Steno Agency Website Terms of Use

Effective as of August 7th, 2023

YOUR USE OF AND ACCESS TO THE WEBSITE LOCATED AT WWW.STENO.COM (THE “SITE”) AND PRODUCTS AND SERVICES AND ASSOCIATED SOFTWARE, INCLUDING THE PROVIDER DASHBOARD, THE FIRM (CLIENT) DASHBOARD, STENO CONNECT, AND ALL THIRD-PARTY INTEGRATIONS (COLLECTIVELY, THE “SERVICES”) OF STENO AGENCY, INC. (“STENO” “US,” “OUR” AND “WE”) IS CONDITIONED UPON YOUR COMPLIANCE WITH AND ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS. PLEASE REVIEW THESE TERMS THOROUGHLY BEFORE PROCEEDING.

THESE TERMS OF USE (THESE “TERMS”) SET FORTH THE LEGALLY BINDING TERMS AND CONDITIONS THAT GOVERN YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND SERVICES AND APPLY TO ALL USERS VISITING THE SITE BY ACCESSING OR USING THE SITE IN ANY WAY, INCLUDING THE SERVICES AND RESOURCES AVAILABLE OR ENABLED VIA THE SITE, INCLUDING YOUR FIRM DASHBOARD, THE PROVIDER DASHBOARD, STENO CONNECT, OR CONNECTING THROUGH A THIRD PARTY INTEGRATION. BY COMPLETING THE REGISTRATION PROCESS AND/OR BROWSING THE SITE, YOU ARE ACCEPTING THESE TERMS (ON BEHALF OF YOURSELF OR THE ENTITY THAT YOU REPRESENT), AND YOU REPRESENT AND WARRANT THAT YOU HAVE THE RIGHT, AUTHORITY, AND CAPACITY TO ENTER INTO THESE TERMS (ON BEHALF OF YOURSELF OR THE ENTITY THAT YOU REPRESENT). YOU MAY NOT ACCESS OR USE THE SITE OR ACCEPT THE TERMS IF YOU ARE NOT AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH ALL OF THE PROVISIONS OF THESE TERMS, DO NOT ACCESS AND/OR USE THE SITE.

THESE TERMS REQUIRE THE USE OF ARBITRATION ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS TO RESOLVE DISPUTES, RATHER THAN JURY TRIALS OR CLASS ACTIONS, AND ALSO LIMIT THE REMEDIES AVAILABLE TO YOU IN THE EVENT OF A DISPUTE.

1. License to use the Site and Services. Subject to these Terms, Steno grants you a non-transferable, non-exclusive, revocable, limited license to (a) use and access the Site and Services solely for your own personal, noncommercial use; and (b) access, download and use the content and information made available by Steno on the Site and Services solely for personal and/or academic, noncommercial purposes.
   
2. Use of the Services and Your Responsibilities. You may only use the Services pursuant to the terms of this Agreement. You are solely responsible for Your and Your End Users’ use of the Services and shall abide by, and ensure compliance with, all Laws in connection with Your and each End User’s use of the Services, including but not limited to Laws related to recording, intellectual property, privacy, and export control.
3. Registered User. In order to access certain features of the Site and/or user the Services, you may be required to become a Registered User. For purposes of the Terms, a “Registered User” is a user who has registered an account on the Site or for purposes of using the Services (“Account”).
4. Eligibility. In registering an account, You agree that you are at least eighteen (18) years old and fully able and competent to understand, agree to, and abide by the terms, conditions, representations, and warranties set forth in this Agreement. You further agree that You are not prohibited under any law, rule, or for any other reason, from accessing the Site and/or using any of the Services. Steno reserves the right to terminate Your access without warning if it reasonably believes You are not eligible to use the Site and/or Services pursuant to this Agreement.
5. Accurate Account Information. In registering an account, You agree that any such information shall be accurate. You are entirely responsible for all activities that occur under your Account and for maintaining the security of Your account. You agree that you will monitor your Account to ensure that no unauthorized person has gained access to Your Account. You agree to notify the Company immediately of any unauthorized use of Your Account or of any other breach of security.
6. Your Content. You agree that You are solely responsible for the content (“Content”) sent or transmitted by You or displayed or uploaded by You or delivered by Steno pursuant to an agreement or work order to You through the Services. Such Content may include transcripts, exhibits, court filings, subpoenas, and/or other documents. You are also responsible for compliance with all Laws pertaining to the Content, including, but not limited to, Laws requiring You to obtain the consent of a third party to use the Content and to provide appropriate notices of third-party rights or to enter into a Business Associate’s Agreement with Steno. You represent and warrant that You have the right to upload the Content to the Services and/or to have the Content uploaded to the Services by Steno on Your behalf and that such use does not violate or infringe on any rights of any third party or violate any Law. Under no circumstances will Steno be liable in any way for any (a) Content that is transmitted or viewed while using the Services or stored on the Services, (b) errors or omissions in the Content, or (c) any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of, access to, or denial of access to Content. You retain copyright and any other rights You already hold in Content which You submit, post or display on or through, the Services.
7. Recordings. By using the Services, you are giving Steno consent to record your meeting and store recordings for any or all Steno depositions, hearings, or other meetings that you join, if such recordings are stored in our systems, including on Steno Connect, Zoom, or any similar platform. On Steno Connect, you will see a notification before you enter the room notifying you that recording is enabled for your meeting. If you do not consent to being recorded, you should not enter the meeting. If you do not use Steno Connect, you agree to accept and rely on the notifications (visual or otherwise) provided to you by those third-party entities; you agree to hold Steno harmless if you do not agree with the method or manner of notification of those third-party entities. In all instances, if you do not consent to being recorded, you can choose to leave the meeting.
8. Certain Restrictions. The rights granted to you in these Terms are subject to the following restrictions: (a) you shall not license, sell, rent, lease, transfer, assign, distribute, host, or otherwise commercially exploit the Site or the Services, whether in whole or in part, or any content displayed on the Site or on the Services; (b) you shall not modify, make derivative works of, disassemble, reverse compile or reverse engineer any part of the Site or the Services; (c) you shall not access the Site or the Services or any content thereon in order to build a similar or competitive website, product, or service; and (d) except as expressly stated herein, no part of the Site or the Services may be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or transmitted in any form or by any means. Unless otherwise indicated, any future release, update, or other addition to functionality of the Site or Services shall be subject to these Terms. All copyright and other proprietary notices on the Site or the Services (or on any content displayed on the Site) must be retained on all copies thereof.
9. Your Responsibilities for End Users. From time to time, you may give access to any of the Services to another person (an “End User”). Any person (such as a legal assistant, paralegal, etc.) added to the Firm Dashboard is considered an “End User.”
   1. Responsibilities for End Users. You are responsible for the activities of all of Your End Users to whom You have provided access or use of the Services. You agree to ensure that any such End User will comply with the terms of this Agreement and any applicable Steno policy. Steno assumes no responsibility or liability for any damage to You due to access to the Services by an End User or for any violation of this Agreement or of any policy by an End User. If You become aware of any violation of this Agreement in connection with the use of the Services by any person, including any End User, please contact Steno at legal@steno.com. Steno may investigate any complaints and violations that it learns of and may take any (or no) action that it believes is appropriate, including but not limited to, terminating access of any End User to any of the Services. Under no circumstances will Steno be liable for any data or other content viewed while using the Services, including any damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of, access, to, or denial of access to any of the Services.
   2. Responsibilities of Administrators on Firm Dashboard. To the extent You are an Administrator on Firm Dashboard of Your Law Firm (as defined in paragraph 8 of these Terms), it is Your responsibility to ensure that any End User You add to the Firm Dashboard is added for the purpose of viewing, downloading, accessing, any information on the Firm Dashboard or otherwise using the Services and has the permission and authority to be added to the Firm Dashboard. As an Administrator, you are solely responsible for maintaining the list of End Users to your Firm Dashboard and ensuring that the list of End Users is accurate and up to date. Under no circumstances will Steno be liable in any way due to any use of, or access to, the Services as a result of the addition of any End User by an Administrator to the Firm Dashboard or failure to remove any End User from the Firm Dashboard. In the event you will cease employment at Your Law Firm, it is Your responsibility to inform Your Law Firm that it may need to select a new Administrator. Steno will not be liable in any way for damages to a Law Firm as a result of the denial of any access to the Services or for the viewing, use, or access of the Services, due to the departure of an Administrator.
10. Steno Obligations Regarding Content. Steno will maintain reasonable physical and technical safeguards to prevent unauthorized disclosure of, or access to, the Content, in accordance strict industry standards and the policies guiding SOC2 compliance. Steno will not access or view any Content except (a) as authorized or instructed by You, (b) as required to perform its obligations to You pursuant to an Agreement with You or a specific work order, (c) as provided for in this Agreement and Steno’s Privacy policy, or (b) as required by Law. Steno has no other obligations with respect to the Content.

11. HIPAA Compliance.  Upon request, Steno will provide a remote platform that has been approved for use in proceedings in which protected health information ("PHI") may be involved. It is Your responsibility, or the responsibility of Your Firm, to request that a Business Associates Agreement ("BAA") is sought and obtained from Steno and/or its subcontractors in order to ensure that any job requested by Steno is fully compliant with the The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA"). Unless a job is fully HIPAA-compliant with a BAA in place, Steno will not have any responsibility for notifying You or Your Firm in the event of a data breach.
12. Modification of the Site or Services. Steno reserves the right, at any time, to modify, suspend, or discontinue the Site (in whole or in part) or any Services with or without notice to you. You agree that Steno will not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension, or discontinuation of the Site, the Services, or any part thereof.
13. No Support or Maintenance. You acknowledge and agree that Steno will have no obligation to provide you with any support or maintenance in connection with the Site or the Services. Unless stated in a separate agreement with Steno, Steno will not be liable in any way for damages to You as a result of Your inability to access the Site or use the Services.
14. Intellectual Property Rights. You acknowledge that all the intellectual property rights, including copyrights, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets, in the Site and/or Services and their content, other than the Content transmitted through the Services, are owned by Steno or Steno’s suppliers. Neither these Terms (nor your access to the Site or Services) transfers to you or any third party any rights, title or interest in or to such intellectual property rights, except for the limited access rights expressly set forth in Paragraph 1. Steno and its suppliers reserve all rights not granted in these Terms. There are no implied licenses granted under these Terms.
15. Risks of Use. You understand that Steno may use independent contractors to perform services rendered under this Agreement to You. While Steno does its best to ensure that it only works with quality independent contractors, You assume the risk that something may happen to an independent contractor (tardiness, neglect, injury) beyond Steno’s control. Steno will not pay for waiting time if one of its independent contractors (such as a court reporter) is late. Nor is Steno liable for actions taken beyond its reasonable control by independent contractors.
16. Rental Policy. Any equipment rented through Steno is only for the purposes of Your proceeding hosted by Steno. You agree to comply with all applicable laws and regulations with the use of any rental equipment provided by Steno. By using any computer, tablet, phone, or other similar device rented through Steno, you further agree not to (a) download any third-party software, (b) use the rental equipment for personal purposes, (c) use the rental equipment to violate any law, rule, or regulation. You understand that you may be charged if Steno has to remove software or other material from rented devices and that Steno assumes no liability whatsoever in connection with any rental equipment.
17. Charges and Payment Terms.
    1. Charges to Law Firms. Steno charges rates for services that are in line with generally accepted rates for equivalent services in the industry. For clients, Steno makes its rates available on a rate card, which Steno provides upon request and may be separately negotiated. If You or Your Firm requests services and are not a client of Steno’s (e., you request a copy of a transcript or video), Steno will charge generally accepted or market rates for those services, which You or Your Firm has a right to request ahead of time. By requesting Steno’s services, You and/or Your Firm are agreeing to the rates charged by Steno, either on the rate card most recently provided to You and/or Your Firm and the terms listed on such card, or if no rate card was provided to You or Your Firm because You or Your Firm are not a client, then the generally accepted market rates for such services. Steno may calculate the total fees payable to Steno for the applicable service requested, but such a quotation is an estimate and is non-binding; Your Firm will still be responsible for the total amount of the invoice, even if the amount charged exceeds the estimated amount. Steno reserves the right to charge interest on invoices that are over 30 days late.
    2. Payments to Service Providers. Steno works with court reporters, videographers, interpreters, process servers and other third parties that offer a service through Steno to complete jobs for Firms (collectively, “Service Providers”). Steno agrees to pay for services generally accepted in the industry at rates that are generally accepted in the industry. Steno reserves the right to set prices for specific services or reimburse Service Providers at the Service Provider’s invoiced rates. Steno also reserves the right to challenge any invoiced item by a Service Provider that Steno reasonably does not believe is in line with standard industry practices. Steno may provide price estimates or time estimates for a job, but such estimates are non-binding; Steno will pay Service Provider once a job has been completed at the appropriate rates for that job.
    3. Penalties for Nonpayment. You and/or Your Firm agree that in the event Steno is unable to collect the fees owed to Steno for the services rendered pursuant to Your Agreement with Steno, Steno may take any other steps it deems necessary to collect such fees from You and/or Your Firm. Those steps include, but are not limited to, requiring Your Firm to pay upfront (“COD”) for future jobs, refusing jobs from Your Firm until the balance has been paid off, sending Your Firm to a collections agency, and instituting a lawsuit against Your Firm. You and/or Your Firm will be responsible for all costs and expenses incurred by Steno in connection with such collection activity, including collection fees, court costs and attorneys’ fees. You further agree that Steno may collect interest at the lesser of 1.5% per month or the highest amount permitted by law on any amounts not paid when due.
    4. Third Party Payment Method. Steno uses Stripe, Inc. (“Stripe”) and Bill.com, LLC (“Bill.com”) as its third-party service providers for payment services (g., card acceptance, merchant settlement, and related services). By offering or purchasing any of Steno’s services, You agree to be bound by Stripe’s Privacy Policy: https://stripe.com/us/privacy and Bill.com’s Privacy Notice: https://www.bill.com/privacy/, and hereby consent and authorize Steno, Stripe and Bill.com to share any information and payment instructions you provide with Third Party Service Provider(s) to the minimum extent required to complete your transactions. By offering or purchasing any Service, you also agree to be bound by Stripe’s Service Agreement: https://stripe.com/us/legal and Bill.com’s Terms of Service: https://app.bill.com/TermsOfService.
    5. Accuracy of Payment Information. All information that You provide to Steno or to Stripe must be accurate, current, and complete. By requesting any Service, you authorize Steno to charge your payment card (“Payment Method”) in accordance with this Section. YOU REPRESENT AND WARRANT THAT YOU HAVE THE LEGAL RIGHT TO USE ANY PAYMENT METHOD USED TO PAY ANY FEES. You agree to pay all charges incurred by you or any users of your Account and Payment Method, including any cancellation fee.
18. Cancellation Policies and Fees. You understand there may be cancellation fees associated with any job booked through Steno that is cancelled. Because different Service Providers with which Steno works may have different cancellation policies and fees, Steno reserves the right to charge different cancellation policies and fees for different Service Providers. It is Your responsibility, or the responsibility of Your Firm, to request the specific cancellation policy or fee for any Service Provider on any booked through Steno if not previously made clear to You and/or Your Firm.
    1. Court Reporters and Videographers. In general, unless otherwise stated on Steno’s rate card or communicated to You or someone from Your Firm separately, court reporters and videographers may be cancelled by 4pm (in the same time zone of the requested deposition or hearing) the business day prior to the job to avoid a late fee. Cancellation fees for a court reporter or videographer may be up to $400 per job.
    2. Interpreters. Cancellation policies and fees for interpreters vary by language and location. In general, for most languages, interpreters booked through Steno may be cancelled 48 hours or more in advance of the Service to avoid a cancellation fee. However, interpreters for certain dialects must be cancelled at least 30 days prior to the Service date to avoid a cancellation fee. The cancellation fee for an interpreter may be the interpreter’s full fee for the Service. You must request the specific cancellation policy and estimated fee at the time of booking an interpreter.
19. Indemnification. You agree to indemnify and hold Steno (and its officers, employees, and agents) harmless, including costs and attorneys’ fees, from any claim or demand made by any third party due to or arising out of (a) your use of the Site or the Services; (b) your violation of these Terms; or (c) your violation of applicable laws or regulations. Steno reserves the right, at your expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter for which you are required to indemnify us, and you agree to cooperate with our defense of these claims. You agree not to settle any matter without the prior written consent of Steno. Steno will use reasonable efforts to notify you of any such claim, action or proceeding upon becoming aware of it.
20. Third Party Links. The Site may contain links to third-party websites and services, applications and/or display advertisements for third parties (collectively, “Third-Party Links”). Such Third-Party Links are not under the control of Steno, and Steno is not responsible for any Third-Party Links. Steno provides access to these Third-Party Links only as a convenience to you, and does not review, approve, monitor, endorse, warrant, or make any representations with respect to Third-Party Links. You use all Third-Party Links at your own risk and should apply a suitable level of caution and discretion in doing so. When you click on any of the Third-Party Links, the applicable third party’s terms and policies apply, including the third party’s privacy and data gathering practices. You should make whatever investigation you feel necessary or appropriate before proceeding with any transaction in connection with such Third-Party Links.
21. Third Party Services. Steno may provide tools or integrations that enable You or Your Firm to export information to third-party services, including through features that allow you to link to an account on a third-party service. By using any third-party tool or integration, you agree that Steno may transfer that information to the applicable third-party service. Third-party services are not under Steno’s control, and, to the fullest extent permitted by law, Steno is not responsible for any third-party service’s use of your exported information.
22. Feedback. If You provide Steno with any feedback or suggestions regarding the Site or Services (“Feedback”), you hereby grant Steno a royalty-free, worldwide, transferable, sublicensable, irrevocable, perpetual license to use or incorporate into the Site or any products or services of Steno or otherwise exploit in any manner Steno sees fit any such Feedback. Steno will treat any Feedback You provide to Steno as non-confidential and non-proprietary. You agree that you will not submit to Steno any information or ideas that you consider to be confidential or proprietary.
23. Release. You hereby release and forever discharge Steno (and our officers, employees, agents, successors, and assigns) from, and hereby waive and relinquish, each and every past, present and future dispute, claim, controversy, demand, right, obligation, liability, action and cause of action of every kind and nature (including personal injuries, death, and property damage), that has arisen or arises directly or indirectly out of, or that relates directly or indirectly to, the Site (including any interactions with, or act or omission of, any Third-Party Links). IF YOU ARE A CALIFORNIA RESIDENT, YOU HEREBY WAIVE CALIFORNIA CIVIL CODE SECTION 1542 IN CONNECTION WITH THE FOREGOING, WHICH STATES: “A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS WHICH THE CREDITOR DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN HIS OR HER FAVOR AT THE TIME OF EXECUTING THE RELEASE, WHICH IF KNOWN BY HIM OR HER MUST HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS OR HER SETTLEMENT WITH THE DEBTOR.”
24. Disclaimers. THE SITE, AND ANY CONTENT THEREON, IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS-IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, AND STENO (AND OUR SUPPLIERS) EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING ALL WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, QUIET ENJOYMENT, ACCURACY, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE (AND OUR SUPPLIERS) MAKE NO WARRANTY THAT THE SITE OR SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, WILL BE AVAILABLE ON AN UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE BASIS, OR WILL BE ACCURATE, RELIABLE, FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL CODE, COMPLETE, LEGAL, OR SAFE.
    SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON HOW LONG AN IMPLIED WARRANTY LASTS, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
25. Limitation on Liability. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL STENO (OR OUR SUPPLIERS) BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, COSTS OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS, OR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE SITE OR THE SERVICES, EVEN IF STENO HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. ACCESS TO, AND USE OF, THE SITE AND THE SERVICES IS AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK, AND YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR DEVICE OR COMPUTER SYSTEM, OR LOSS OF DATA RESULTING THEREFROM.
    STENO SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DELAY OR FAILURE IN PERFORMANCE RESULTING FROM CAUSES BEYOND STENO’S REASONABLE CONTROL, FOR INSTANCE, FROM THE DELAY OR FAILURE TO DELIVER A TRANSCRIPT OR OTHER MATERIAL BY A SERVICE PROVIDER, OR FROM A LAST-MINUTE CANCELLATION OF, OR FAILURE TO APPEAR BY, A SERVICE PROVIDER. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT SERVICE PROVIDERS ARE NOT OSTENSIBLE AGENTS, APPARENT AGENTS, ACTUAL AGENTS, OR EMPLOYEES OF STENO.
    TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY CONTAINED HEREIN, STENO’S LIABILITY TO YOU OR YOUR FIRM FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT (FOR ANY CAUSE WHATSOEVER AND REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF THE ACTION), WILL AT ALL TIMES BE LIMITED TO A MAXIMUM OF ONE HUNDRED US DOLLARS (U.S. $100). THE EXISTENCE OF MORE THAN ONE CLAIM WILL NOT ENLARGE THIS LIMIT. YOU AGREE THAT OUR SUPPLIERS WILL HAVE NO LIABILITY OF ANY KIND ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT.
    SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
26. Term and Termination. Subject to this Section, these Terms will remain in full force and effect while You use the Site and/or the Services. We may suspend or terminate Your rights to use the Site or the Services at any time for any reason at our sole discretion, including for any use in violation of these Terms. Upon termination of your rights under these Terms, your right to access and use the Site and/or the Services will terminate immediately. Steno will not have any liability whatsoever to you for any termination of Your rights under these Terms.
27. Changes to These Terms. These Terms are subject to occasional revision, and if we make any substantial changes, we may notify you by sending you an e-mail to the last e-mail address you provided to us (if any), and/or by posting the changes on our Site. You are responsible for providing us with your most current e-mail address. In the event that the last e-mail address that you have provided us is not valid, or for any reason is not capable of delivering to you the notice described above, our dispatch of the e-mail containing such notice will nonetheless constitute effective notice of the changes described in the notice. Any changes to these Terms will be effective upon the earlier of thirty (30) calendar days following our dispatch of an e-mail notice to you (if applicable) or thirty (30) calendar days following our posting of notice of the changes on our Site. These changes will be effective immediately for new users of our Site and/or the Services. Continued use of our Site and/or the Services following notice of such changes shall indicate your acknowledgement of such changes and agreement to be bound by the terms and conditions of such changes.
28. Privacy and Other Policies. Steno will collect and/or process personal data pursuant to its Privacy Policy, available at steno.com/privacy. Steno’s Privacy Policy and the Court Reporter Agreement (to the extent applicable) are incorporated into this Agreement by reference.
29. Dispute Resolution. PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY. IT AFFECTS YOUR RIGHTS.
    Any and all controversies, disputes, demands, counts, claims, or causes of action (including the interpretation and scope of this clause, and the arbitrability of the controversy, dispute, demand, count, claim, or cause of action) between You and/or Your Firm, on the one hand, and Steno and its employees, agents, successors, or assigns, on the other hand, regarding or relating to the Site and/or the Services and/or these Terms shall exclusively be settled through binding and confidential arbitration.
    Arbitration shall be subject to the Federal Arbitration Act and not any state arbitration law. The arbitration shall be conducted before one commercial arbitrator with substantial experience in resolving commercial contract disputes from the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) or JAMS. As modified by these Terms, and unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties in writing, the arbitration will be governed by the AAA’s or JAMS’s rules for commercial arbitration and, if the arbitrator deems them applicable, the procedures for consumer-related disputes.
    YOU (ON BEHALF OF YOURSELF AND/OR YOUR FIRM) ARE THUS GIVING UP YOUR RIGHT TO GO TO COURT TO ASSERT OR DEFEND YOUR RIGHTS EXCEPT FOR MATTERS THAT MAY BE TAKEN TO SMALL CLAIMS COURT. YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE DETERMINED BY A NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR AND NOT A JUDGE OR JURY. YOU ARE ENTITLED TO A FAIR HEARING, BUT THE ARBITRATION PROCEDURES ARE SIMPLER AND MORE LIMITED THAN RULES APPLICABLE IN COURT. ARBITRATOR DECISIONS ARE AS ENFORCEABLE AS ANY COURT ORDER AND ARE SUBJECT TO VERY LIMITED REVIEW BY A COURT.
    You and Steno must abide by the following rules: (1) any claims brought by You or Steno must be brought in the parties’ individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class or representative proceeding; (2) the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person’s claims, may not otherwise preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding, and may not award class-wide relief, (3) in the event that You are able to demonstrate that the costs of arbitration will be prohibitive as compared to costs of litigation, Steno will pay as much of Your filing and hearing fees in connection with the arbitration as the arbitrator deems necessary to prevent the arbitration from being cost-prohibitive as compared to the cost of litigation, (4) Steno also reserves the right in its sole and exclusive discretion to assume responsibility for all of the costs of the arbitration; (5) the arbitrator shall honor claims of privilege and privacy recognized at law; (6) the arbitrator’s award shall be final and may be enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction; (7) the arbitrator may award any individual relief or individual remedies that are permitted by applicable law; and (8) each side pays its own attorneys’ fees and expenses unless there is a statutory provision that requires the prevailing party to be paid its fees’ and litigation expenses, and then in such instance, the fees and costs awarded shall be determined by the applicable law.
    Notwithstanding the foregoing, either You or Steno may bring an individual action in small claims court. Further, claims of infringement or misappropriation of the other party’s patent, copyright, trademark, or trade secret shall not be subject to this arbitration agreement. Such claims shall be exclusively brought in the state or federal courts located in Los Angeles, California. Additionally, notwithstanding this agreement to arbitrate, either party may seek emergency equitable relief before the state or federal courts located in Los Angeles, California in order to maintain the status quo pending arbitration, and hereby agree to submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of the courts located within Los Angeles, California for such purpose. A request for interim measures shall not be deemed a waiver of the right to arbitrate.
    With the exception of subparts (1) and (2) in the above paragraph in this Section 28 (prohibiting arbitration on a class or collective basis), if any part of this arbitration provision is deemed to be invalid, unenforceable or illegal, or otherwise conflicts with the Agreement, then the balance of this arbitration provision shall remain in effect and shall be construed in accordance with its terms as if the invalid, unenforceable, illegal or conflicting provision were not contained herein. If, however, either subparts (1) and (2) in the above paragraph in this Section 28 (prohibiting arbitration on a class or collective basis) is found to be invalid, unenforceable or illegal, then the entirety of this arbitration provision shall be null and void, and neither You nor Steno shall be entitled to arbitration.
    If for any reason a claim proceeds in court rather than in arbitration, the dispute shall be exclusively brought in state or federal court in Los Angeles, California.
    Notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement to the contrary, if Steno seeks to terminate the Dispute Resolution section as included in these Terms, any such termination shall not be effective until 30 days after the version of these Terms not containing the agreement to arbitrate is posted to the Site, and shall not be effective (a) as to any claim of which You and/or Your Firm provided Steno with written notice, or (b) to any claim of which Steno provided You and/or Your Firm written notice, prior to the date of termination.
    For more information on AAA, its Rules and Procedures, and how to file an arbitration claim, you may call AAA at 800-778-7879 or visit the AAA website at http://www.adr.org. For more information on JAMS, it’s Rules and Procedures, and how to file an arbitration claim, you may call JAMS at 800-352-5267 or visit the JAMS website at http://www.jamsadr.com.
    Any and all controversies, disputes, demands, counts, claims, or causes of action between You (and/or Your Firm) and Steno and its employees, agents, successors, or assigns, regarding or relating to these Terms or the Site shall exclusively be governed by the internal laws of the State of California, without regard to its choice of law rules and without regard to conflicts of laws principles except that the arbitration provision shall be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods shall not apply to these Terms.
30. Export. The Site and/or the Services may be subject to U.S. export control laws and may be subject to export or import regulations in other countries. You agree not to export, reexport, or transfer, directly or indirectly, any U.S. technical data acquired from Steno, or any products utilizing such data, in violation of the United States export laws or regulations.
31. Electronic Communications. The communications between You and/or Your Firm and Steno use electronic means, whether You use the Site, the Services or send email correspondence, or whether Steno posts notices on the Site, the Services, or communicates with You and/or Your Firm via email. For contractual purposes, You (on behalf of Yourself and/or Your Firm) (a) consent to receive communications from Steno in an electronic form; and (b) agree that all terms and conditions, agreements, notices, disclosures, and other communications that Steno provides to You and/or Your Firm electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications would satisfy if they were in a hardcopy writing. The foregoing does not affect Your non-waivable rights.
32. Entire Terms. These Terms constitute the entire agreement between You and Steno regarding the use of the Site and/or the Services. Steno’s failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not operate as a waiver of such right or provision. The section titles in these Terms are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect. The word “including” means “including without limitation”. If any provision of these Terms is, for any reason, held to be invalid or unenforceable, the other provisions of these Terms will be unimpaired and the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed modified so that it is valid and enforceable to the maximum extent permitted by law. Your relationship to Steno is that of an independent contractor, and neither party is an agent or partner of the other. These Terms, and Your rights and obligations herein, may not be assigned, subcontracted, delegated, or otherwise transferred by You without Steno’s prior written consent, and any attempted assignment, subcontract, delegation, or transfer in violation of the foregoing will be null and void. Steno may freely assign these Terms. The terms and conditions set forth in these Terms shall be binding upon assignees.
33. Copyright/Trademark Information. Copyright © 2023, Steno Agency, Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks, logos and service marks (“Marks”) displayed on the Site are our property or the property of other third parties. You are not permitted to use these Marks without our prior written consent or the consent of such third party which may own the Marks.
34. Contact Information

Steno Agency, Inc.
315 W. 9th Street
Suite 807
Los Angeles, California 90015

(888) 707-8366
concierge@steno.com