• Access to Services: Subject to these Terms, members in good standing are granted access to the Services offered by the WCBA, including but not limited to:

  • Access to the WCBA website and its resources.

  • Attendance at WCBA meetings, events, and educational programs.

  • Networking opportunities with other members.

  • Access to member-only content and resources.

• User Conduct: You agree to use the Services in a responsible and ethical manner, consistent with the standards of the legal profession. You agree not to:

  • Use the Services for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable laws or regulations.

  • Engage in any conduct that is harmful, abusive, threatening, harassing, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable.

  • Impersonate any person or entity, or falsely state or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity.

  • Interfere with or disrupt the operation of the Services or the servers or networks used to provide the Services.

  • Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any portion of the Services or any other systems or networks connected to the Services.

  • Upload, post, transmit, or otherwise make available any content that infringes upon the intellectual property rights of others.

  • Use the Services for commercial purposes without the express written consent of the WCBA.

• Account Security: If you are provided with a username and password to access certain features of the Services, you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account information and for all activities that occur under your account. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account.

• WCBA Content: All content provided by the WCBA through the Services, including but not limited to text, graphics, logos, images, audio clips, video clips, and software, is owned by or licensed to the WCBA and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

• User-Generated Content: If you submit or post any content to the Services (e.g., forum posts, comments, articles), you grant the WCBA a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, and fully sublicensable right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, and display such content throughout the world in any media. You represent and warrant that you own or have the necessary licenses, rights, consents, and permissions to grant this license to the WCBA.

• Copyright Infringement: The WCBA respects the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that your copyrighted work has been infringed upon, please notify us immediately with the following information:

  • A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed.

  • A description of where the infringing material is located on the Services.

  • Your contact information, including your address, telephone number, and email address.

  • A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.

  • A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf.

THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. THE WCBA MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. THE WCBA DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. THE WCBA DOES NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR RELIABILITY OF ANY CONTENT PROVIDED THROUGH THE SERVICES.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE WCBA SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OR GOODWILL, EVEN IF THE WCBA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE WCBA'S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL DAMAGES EXCEED THE AMOUNT OF MEMBERSHIP DUES PAID BY YOU IN THE PRECEDING YEAR.

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the WCBA, its officers, directors, employees, agents, and affiliates from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or in connection with your use of the Services, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any rights of another.

• Governing Law: These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois, without regard to its conflict of laws principles.

• Informal Resolution: We encourage you to contact us directly if you have any concerns or disputes regarding the Services. We will make a good faith effort to resolve any disputes informally.

• Arbitration: Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms that cannot be resolved informally shall be settled by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) in accordance with its Commercial Arbitration Rules. The arbitration shall be conducted in Williamson County, Illinois. The decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding on the parties.

• Exception: Notwithstanding the foregoing, the WCBA reserves the right to seek injunctive or other equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to protect its intellectual property rights or to prevent irreparable harm.

The WCBA reserves the right to modify these Terms at any time. We will post any changes to these Terms on our website and will provide notice of any material changes. Your continued use of the Services after the posting of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the modified Terms.

The WCBA may terminate your access to the Services at any time, with or without cause, and with or without notice.

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be struck and the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

No waiver of any provision of these Terms shall be effective unless in writing and signed by the WCBA.

These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and the WCBA with respect to your use of the Services and supersede all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals, whether oral or written.