By using this Web site, www.benchbooks.com, you signify your assent to these terms of use. If you do not agree to these terms of use, please do not use the site. We reserve the right, at our discretion, to change, modify, add, or remove portions of these terms at any time. Please check these terms periodically for changes. Your continued use of the Web site following the posting of changes to these terms will mean you accept those changes.

RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF MATERIALS. Unless otherwise noted, all materials, including, but not limited to, news articles, images, illustrations, designs, icons, photographs, video clips and audio clips that are part of the Web site (collectively, the "Content") are protected by copyright and owned, controlled or licensed by American Lawyer Media, Inc. ("ALM"), or the party credited as the provider of the Content. You shall abide by all additional copyright notices, information or restrictions contained in any Content accessed through the Web site.

No Content from the Web site may be copied, reproduced, framed, hyperlinked, republished, downloaded, uploaded, posted, transmitted, or distributed in any way; provided, however, you may download, where specifically permitted, one copy of the Content on any single computer for your personal, non-commercial use only, provided you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices. Copying or storing of any Content for other than personal use is expressly prohibited without prior permission from reprints, or the copyright holder identified in the copyright notice contained in the Content.

If you wish to build a hyperlink to the Web site, you may do so provided you agree to cease such link upon request from ALM. No other use is permitted without prior written permission of ALM.

Use of any robot, spider, other automatic device, or manual process to monitor or copy our Web pages or the Content is strictly forbidden.

Modification of the Content or use of the Content for any other purpose is a violation of ALM's copyright and other proprietary rights. For purposes of these terms, the use of any Content on any other web site or networked computer environment is prohibited. All trademarks, service marks and trade names are proprietary to ALM.

USAGE BY CHILDREN UNDER 13. The Web site is directed to adults and is not directed to children under the age of 13. ALM cannot prohibit minors from visiting the Web site. ALM must rely on parents, guardians and those responsible for supervising children under 13 to decide which materials are appropriate for such children to view and/or purchase. ALM complies with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and does not permit registration by and will not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under 13. This requirement will be posted wherever ALM collects data within the Web site, such as during the registration process.

MEMBER ACCOUNT. If you register as a user of this Web site, you will be assigned a username and password that is unique to you. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the username and password, and responsible for all activities that occur under your username and password. You agree to notify ALM of any unauthorized use of your username and password or any other breach of security by clicking here.

FEES AND PAYMENTS. ALM reserves the right at any time to charge fees for access to portions of the Web site or the Web site as a whole. However, in no event will you be charged for access to the Web site unless we obtain your prior agreement to pay such charges. You shall pay all fees and charges incurred through your account at the rates in effect for the billing period in which such fees and charges are incurred. You shall pay all applicable taxes relating to use of the Web site through your account.

E-MAIL AND PUBLIC COMMUNICATION. "Forum" means letters, e-mails or other types of communications to the editors, Webmaster(s) or employees of ALM, and messages posted in connection with online seminar discussions on the Web site. You shall not upload to, distribute through, or otherwise publish through a Forum on the Web site any content which is libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, threatening, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, abusive, illegal, or otherwise objectionable that would constitute or encourage a criminal offense, violate the rights of any party, or that would otherwise give rise to liability or violate any law.

The Forums shall be used only in a noncommercial manner. You shall not, without our express approval, distribute or otherwise publish any material containing any solicitation of funds, promotion, advertising, or solicitation for goods or services. You specifically acknowledge that soliciting other guests of the Web site to join or become members of any commercial online or offline service or other organization is expressly prohibited.

Subject to the terms of the ALM privacy policy, in general, we will not monitor or edit the contents of Forum materials unless required in the course of normal maintenance of the Web site and its systems or unless required to do so by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to: (1) comply with the law or comply with legal process served on ALM; (2) protect and defend the legitimate business interests, rights or property of ALM, its users, advertisers, customers, sponsors, advertisers or affiliates; or (3) act in an emergency to protect the personal safety of our guests or the public. Users shall remain solely responsible for the content of their communications. ALM has the right but not the obligation to monitor and edit or remove any Forum communications and content.

By uploading materials to any Forum or submitting any materials to us, you automatically grant (or warrant that the owner of such rights has expressly granted) us a perpetual, royalty-free, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from and distribute such materials or incorporate such materials into any form, medium, or technology now known or later developed throughout the universe. In addition, you warrant that all so-called "moral rights" in those materials have been waived.

PRIVACY. Registration data and certain other demographic information about you are subject to ALM's privacy policy. For more information, see ALM's full privacy policy at http://www.alm.com/privacy.asp, which is incorporated in full herein by reference.

INDEMNIFICATION. You agree to indemnify, defend and hold ALM, its affiliates, officers and employees harmless from any liability, loss, claim and expense, including reasonable attorneys fees, related to your violation or alleged violation of this Agreement or use of the Web site.

NON-TRANSFERABILITY. Your right to use this Web site is not transferable. Any password or right given to you to obtain information is not transferable.

JURISDICTION. Unless otherwise specified, the Content on the Web site is presented solely for the purpose of promoting publications and other products available in the United States, its territories, possessions, and protectorates. The Web site is controlled and operated by ALM from its offices within the States of California, New York, Texas, Florida, Delaware, New Jersey and Connecticut and the Commonwealths of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia. ALM makes no representation that Content on the Web site is appropriate or available for use in other locations. Those who choose to access the Web site from other locations do so on their own initiative and are responsible for establishing the usability or correctness of any information or Content under any or all jurisdictions and the compliance of that information or Content with local laws, if and to the extent local laws are applicable.

All users, including those users who access the Web site from a country other than the U.S., agree that the laws of the State of New York shall govern any dispute, including those arising from ALM's use of personal information or otherwise relating to privacy, as specified in the Privacy Policy.

TERMINATION. These terms are effective until terminated by either party. You may terminate these terms at any time by destroying all Content obtained from any and all Web site(s) and all related documentation and all copies and installations thereof, whether made under these terms or otherwise. The privileges granted to you by these terms, including the maintenance of a member account, will terminate immediately without notice from ALM if, in ALM's sole discretion, you fail to comply with any term or provision of these terms. Upon termination, you must destroy all Content obtained from the Web site and all copies thereof, whether made under these terms or otherwise. ALM may take such further action as ALM determines to be appropriate under the circumstances to eliminate or preclude repeat violations, and ALM shall not be liable for any damages of any nature suffered by any customer, user, or any third party resulting in whole or in part from ALM's exercise of its rights under these terms and conditions.

DISCLAIMERThe content in the web site is provided "as is" and without warranties of any kind either express or implied. to the fullest extent permissible pursuant to applicable law, alm disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. alm does not warrant that the functions contained in the content will be uninterrupted or error-free, that defects will be corrected, or that the web site or the server(s) that makes the web site available are free of viruses or other harmful components. alm does not warrant or make any representations regarding the use or the results of the use of the content on the web site in terms of its correctness, accuracy, reliability, or otherwise. you (and not alm) assume the entire cost of all necessary servicing, repair, or correction. applicable law may not allow the exclusion of implied warranties, so the above exclusion may not apply to you.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. Under no circumstances, including, but not limited to, negligence, shall alm be liable for any special or consequential damages that result from the use of, or the inability to use, the content on the web site, even if alm or an alm authorized representative has been advised of the possibility of such damages. applicable law may not allow the limitation or exclusion of liability or incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you. in no event shall alm's total liability to you for all damages, losses, and causes of action (whether in contract, tort (including, but not limited to, negligence), or otherwise) exceed the amount paid by you, if any, for accessing the web site.

NOT LEGAL ADVICE. The Content contained on the Web site has been prepared by ALM as a service to its readers and the Internet community and is not intended to constitute legal advice. ALM has used reasonable efforts in collecting, preparing and providing quality information and material, but does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, adequacy or currency of the information contained on or linked to the Web site. Users of information from the Web site or links do so at their own risk.

OTHER PRODUCTS. Any reference made by the Web site to any specific commercial product, process, or service (or provider of such product, process or service) by trade name, trademark, hyperlink, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply an endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by ALM. Content on the Web site may be provided by third parties and users. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information expressed or made available by third parties, including information providers, users or others, are those of the respective author(s) or distributor(s) and do not necessarily state or reflect those of ALM.

LINKS TO OTHER WEB SITES AND SERVICES. To the extent that the Web site contains links to outside services and resources, ALM does not control the availability and content of those outside services and resources. Any concerns regarding any such service or resource, or any link thereto, should be directed to the particular service or resource.

OTHER. These terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York. You agree that any action at law or in equity arising out of or relating to these terms shall be filed only in the state or federal courts located in New York County and you hereby consent and submit to the personal jurisdiction of such courts for the purposes of litigating any such action. If any provision of these terms shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from these terms and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. You agree that regardless of any law or statute to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or relating to the Web site and these Terms of Service must be filed within one (1) year of the date the cause of action arose, or be barred as untimely. This is the entire agreement between us relating to the subject matter herein and shall not be modified except as provided herein or in writing, signed by ALM. To the extent that anything in or associated with the Web site is in conflict or inconsistent with this Agreement, this Agreement shall take precedence. ALM's failure to enforce any provision of this Agreement shall not be deemed a waiver of such provision nor of the right to enforce such provision.