty of confidentiality — this Agreement controls in the event of any conflict with the Terms of Service.

As to all other matters — including platform access and security, account management, the lawful use of the Website, intellectual-property ownership of the Website itself, payment-processor relationships, and the dispute mechanism for any matter not arising under this Agreement — the Terms of Service continue to apply in full.

16. Entire Agreement

This Agreement constitutes the sole and entire agreement between you and the Firm with respect to the consultation described in Section 2, and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous understandings, agreements, representations, and warranties, both written and oral, with respect to that consultation, except for the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy as described in Section 15.