Code of Conduct

Code of Conduct

By accessing the State Bar of Arizona Online Community, you are agreeing to the Code of Conduct, and all applicable terms and conditions of use. You may opt out of the Online Community if you choose not to abide by the Code of Conduct and the terms and conditions of use.

Welcome!

Welcome to the State Bar of Arizona’s Online Community, a portion of the State Bar of Arizona (SBA) website. This feature is a benefit for members of the SBA through which they may solicit the advice of peers, benefit from others’ experiences, post and discuss legal news, and share useful practice information. We hope you’ll learn something, and that you will share what you know with others.

Questions about this portion of the website can be directed to the SBA via the Contact Us link on this site.

Please take a moment to acquaint yourself with these important guidelines.

Etiquette Guidelines
Prohibited Conduct
Use At Your Own Risk
Moderation and Sanctions

The opinions and information posted on this site by Community members do not reflect the opinions or positions of the SBA; the SBA accepts no responsibility for the opinions and information posted by users of the Online Community.

The SBA, through its Board of Governors and in compliance with Arizona Supreme Court rules, has adopted a “Keller pure” policy on public statements and avoiding commentary that is not germane to the mission and purpose of the SBA. See, Keller v. State Bar of California, 496 U.S. 1 (1990). The risk to the SBA, when commentary strays from the core mission of assisting the Court in the administration of and access to justice, is the need to respond to complaints or be drawn into litigation due to asserted improprieties. Thus, the need for a cautious approach in determining what commentary is “Keller pure.” The State Bar must therefore be the final arbiter, not only of determining whether any post or posts are not "Keller pure", in analyzing Keller, its progeny and in assessing the risk to the Bar based on current, pending or anticipated litigation. The State Bar also serves as the moderator of the Online Community and reserves the right to remove any post(s) or suspend access by any member to the Online Community as described below.

Any information disclosed through the Community becomes public information, so you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose either specific case/client information or your personal information. The SBA cannot ensure or warrant the confidentiality or security of any information transmitted and you do so at your own risk.

To encourage a climate that promotes both civil and fruitful dialogue, the SBA requires that you abide by the following etiquette guidelines and specific rules:

Etiquette Guidelines

1. Keep it Civil. Keep comments focused on the issues rather than letting it deteriorate into personal insults. Always respect the views of other community members even if you don’t agree with them.

2. Keep it in the right community. Post only in the most appropriate communities. Do not spam several lists or libraries with the same message. When replying to a message, check the address to be certain it's going to the intended location (person or group).

3. Identify Yourself. Include a signature tag on all messages. Include your name, affiliation, location. If you are not an attorney, you must include that information in each of your posts.

4. Keep it Simple. State concisely and clearly the topic of your comments in the subject line. This allows members to respond more appropriately to
your posting and makes it easier for members to search the archives by subject.

5. Keep it Short. Edit or eliminate quotes. If you must post a long message, warn other list subscribers either in the subject line or at the beginning of the message body with a line that says "Long Message."

6. Stay on Topic. These communities have been created for a specific purpose.

7. Keep it Informative or Helpful. Only send a message to the entire list when it contains information that will benefit everyone.

8. Keep Your Inbox Uncluttered. “Reply All” only if it adds value to the conversation. Send agreement or thanks as an individual response.

9. Keep it Professional. Never forward jokes, chain letters or other non-related messages to this, or any other list. Be careful when using sarcasm and humor. Without face-to-face communications your joke may be viewed as criticism.

10. Respect the Online Community Coordinator(s). Their job is to ensure these communities are a safe and constructive place so that everyone gets an opportunity to have a say.

Terms and Conditions

By participating in this “Community” you agree to be bound by the following terms and conditions:

1. Prohibited Conduct

As a user, you are responsible for your own communications and are responsible for the consequences of their posting. By posting, you grant SBA and users of these communities the non-exclusive right and license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print and use such information or other material.

You must not, and by participating in the SBA communities you agree not to, do the following things:

A. Interfere with any other member’s participation in the community;

B. Use the communities for any unlawful purpose;

C. Express or imply that any statements you make are endorsed by the SBA, without prior written consent;

D. Use the communities to transmit commercial messages, promote products or services. If you wish, you may contact community members directly with product and service information if you believe it would help them and you believe that contact would be welcome.

E. Harvest or collect information about other participants without their express consent.

F. Do Not Post:

• Any fraudulent, defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, obscene, inflammatory, illegal or otherwise objectionable materials or remarks.
• Any content that violates any Ethical Rule, Court Order or Agreement
• Copyrighted material without express permission of the copyright owner.
• Any content that could reasonably be interpreted as an attempt to organize an illegal monopoly, price fixing or boycott.
• Messages about non-SBA CLE programs without the express written permission of the SBA.
• Political content or any message intending to influence political opinion.

2. No Confidentiality

Even though the “Community” portion of the website requires a SBA log-in for access, the SBA cannot and does not guarantee confidentiality. Participation in these communities is open to any member of the SBA, including members in both public and private practice. Therefore, you should treat all content as though it could be made public.

3. Disclaimers

Use at Your Own Risk. The SBA disclaims all warranties regarding information posted in any community, whether posted by the SBA or any third party. The SBA does not warrant that your use of the “Community” portion of the website will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure, or that the “Community” portion of the website is free of viruses or other harmful components. You assume total responsibility and risk for your use of and participation in the communities and/or your reliance thereon.

The SBA does not represent or guarantee the truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of communications posted by users or endorse any opinions expressed by users. Any reliance on material posted by other users will be at your own risk. The SBA acts as a conduit for the online communications between members and has no obligation to screen communications or information in advance and is not responsible for screening or monitoring material posted by users. The SBA may, nonetheless, monitor material posted by users to ensure compliance with the Code of Conduct and these Terms and Conditions. If the SBA becomes aware of a violation of these Terms and Conditions, the SBA may investigate the allegation and determine in good faith, in its sole discretion, whether to remove or request the removal of the communication. The SBA has no liability or responsibility to users for performance or nonperformance of such activities. The SBA reserves the right to expel users and prevent their further access to the site for violating these Terms and Conditions, or the law, and the right to remove communications which are abusive, illegal or disruptive.

4. Limitation of Liability

Any information disclosed in the “Community” portion of the website could become public information and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information. The SBA cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information transmitted and you do so at your own risk.

The SBA accepts no responsibility for the opinions and information posted in any community by others and/or for your reliance thereon. In no event shall SBA be liable for any special, indirect or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from or in connection with the use or performance of any information posted on this site.

5. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold the SBA harmless from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, costs (including reasonable attorneys' fees), or other expenses that arise directly or indirectly out of or from (a) your breach of this Agreement; or (b) any allegation that any materials that you transmitted through the ‘Community” portion of the website infringe or otherwise violate the copyright, trademark, trade secret or other intellectual property or other rights of any third party.

6. Amendments

The SBA reserves the right at any time to:

• Change the terms of this Agreement; or
• Change the “Community” portion of the website, including eliminating or discontinuing any content in or feature of the section.

Any changes will be effective immediately upon notice, which may be provided by any means including, without limitation, posting on the “Community” portion of the website or via electronic mail. Your participation in the Community after such notice will be deemed acceptance of such changes. Be sure to review this Agreement periodically to ensure familiarity with the most current version.

7. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Notices

If you believe that your copyright has been infringed through the use of the Community, please contact our designated agent for receipt of DMCA notices at: Office of the General Counsel

Lisa Panahi
State Bar of Arizona
4201 North 24th Street, Suite 100
Phoenix, Arizona 85016

8. Moderation and Sanctions

Please note that this “Community” portion of the SBA website may not be routinely or actively moderated, meaning that messages and posts may not be screened before you send or post them; however, there will be periodic review by SBA staff, and the SBA reserves the right to remove a comment or an entire thread, suspend a member or terminate access to the community for anyone who violates the rules.

In its discretion, the SBA may actively moderate any community, meaning that all potential posts will be reviewed by SBA staff before they are posted to the community.

Community members who have violated the Code of Conduct or Terms and Conditions will receive one written warning. Subsequent violations will result in a denial of access to the online community.

Short of denied access, the SBA may take any action with respect to posted information that is deemed necessary or appropriate in its sole discretion if the information has the potential of creating liability for the SBA or its members, or of jeopardizing the services of the SBA’s ISPs or other suppliers.

While using the site, you agree to comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations.