Last Updated February 6, 2024
Agreement to Code of Conduct and Terms of Use
This Code of Conduct and Terms of Use constitute a legally binding agreement made between you, whether personally or on behalf of an entity, and the National ABS Law Firm Association (NALFA), concerning your access to and use of the NALFA listserv.
You agree that by using the NALFA listserv, you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by all of the rules and terms contained herein. If you do not agree with all of these rules and terms, then you are expressly prohibited from using the NALFA listserv and you must discontinue use immediately.
NALFA reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to make changes or modifications to this Code of Conduct and Terms of Use at any time and for any reason. It is your responsibility to periodically review the Code of Conduct and Terms of Use to stay informed of updates. You will be subject to and will be deemed to have been made aware of and to have accepted, the changes in any revised Code of Conduct and Terms of Use by your continued use of the NALFA listserv after the date such revised Code of Conduct and Terms of Use are posted.
This Code of Conduct and Terms of Use are in addition to the Terms & Conditions of the NALFA website which are incorporated herein by reference. https://abs.law/privacy-policy/
Purpose
NALFA has established a listserv to serve as a member discussion group. The purpose of this listserv is to provide current NALFA members with a forum where they can problem-solve with colleagues, benefit from the experiences of others, solicit the advice of peers, and participate in an ongoing conversation around topics related to the practice of law. This listserv is provided to current members as a forum to educate and discuss points of law, procedure, and practice and as a means of communicating information and news about issues impacting your clients and your practice.
Audience
The NALFA listserv is private and only current members can send and/or receive messages from/to the listserv. To ensure the best possible experience for all listserv subscribers, NALFA has established these basic guidelines for participation.
Subscribing the NALFA Listserv
By joining the NALFA membership, you will automatically be subscribed to the NALFA listserv.
By joining and using the NALFA listserv, you agree that you have read and will follow the NALFA Listserv Code of Conduct and General Guidelines. If you do not accept these guidelines, please immediately unsubscribe from this listserv following the directions below.
Unsubscribing from the NALFA Listserv
You may unsubscribe from the NALFA listserv at any time! Just click the link at the bottom of any listserv email message and follow the subsequent directions.
Sending to and Receiving Messages from the NALFA Listserv
- To send a message to the NALFA listserv, create a new email message from your registered email address and send it to: NALFA-Listserv@mail-list.com
- Remember, only current members who are subscribed to the listserv may post messages to the NALFA listserv and messages submitted to the listserv are emailed to all listserv subscribers.
- To better manage the flow of NALFA listserv messages, we recommend that you set up an email filter to automatically group your NALFA listserv emails in one folder.
Listserv Etiquette
- Include a signature tag at the end of each message listing your name, title, organization, email address, and phone number.
- Clearly and concisely type the topic of your comments in the subject field. This allows others to respond more appropriately to your posting and to later search their listserv emails by subject.
- When responding to a specific post, put your response before the original post and include enough text from the original message to clarify the basis of your comments.
- Do not forward messages (or even segments of messages) from the listserv to persons not on the listserv without the explicit permission of the person you are “quoting”.
- Do not send administrative messages to the listserv such as “Please remove me.” To unsubscribe from the listserv, follow the directions at the bottom of any listserv email message.
Code of Conduct & Legal Rules
- The NALFA listserv is for topics related to the legal profession; any other use of the NALFA listserv is prohibited.
- Remember your audience and be mindful of the appropriateness of your posts. Limit messages to those that add value to the discussion.
- Interact with NALFA listserv members in a respectful, professional, and ethical manner.
- As a courtesy to all listserv participants, non-law and self-promotion posts should be avoided.
- When asking for assistance and presenting specifics of a situation, do not include privileged information.
- Do not share documents that you do not have authorization to share. You may also consider removing your organization’s identifying information from any document prior to sharing it.
- Do not post any information or other material protected by copyright without the permission of the copyright owner. By posting material, the posting party warrants and represents that he or she owns the copyright with respect to such material or has received permission from the copyright owner. In addition, the posting party grants NALFA and users of listservs the nonexclusive right and license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print, and use such information or other material, subject to the rules of the listserv.
- Remember that information posted on the listserv is available for all listserv subscribers to see and that comments are subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws. Do not post anything in a listserv message that you would not want the world to see or that you would not want anyone to know came from you.
- Do not discuss, post or reference information regarding attorneys or judges with potential violations of the Judicial Code of Conduct and/or the Model Rules of Professional Conduct.
- Do not make derogatory comments, ridicule, challenge, or attack others. Discussions on the listservs are meant to stimulate conversation, not create contention.
- All defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal materials or language are strictly prohibited.
- NALFA prohibits any individual or organization from promoting a specific product or service for proprietary purposes on the NALFA listserv. Contact people directly with product and service information if you believe it would help them.
- Use caution when discussing products or services, and the companies providing such products and services. Information posted on the NALFA listserv is available for all listserv subscribers to see, and comments are subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws. However, you may explain your situation regarding products, services and companies while avoiding unflattering labels.
- Do not post messages or materials that encourage or facilitate members to arrive at any agreement that either expressly or impliedly leads to price fixing, a boycott of another’s business, or other conduct intended to illegally restrict free trade. Messages that encourage or facilitate an agreement about the following subjects are forbidden: charges, reimbursement rates, prices, discounts, or terms or conditions of sale; salaries; profits, profit margins, or cost data; market shares, sales territories, or markets; allocation of customers or territories; or selection, rejection, or termination of customers or suppliers. The listserv is not for advertising or for promotion. Use of it for those purposes is forbidden.
- Do not pose questions or participate in discussions relating to salaries, charges, payment rates, prices, pricing strategies, restrictions on advertising, maintaining the profitability of a profession, or industry, terms or conditions of sale, minimizing discounts, gifts or promotions, profits, profit margins, cost data, market share, sales territories, customers or selection, rejection, or termination of customers or suppliers. Examples include discussions about vendor fees/rates and vendor contract terms.
- Do not use the NALFA listserv for any communication that could be construed in any way as support for or opposition to any candidate for a federal, state, or local public office.
- Do not use the listserv to invite the entire list to join your social network (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.)
Disclaimers and Actions
This listserv is a great medium with which to solicit the advice of your peers, benefit from their experience, and participate in an ongoing conversation.
- NALFA reserves the right to suspend or terminate the listserv and/or access to any user who does not abide by these guidelines. NALFA also reserves the right to edit and/or modify the listserv and these guidelines at any time.
- NALFA accepts no responsibility for the opinions and information posted or circulated on the listserv by others. NALFA does not provide legal advice. The opinions and information posted on the listserv are the opinions and information of the person posting the same and do not reflect the opinions or information of NALFA. NALFA disclaims all warranties with regard to information posted on the listserv, whether posted by NALFA or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall or its affiliates, directors, officers, staff, members or volunteers be liable for any special, indirect, or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data, or profits, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of any information posted on the listserv.
- In no event is NALFA liable for any damage to your computer system or business delays caused by computer viruses that may emerge from the NALFA listserv. Listserv participants understand and agree that NALFA is not responsible if a virus is sent to the listserv. Because of virus concerns, NALFA listserv does not allow attachments.
- To the extent permitted by law, NALFA disclaims any and all liability with respect to accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information and/or opinions supplied to or by the listserv and accepts no responsibility for the accuracy, completeness and/or suitability for use of such information or opinions.
- By using the NALFA listserv, subscribers agree to indemnify defend and hold harmless NALFA, its committees, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers and agents from and against all losses, claims, demands, causes of action, liabilities, expenses, including reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, relating to or arising from your use of the listserv and/or any claims arising out of or resulting from any breach of these guidelines by the user or any omission or act taken by the user.
