Code of Conduct



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Welcome

Welcome to the “Community” portion of the New Jersey State Bar Association website. This feature is a benefit for members of the NJSBA through which they can 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.

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

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

Please note that this “Community” portion of the website is unmoderated and messages will not be screened before you send them; however, there may be periodic review by NJSBA staff, and the NJSBA reserves the right to suspend or terminate access to the community for anyone who violates the rules.

This “Community” portion of the website is provided as a service of the NJSBA. The NJSBA accepts no responsibility for the opinions and information posted on this site by others.

Remember that 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 NJSBA 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 NJSBA requires that you abide by the following etiquette guidelines and specific rules:

Etiquette Guidelines

1.      When sending messages, don't challenge or attack others. The discussions and comments are meant to stimulate conversation not to create contention. Let others have their say, just as you may. 

2.      Don't post commercial messages. Contact people directly with product and service information if you believe it would help them.

3.      Remember that other participants have the right to reproduce postings to this site unless you specify otherwise. 

4.      Post your message or documents only in the most appropriate communities. Do not spam several lists or libraries with the same message.

5.      Include a signature tag on all messages. Include your name, affiliation, location. 

6.      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. 

7.     Keep your questions and comments relevant to the focus of the communities.

8.     Only send a message to the entire list when it contains information that everyone can benefit from.

9.     Send messages such as "thanks for the information" or "me, too" to individuals--not to the entire list. Do this by using the "Reply to Sender" link to the right of every message.

10.    Do not send administrative messages, such as remove me from the list. Instead, use the web interface to change your settings or to remove yourself from a list. If you are changing e-mail addresses, you do not need to remove yourself from the list and rejoin under your new e-mail address. Simply change your settings.

11.     Keep e-mail messages 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."

12.     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.

13.     When replying to a message, check the address to be certain it's going to the intended location (person or group).

Remember that all messages should add to the body of knowledge. The NJSBA reserves the right to reject any message for any reason.

Specific Rules

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

A.  Restrict or inhibit any other member from participating in the communities, including, without limitation, by means of "hacking" or defacing any portion of the “Community” portion of the website;

B.  Use the communities for any unlawful purpose;

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

D. Transmit the following:

a.  any fraudulent, defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, obscene, inflammatory, illegal or otherwise objectionable materials or remarks.

b.  briefs, declaration, depositions or expert testimony subject to outstanding confidentiality agreements or Orders, unless in compliance therewith. A user must delete material that reveals client confidences, secrets, trade secrets or privileged information, unless the client consents to posting or revelation of the information.

c.  any information or other material protected by copyright without the permission of the copyright owner. By posting material, the posting party warrants and represents that it owns the copyright with respect to such material or has received permission from the copyright owner. In addition, the posting party grants NJSBA 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.

d.  any advertisements, solicitations, chain letters, pyramid schemes, investment opportunities, self-promotional items or other unsolicited commercial communication (except as otherwise expressly permitted by the NJSBA).

e.  any software or other materials that knowingly contain any virus, worm, time bomb, Trojan horse, or other harmful or disruptive component.

f.   messages that encourage or facilitate members to arrive at any agreement, which either expressly or implicitly leads to price fixing, a boycott of another's business, or other conduct, which is intended to illegally restrict free trade. Messages which encourage or facilitate an agreement about the following subjects are inappropriate: prices, discounts, or terms or conditions of sale; salaries; profits, profit margins or cost data; market shares, sales territories, or markets; allocation of customers or territories; or selection, rejection or termination of customers or suppliers.

E.  Modify, adapt, sub-license, translate, sell, reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble any portion of the “Community” portion of the website;

F.   Remove any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary rights notices contained in the “Community” section of the website;

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

2.  No Guarantee of Confidentiality

Even though the “Community” portion of the website is private and is intended for the use of NJSBA members, the NJSBA does not guarantee confidentiality. Participation in these communities is open to any member of the NJSBA, including members in both public and private practice. E-Mail is also easily forwarded. Therefore, you should consider all comments posted in these communities to be public.  If you would not want your adversary to see the contents of your e-mail, you probably shouldn’t be sending it.

3. Disclaimers

This “Community” portion of the website is provided as a service of the NJSBA. The NJSBA accepts no responsibility for the opinions and information posted in or through any of the communities by others. The NJSBA disclaims all warranties with regard to information posted in any community, whether posted by the NJSBA or any third party. The NJSBA does not warrant that your use of the “Community” portion of the website will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure or that defects will be corrected, or that the “Community” portion of the website (or the server(s) on which it is hosted) 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 NJSBA does not represent or guarantee the truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of communications posted by users or endorse any opinions expressed by users. You acknowledge that any reliance on material posted by other users will be at your own risk. The NJSBA acts as a passive 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. If notified by a user of communications which allegedly do not conform to these Terms and Conditions, the NJSBA may investigate the allegation and determine in good faith, in its sole discretion, whether to remove or request the removal of the communication. The NJSBA has no liability or responsibility to users for performance or nonperformance of such activities. The NJSBA 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. The NJSBA 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 NJSBA or its members, or of jeopardizing the services of the NJSBA’s ISPs or other suppliers.  While using the site, you agree to comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations.

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 NJSBA cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information transmitted and you do so at your own risk.

The NJSBA accepts no responsibility for the opinions and information posted in any community by others and/or for your reliance thereon. In no event shall NJSBA 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 NJSBA 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 NJSBA 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!