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Terms & Conditions
The Giving Back Together (GBT) Program is a Law Nexus SRL (“LawNexus”, “we”, “us”, “our”) initiative that helps clients and lawyers support charitable causes by allocating a portion of paid LawNexus legal work to pro bono legal assistance for non-profit organizations, community initiatives, and social causes.
Please read these Terms & Conditions carefully to understand how the program works and the roles and responsibilities of each party involved. LawNexus reserves the right to modify these and any other terms and conditions at any time, without prior notice. Continued use of the website after any update constitutes acceptance of those changes.
Introduction. The GBT Program reflects LawNexus’ philosophy that legal expertise should also serve the public good. This program empowers clients and lawyers to contribute to charitable causes in a structured, transparent way that matches high-quality legal services with the legal needs of non-profit organizations, community initiatives, and social causes.
Nature of the Program. The GBT Program is a voluntary social responsibility mechanism, and it does not involve LawNexus providing legal services. All legal services under the program are delivered exclusively by the independent lawyers who are members of the LawNexus alliance, based on their individual commitments to support the GBT Program. These lawyers have agreed—through their own contracts with LawNexus—to allocate a portion of their time paid by clients contracted through LawNexus to pro bono work under the GBT Program. The GBT Program does not apply to existing clients of the LawNexus lawyers or clients who contracted LawNexus lawyers outside LawNexus.
LawNexus does not act as a legal service provider and is not a party to the relationship between lawyers and clients, or lawyers and NGOs and other beneficiaries of the pro bono legal work under the GBT Program. Our role is limited to facilitating the program and keeping track of pro bono credit contributions.
Lawyer’s Commitments. Each lawyer member of the LawNexus alliance agrees to: allocate the equivalent of 3% of the relevant paid billable hours worked for clients contracted through LawNexus as pro-bono legal support for non-profit organizations. These contributions are referred to as GBT Credits and are tracked by LawNexus.
Client’s Role and Responsibility. When a client contracts a LawNexus lawyer, in case the client chooses to make use of the GBT Program, their direct agreement with the lawyer must include a GBT clause that provides the lawyer’s obligation to allocate the equivalent of 3% of the hours worked and paid for that client as pro bono hours under the GBT Program. The client is entitled to nominate a non-profit organization to benefit from legal work corresponding to the resulting amount of pro bono hours, at any time between the start of the engagement and the expiry of three (3) months from the payment for the legal services.
It is the client’s sole responsibility to: (i) ensure the GBT clause is included in the engagement terms with the lawyer; (ii) discuss and agree the details with their lawyer; (iii) nominate the beneficiary organization within the allowed timeframe (please see more information on the nomination of the beneficiary organization below).
LawNexus is not involved in enforcing the lawyer’s commitments or in their implementation.
Selecting the Beneficiary Organization. Clients may nominate: (i) an NGO/social cause listed on the LawNexus website; or (ii) any other organization, provided such passes internal conflict-of-interest checks and KYC (Know Your Client) procedures required by both LawNexus and the lawyer.
All nominated organizations must be aligned with the values of LawNexus and of the lawyer providing pro bono legal assistance and with the professional standards of the assisting lawyer. In case the client nominates an NGO that is listed on the LawNexus website, the client will inform also LawNexus at office@lawnexus.ro, and LawNexus together with the lawyer and the relevant NGO will handle organizing the legal assistance contract between the NGO and the lawyer. In case the client nominates an NGO that is not listed on the LawNexus website, the client has the obligation to provide both LawNexus and the lawyer with the relevant contact details of the nominated NGO and make the introduction. If, for any reason, it is not possible or not feasible for the selected NGO to benefit from the GBT Program, the lawyer will inform the client, and the client will have the option to nominate a different NGO.
Scope and Delivery of Services. The lawyer who handled the client’s original matter is encouraged to provide the pro-bono assistance to the nominated NGO.
However, if the lawyer: (i) is not specialized in the relevant legal area, or (ii) cannot provide assistance for any other reason (e.g. conflict of interest, ethical concerns, personal limitations), then the lawyer has an obligation to promptly inform LawNexus and the client. In such cases, LawNexus may, at its discretion, suggest an alternative LawNexus lawyer with the relevant expertise and available GBT Credits. These suggestions are strictly non-binding. LawNexus does not assume any responsibility for assigning, enforcing, or guaranteeing substitute legal assistance.
In case it is impossible to match the nominated NGO’s legal needs with a LawNexus lawyer within the needed time frame, where the case (for example, if the nominated NGO requires assistance that is time sensitive), LawNexus will inform the lawyer whose client has nominated the NGO, as well as the NGO. The lawyer will inform the client accordingly, allowing the client to nominate another NGO, if the client so wishes.
LawNexus’ Role – Important Disclaimer. LawNexus is:
- Not a legal services provider;
- Not a party to any contract between clients and lawyers, or lawyers and beneficiaries of the pro bono legal work under the GBT Program;
- Not responsible for the delivery, quality, continuity, or follow-up of pro bono legal services;
- Not liable for any delays, refusals, or limitations in the legal services provided under the GBT Program.
Tracking, Transparency and Impact. The contributions of the lawyers’ members of the LawNexus alliance to the GBT Program are recorded in a centralized system managed by LawNexus. Lawyers report their LawNexus billable hours to ensure accurate calculation of the GBT Credits.
With the lawyer’s prior consent, GBT contributions may be included in LawNexus’ public CSR or social impact reporting.
LawNexus may periodically publish anonymized summaries of the GBT Program’s impact (e.g., total pro bono hours, types of NGOs supported).
Misuse or Exclusions. GBT Credits may not be used:
- To retroactively cover services already provided for payment;
- To replace paid relationships with corporate clients under the guise of pro bono work.
Lawyers and clients alike are expected to respect the spirit and integrity of the GBT Program.
Based on LawNexus values, the GBT Program is focused on assisting NGO in the health, education, animal protection, environmental protection, access to justice and social services areas.
We do not support organizations that discriminate based on race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, nor any organizations that directly or indirectly support/encourage/endorse violence, hate or discrimination towards any group. LawNexus does not support politically affiliated or partisan organizations, pro-violence or extremist advocacy groups, professional NGOs, NGOs lacking transparency or accountability, NGOs promoting discriminatory agendas, organizations known for litigation abuse, defamation campaigns, or that pose ethical conflicts for our network.
Questions and Contact. For questions about the GBT Program, please contact us at office@lawnexus.ro.
FAQs
Q: Will LawNexus guarantee that my nominated NGO receives legal help?
A: No. The program depends on lawyer availability, specialization, and other factors. While all efforts will be made to ensure that the nominated NGO (meeting all conditions to benefit from the GBT Program) will receive legal help, LawNexus cannot guarantee such help will be available within the needed timeframes or at all.
Q: Can I request a refund if my NGO does not receive assistance?
A: No. The GBT commitment is a separate, voluntary social responsibility contribution made by the lawyer. It does not affect the commercial relationship between the client and the lawyer or the fees paid to the lawyer in exchange for the latter’s legal assistance to the client.
Q: May I benefit from the hours paid by other clients?
A: No. Each client may nominate an NGO to benefit from legal assistance up to the number of pro bono hours determined pro rata with the number of legal assistance hours paid by such client.
Q: How will the pro bono number of hours be determined if the lawyer’s fees are determined otherwise than on an hourly rate?
A: An agreed hourly rate will be used to determined the total number of legal assistance hours paid by the client for the purpose of determining the lawyer’s contribution under the GBT Program.
Q: I am an NGO interested in participating in the GBT Program. What do I have to do?
A: We are happy to welcome any interested NGO who reflects our values into our GBT Program. Please send us an email at office@lawnexus.ro and we will get back to you.
Last updated: 11 July 2025
