DISCLAIMER
The information on this website is maintained by Hoeft Law, LLC, and is provided for informational purposes only. Nothing on this website should be construed as offering legal advice. Viewing this website does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Hoeft Law or Attorney Brent Hoeft. Brent Hoeft is licensed to practice law only in the state of Wisconsin and therefore can only provide legal advice to clients or matters within the state of Wisconsin. Hoeft Law is physically located in Fitchburg, Wisconsin. Attorney Brent Hoeft is responsible for the content of this website and can be contacted at (608) 492-0110 or by email at brent@hoeftlaw.com.
TERMS OF USE
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NO ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP EXISTS BETWEEN THE ATTORNEY AND YOU. YOUR REGISTRATION ON THE VIRTUAL LAW OFFICE SECTION DOES NOT CREATE AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP. THE ATTORNEY HAS NOT YET OFFERED A REPRESENTATION AGREEMENT FOR YOU TO ACCEPT. YOU HAVE NOT YET RETAINED THE ATTORNEY. ANY INFORMATION YOU SUBMIT TO THE ATTORNEY AT THIS TIME MAY NOT BE PROTECTED BY ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE.
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IMPORTANT! - IF YOU ARE REVIEWING THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE AGREEMENT (“AGREEMENT”) PRIOR TO REGISTERING ON THE VIRTUAL LAW OFFICE SECTION OF THE HOEFTLAW.COM WEBSITE, OWNED BY ATTORNEY BRENT J. HOEFT (HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AS “ATTORNEY”, “I”, “ME”, OR “MY” ) OF HOEFT LAW, LLC (“HOEFT LAW”), PLEASE NOTE THE AGREEMENT WHICH FOLLOWS THIS PARAGRAPH IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND WILL BECOME EFFECTIVE ONLY UPON ALL OF THE FOLLOWING: (i) YOUR COMPLETED REGISTRATION ON THE HOEFT LAW VIRTUAL LAW OFFICE SECTION OF THE HOEFTLAW.COM WEBSITE; (ii) YOUR RECEIPT OF A WRITTEN REPRESENTATION AGREEMENT FROM ATTORNEY INDICATING THAT HE IS WILLING TO PROVIDE LEGAL SERVICES TO YOU AND ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT; AND (iii) YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU ARE REVIEWING THIS AGREEMENT PRIOR TO REGISTERING ON THE HOEFT LAW VIRTUAL LAW OFFICE SECTION OF THE HOEFTLAW.COM WEBSITE, PLEASE NOTE NO ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP AND NO ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE EXISTS BETWEEN ATTORNEY AND YOU. ATTORNEY HAS NOT YET OFFERED THIS AGREEMENT FOR YOU TO ACCEPT UNTIL REGISTRATION IS COMPLETE.
This Terms and Conditions of Use Agreement is provided by Hoeft Law, LLC, a Wisconsin law practice established in Madison, Wisconsin, owned by attorney Brent J. Hoeft, a Wisconsin licensed attorney. The Agreement will govern your use of this website, including all content provided on the website and through access to all online/virtual legal services provided by Hoeft Law enabled by software designed and provided by MyCase, a service of AppFolio, Inc, which service is only available upon your successful registration on the Virtual Law Office Section over a secure network through the HoeftLaw.com website. This Agreement covers the time period from which you accept this Agreement through the time Hoeft Law has provided you with your requested legal services and Hoeft Law has received your payment for those services rendered.
Importance of Review of this Agreement
It is crucial that you carefully review all terms included in this Agreement. If you are uncertain about the meaning of any aspect of this Agreement or wish to discuss the Agreement, you may contact Hoeft Law by electronic message as listed on the 'Contact' page of the HoeftLaw.com website or through your virtual law office Client Page.
Nature of Services
The Virtual Law Office Section of Hoeft Law is not a pre-paid legal service or legal form service; it is an online legal practice where you are quoted a fee for the provision of either full or limited legal services, as the case may be, related to Wisconsin law. In addition to full legal representation, Hoeft Law, through its Virtual Law Office Section also provides "unbundled" or limited legal services. The provision of limited legal services means that the legal services provided by Hoeft Law only extend to those specific services for which you have requested and purchased and I have provided. After you have purchased a service and I have agreed to provide that service and have completed the work, you cannot expect me to perform in any additional capacity without entering into a new agreement for services. For example, if I assist you in drafting Estate Planning documents, it is not my responsibility to physically attend the execution of the documents, to attend any hearing on your behalf, or to provide any other legal services related to that matter beyond the limited legal services agreed to at the outset of the representation. Likewise, after you have paid for the requested services and I have performed them, I will not expect any further payment from you other than payment for the original requested legal services performed by me. As with any legal service, I cannot guarantee any legal outcome. Unless it is specifically agreed to otherwise in the representation agreement, by purchasing my limited legal services, you agree that it remains your responsibility to properly and timely file any legal documents and to comply with Wisconsin state and local legal procedures,.
Full-Service Representation
Hoeft Law offers to its client's the benefits of a client page on Hoeft Law's Virtual Law Office Section. This benefit is included as a convenience to the client to enable a more secure medium of communication regarding legal services. If Hoeft Law and you have elected to enter into a full-service legal representation agreement, as evidenced by an accepted Representation Agreement, you agree to the terms and conditions of the representation as disclosed in the Representation Agreement and herein, as applicable. If you are a client represented by Hoeft Law on a limited scope basis and now elect to retain full-service representation from Hoeft Law, or any other attorney, after Hoeft Law has already completed any document(s) under this Agreement and you have taken delivery of any such document(s), you expressly agree to honor your payment obligations as set forth herein and in the Representation Agreement which will be provided upon determination of desired legal services.
If you have retained Hoeft Law in a limited scope legal service manner, Hoeft Law makes no representations that Hoeft Law will agree or will be able to provide you with full-service legal representation. In the event that Hoeft Law and you agree that Hoeft Law will provide you with full service legal representation, Hoeft Law will provide you with another representation agreement separate and apart from this Agreement, which separate agreement will detail the scope of Hoeft Law's full representation and the basis or rate of the fee and expenses for which you will be responsible. Payment of any fees agreed to under any full service agreement may not be available through the electronic payment system described herein.
Limited Scope Legal Service Notice
While some services to be provided under this Agreement are designed to be full-service other services provided are of a limited nature and designed to be a cost-effective alternative to full-legal services. These limited legal services are not always a good substitute for the benefits of full-service representation. After consultation with you about your specific legal issue a determination will be made as to whether your legal matter can be addressed by providing limited legal services or if you would benefit from full-service legal representation. You understand that at any time during the representation you may decide to retain full-service representation. If you should so decide, you may seek the full-service legal assistance of Hoeft Law, any other private attorney, or any free legal services if available under such service's applicable income guidelines and other limitations. If it is determined during my communication with you that your specific legal matter requires the engagement of a full-service law firm, such as in the event that your situation may require the commencement of a formal lawsuit, then I will promptly discuss with you your options to either: (a) engage Hoeft Law to provide you with full-service representation, if available; (b) be referred to a full-service Wisconsin law firm in your area; or (c) refer you to the State Bar of Wisconsin's Lawyer Referral and Information Service.
Having been fully advised of the importance, benefits and means of obtaining legal counsel for full-service representation, and having specifically declined at this time to enter into an agreement with Hoeft Law or another attorney undertaking such full-service representation, you hereby give informed consent to the provision of the limited legal services provided for under this Agreement and as more specifically described in the Representation Agreement.
Confidentiality - Security - Retention of Records
Hoeft Law provides both full and limited legal services pertaining to Wisconsin law only. Attorney Brent J. Hoeft, the attorney responsible for this site, is licensed to practice law only in the State Wisconsin. In compliance with the professional rules and restrictions of the Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules of Professional Responsibility for Attorneys and for reasons of personal integrity, this practice is bound by stringent professional standards of confidentiality. Unless you have provided me with prior written authorization or as required under applicable law, any information you provide to me is held in strict confidence and is not released to anyone outside of this practice. All client information stored on outside servers in connection with the Virtual Law Office Section of Hoeft Law, remains encrypted while stored on those third-party servers. An attorney-client relationship with Hoeft Law is established only after a specific question has been posed to Hoeft Law through a prospective client's personal login page and that question has been confirmed as received through a reply communication and a representation agreement is provided by Hoeft Law describing the specific services and fees. Prospective clients should be aware that my duty of confidentiality and the attorney-client privilege may not arise until Hoeft Law has expressly communicated the ability to respond to that prospective client. Once you have provided Hoeft Law with your personal information, I will first run a crosscheck for any possible conflict of interest along with a jurisdictional check before accepting representation of your matter. Hoeft Law may decline to provide legal services to you if a conflict of interest is discovered. If no conflict of interest exists Hoeft Law will respond to your inquiry by uploading to your secure client page a representation agreement detailing the scope of legal services to be provided and the fees for such services. All records are securely retained in encrypted, electronic files, along with secure redundant backups, for the period of years required under Wisconsin law.
Technology - Security
Hoeft Law does not rely on email to communicate with clients. Primary communications are done through the client portal provided and powered by MyCase over Secure HTTP, which provides you with the highest industry standard protection available on the web. All credit card payments are processed by MyCase through a Cardholder Information Security Program (CISP) compliant credit card processor, and no credit card or payment account numbers are stored on Hoeft Law servers. Hoeft Law has contracted with a Software as a Service provider (MyCase) to host the secure server and provide the software that makes possible the provision of this method of delivering legal services to Hoeft Law's Virtual Law Office Section clients.
Services Solely Limited to Wisconsin – Content of Website, Links, Content of Site
Attorney is only licensed to practice law in the State of Wisconsin. Hoeft Law's website is not intended as an advertisement or solicitation by Hoeft Law for legal services in any state or jurisdiction other than Wisconsin. Hoeft Law maintains this website but links posted on this website to other websites are provided only as a convenience to you and Hoeft Law assumes no responsibility for the content, security or reliability of any websites to which Hoeft Law has posted links. Any articles for general knowledge published on this website contain basic information on legal matters and are not meant to provide advice regarding a specific legal problem you may have. I remind you not to rely on this general information without first communicating with me or other legal representation regarding your specific legal situation. Spamming, the unsolicited broadcasts of email addresses or links in this website, is prohibited and unauthorized.
The individual responsible for the content of this website is Attorney Brent J. Hoeft, PO Box 45591, Madison, WI 53744.
While authorities in some jurisdictions may deem this website and this law practice to be an advertisement for legal services in their jurisdiction, this website is not to be considered as a solicitation for legal services related to any other states' law. This website and this legal practice offer for services is related to Wisconsin law only.
Copyright
Hoeft Law claims copyright protection on all of the content provided in this website. The content from this website may not be reproduced, copied and/or redistributed in any form without the express permission of Hoeft Law. Furthermore, the content from this website cannot be modified nor can it be used for commercial purposes. Each document posted at this website shall contain the following copyright notice: © Copyright Hoeft Law, LLC. All rights reserved.
No Registration Fee – Fees for Legal Services
No fee will be charged or obligation incurred by registering on this website. In most situations, a client's funds will not be transferred to Hoeft Law until the legal services requested by the client are ready to be accessed and received by the client on the client's page. Some requested services may require the upfront payment of a retainer fee before Hoeft Law will begin work. The specific fees and requested services will be provided to you in the form of a Representation Agreement after Hoeft Law determines ability to represent you in your legal matter. After the client's payment of the agreed upon price is confirmed through a Cardholder Information Security Program (CISP) compliant credit card processor, (or the receipt and clearing of a personal check) the client will have complete access to the legal advice, documents, research or other services provided by Hoeft Law. If further communication with the attorney is required, the client may post a separate question regarding the received legal services or request a price quote for additional legal work. Hoeft Law will not pay any court costs or filing fees associated with your matter which may be required as part of a lawsuit, real estate filing, business filing or service of process fee.
Web Tracking - Cookies, Information Collection and Privacy Policy
1. General Site
To view the articles and public documents on this site you do not need to reveal any personal information. This site will present your browser with the option of accepting JavaScript and cookies in order to lay out the web page correctly and to store customized settings for your next visit. These features may be disabled by your browser, however this will limit the look and functionality of the website. All page requests are logged in order to properly maintain the service and security of this website. This website uses certain functional and required cookies in order for some features of this website to work properly. This site also using analytics and performance cookies to gather visitor information and analytics useful in order to optimize this website.
2. Virtual Law Office
In order to use the Virtual Law Office Section of Hoeft Law, you must first register a username, password and provide limited personal information about yourself. This information will be used during your communications with Hoeft Law to provide legal services in compliance with Wisconsin law, as applicable. Your limited registration information may be provided to a third party in order to provide the virtual law office service you requested and/or as is required by law. All other use of any further personal information will be limited to your attorney-client relationship with Hoeft Law. This site uses cookies to store a session id. Therefore, in order to register on the website, cookies must be enabled so that Hoeft Law can provide you with a secure transaction.
3. Registration
In order to retain the services of the Virtual Law Office Section of Hoeft Law, you must register on the website. There will be no fee charged for registration on this website. By registering you will receive access to a personal Client Page where you may request Hoeft Law's services in a secure manner. By registering on the Virtual Law Office Section of the HoeftLaw.com website, you are representing that you are at least 18 years of age and able to enter into a binding contact with Hoeft Law. Furthermore, by registering you are representing that the information you provide is correct, accurate, updated and reliable.
4. Reviewing and Updating Your Personal Content
Hoeft Law requests that you keep your personal contact information current. After you have registered on our website, you may view your personal information page at any time to review and update your personal information.
5. Contact Information
In order to provide you with the most secure and confidential services, Hoeft Law would prefer that you provide your confidential client information by using the technology provided for you on your Virtual Law Office client page. However, if this is not possible and Hoeft Law requires further information in order to review your legal matter you may contact Hoeft Law by: mail at PO Box 45591, Madison, WI 53744-5591; by email at brent@hoeftlaw.com; or by phone at 608.492.0110.
Limitation of Liability - No Warranties
Hoeft Law assumes no liability for any errors or omissions in the content of this website. Hoeft Law will not be responsible under any legal theory for damages, including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential or special, arising as a result of your use of this website. As stated above, this website pertains to the practice of Wisconsin law only. Therefore, the content of this website is not applicable in any other state other than Wisconsin. The general information provided on this website is provided without warranty of any kind, express or implied. Hoeft Law reserves the right to change, modify, add, and delete the content on this website at any time and without prior notice.
Jurisdiction
The terms of this Agreement will be governed by the laws of the State of Wisconsin. The state and federal courts located in the State of Wisconsin, or such other binding arbitration entity as is otherwise agreed to between Hoeft Law and you, will have exclusive jurisdiction over any case or controversy arising from or relating to this Agreement, the website, blog or any services provided by Hoeft Law. You consent irrevocably to personal jurisdiction in such courts with respect to any matters and waive any defense of forum non conveniens. Furthermore, each person who registers on this website is deemed to have knowingly and voluntarily waived any right to a trial by jury in any case or controversy related to this Agreement, Hoeft Law's website or any services provided by Hoeft Law.
Limited Liability Entity Notice
The laws of the State of Wisconsin and the rules of the Wisconsin Supreme Court require law firms that operate as a limited liability entity, which Hoeft Law does by organizing as a limited liability company pursuant to Chapter 183 of the Wisconsin Statutes, to advise clients and prospective clients that the law governing this type of limited liability entity shields its owners from vicarious liability. This means in the event attorney malpractice occurs during representation, the law firm and its insurer may be liable to you, as may the attorney(s) who worked on or directly supervised the matter, but no other attorneys who did not work on or directly supervise the matter will be liable.
Along with providing you this required explanation, Hoeft Law is satisfying the following requirements of the Wisconsin Supreme Court rules: registering annually with the State Bar of Wisconsin; maintaining at least the minimum levels of professional liability insurance coverage; and including a designation of “limited liability company” in Hoeft Law's legal name -- which has been done with the designation “LLC.”
Assignment
The rights and obligations created for you under this Agreement may not be assigned to any other party.
Force Majeure
Hoeft Law will not be deemed to be in breach of this Agreement for any delay or failure in performance caused by reasons out of its reasonable control, including acts of God or a public enemy; natural calamities; failure of a third party to perform; changes in the laws or regulations; actions of any civil, military or regulatory authority; power outage or other disruptions of communication methods or any other cause which would be out of the reasonable control of Hoeft Law.
Severance
In the event that one or more of the provisions of this Agreement shall be found unenforceable, illegal or invalid, it shall not affect any other provisions of this Agreement, and this Agreement shall be construed as if the provision found to be unenforceable, illegal or invalid had never been contained in the Agreement, or the unenforceable, illegal or invalid provision shall be construed, amended and/or reformed to be made enforceable, legal and valid.
IRS Circular 230 Disclosure
In compliance with the requirements of the IRS pertaining to the publication of Circular 230, Hoeft Law informs you that any advice contained on this website or in any communication originating from this website or this law practice which is related to U.S. federal tax advice is not intended or created to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of 1) either avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or 2) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter that is contained on this website or in any communication originating from this law practice.
Complete Understanding
Upon your receipt of Hoeft Law's Representation Agreement and acceptance of that Representation Agreement and this Agreement by you and Hoeft Law, these agreements will merge and be deemed to supersede any other prior or contemporaneous communications, representations or agreements between Hoeft Law and you and together these agreements constitute the complete and final understanding between the parties relating to this Agreement, the Representation Agreement, Hoeft Law's website or any services provided by Hoeft Law. If any terms and conditions of this Agreement conflict with the terms and conditions of the Representation Agreement, the terms and conditions of the Representation Agreement will control.
This Agreement, and all terms herein, may only be modified by subsequent written agreement signed by both the parties. The effective date of this Agreement will be the date when both Hoeft Law and you have conveyed assent to it by indicating acceptance, verified with the time and date stamp of each party. By checking the box below and creating an account, you will be conveying your acceptance of this Agreement. This Agreement will not be fully executed until acceptance is confirmed by Hoeft Law through express written communication by an attorney with Hoeft Law through the provision of a Representation Agreement to you by Hoeft Law.
Hoeft Law, LLC, PO Box 45591, Madison, WI 53744-5591 email: info@hoeftlaw.com; ph: 608.492.0110