What we are responsible for, and what we are not.

The money you pay is split three ways. There are no other hidden fees.

75% to the member

The lawyer or other professional who does the work, as the case may be.

20% platform fee

Retained by WLS for running the platform, verification, holding the funds and mediating disputes.

5% to the association

Remitted to the expert's professional body or association, which is what verifies the member and disciplines them if something goes wrong.

All quotations are inclusive of the tax that applies in the member's jurisdiction, and the member's fee note states the amount that represents tax. The member is responsible for their own tax.

By using WLS you consent to the following.

• Collection of personal and banking information and case documents, to enable us to execute your instructions.
• Sharing your data only with your matched lawyer or professional, and with essential service providers under a non disclosure agreement.
• Artificial intelligence tools reviewing and summarising documents, to assist in the execution of your instructions.
• Encrypted storage, which may be in multiple countries.

What each of these means in practice, and how to withdraw a consent, is set out in the privacy policy.

• To provide accurate and truthful information.
• To ensure that every case you register is a real case and not a fictitious one.

Filing a fictitious case is a breach of the acceptable use policy and grounds for the account being closed.

WLS liability is limited to the amounts paid into its trust account. We are not liable for the advice given by a lawyer or other professional on this platform, and we are not liable for the outcome of your case.

Liability on a specific case is capped at the fees earned on that case or USD 1,000, whichever is greater.

Every member carries professional indemnity insurance of at least USD 50,000. A claim for professional negligence lies against the member and their insurance, not against the platform.

Full refund

There is a full refund in each of the following cases.

• No service has been delivered within 7 days and you request a refund.
• There has been a wrong jurisdiction match and you no longer wish to be matched to another lawyer or professional.
• There has been a technical failure and you wish to be refunded.

A formal request is required in every case. Refunds are effected subject to any applicable bank charges or related charges.

No refund

There is no refund in either of the following cases.

• The service has been completed.
• You change your mind after the service has been provided, or you are dissatisfied with the outcome of the case.

A partial refund is effected where you change your mind after milestones have been reached in the execution of your instructions.

Where a dispute arises with your lawyer or other professional on this platform, follow these steps.

1. 01Contact the lawyer or professional concerned and try to resolve the dispute amicably.
2. 02If the dispute is unresolved within 48 hours, file a formal complaint with the WLS complaints desk.
3. 03WLS reviews the complaint and reverts within 7 working days.
4. 04A resolution is put in place within 7 working days thereafter. It can entail either a refund or the reassigning of the case to another lawyer.

If the matter is still unresolved it goes to the expert's association for discipline or arbitration. Your funds are protected throughout. Raise a dispute or a complaint within 14 days of the work being completed.

Contact WLS before filing a chargeback. A chargeback filed without contacting us may lead to your account being suspended.

Write to complaints@worldlegalservices.org. We respond within 24 hours.

These terms are governed by the laws of Zimbabwe. Arbitration disputes are settled under Zimbabwean law and Harare is the city of arbitration.

Write to legal@worldlegalservices.org with any question about these terms.

This article is not part of the brief. It is here because the terms above describe the model the platform is being built towards, and two parts of it are not yet what the site does. Stating that plainly is the honest thing to do while both are true.

• Case matching, where you post a matter and receive three quotations, is not built. You browse the directory, see published fees, and book a professional yourself.
• Payment is released to the professional five business days after it clears, not on your written authority. The authority to release payment form exists and is on this site, and the settlement code does not read it yet.

Where the two disagree, what actually happens is what is described in this article. This note comes down when the platform matches the brief.