TERMS OF SERVICE

The Language Firm

languagefirm.org — Effective Date: April 2026

Notice: These Terms of Service are currently in draft form and subject to revision. By using our Services, you agree to the terms as currently posted. We recommend checking this page periodically for updates. These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the services, products, and content offered by The Language Firm ("Company," "we," "us," or "our") through languagefirm.org and any related platforms, tools, or applications. By accessing or using any of our Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms.

1. Services Covered

These Terms apply to all services and products we offer, including:

  • The Tool Vault, a free publishing channel that distributes the weekly District Filing, the Weekly Incident Bulletin, First Watch: The Drift Audit, the Federal Findings Digest, and related Tool Vault materials.

  • The Watchlist Subscription, a paid subscription service that monitors a subscriber's designated tool inventory on a recurring basis and delivers written findings on incidents and contract drift.

  • The District Filing Workshop, a fixed-scope professional engagement delivered to a district cabinet over a defined term, producing a signed written record of findings and in-house method materials.

  • Paid article access and subscriber-only content associated with any of the above.

  • Documentation, content, and support channels associated with any of the above.

2. Eligibility and Authority

You must be able to form a binding contract to use our Services. If you are using the Services on behalf of a school, district, organization, or other entity, you represent that you have the authority to bind that entity to these Terms.

3. Order of Precedence

If you and the Company enter into an order form, statement of work ("SOW"), data processing addendum ("DPA"), or other written agreement for specific Services, that agreement controls in the event of a conflict with these Terms for those Services.

4. Accounts, Licensing, and Access

Some Services, including The Watchlist Subscription and paid article access, require an account and a paid subscription.

  • Access may be controlled by subscription tier, seat counts, domain assignments, or other licensing mechanisms.

  • You may not share accounts or credentials in a way that circumvents seat limits or access controls.

  • We may perform periodic checks to verify subscription status and entitlement.

5. Orders, Fees, Billing, and Renewals

Pricing, plan features, billing cadence, and seat counts are presented at checkout and/or in an applicable order form or SOW.

  • Payments are processed by Stripe. By completing a purchase, you authorize us and Stripe to charge your payment method for amounts due.

  • Subscriptions may auto-renew unless cancelled before the renewal date in accordance with the plan terms presented at purchase.

  • We will provide an order confirmation after purchase that includes your subscription terms and cancellation instructions.

  • Applicable taxes are your responsibility unless otherwise required by law.

6. Cancellations

The Watchlist Subscription, Paid Article Access, and Other Subscription Services

You may cancel your subscription at any time. Cancellation stops future renewals. Unless otherwise stated at the time of purchase, access continues through the end of your then-current paid billing period.

To cancel a subscription:

  • Log in to your account at languagefirm.org

  • Click the "Account" link in the site navigation

  • Select "Manage Subscription" next to the subscription you wish to cancel

  • Follow the prompts to cancel

You may also request cancellation by emailing jcs@thelanguagefirm.org from your billing email address. Include your account email and the subscription you wish to cancel.

Third-Party Marketplace Purchases

If you purchased through a third-party marketplace, billing, renewals, cancellations, and refunds may be administered by that marketplace and subject to its own terms and policies.

7. Refund Policy

This Refund Policy applies unless different written terms are included in an order form, SOW, or other signed agreement.

Subscription Services (including The Watchlist Subscription and paid article access)

  • First-time subscribers may request a full refund within fourteen (14) days of the initial charge. If a refund is issued within this window, access will end when the refund is processed.

  • Renewal fees, including auto-renewals, are non-refundable except as required by applicable law.

  • Cancellation stops future charges; access typically continues through the end of the then-current paid period.

  • Seat upgrades may take effect immediately and may be prorated. Seat reductions or downgrades take effect at the next renewal; we do not provide refunds for mid-cycle reductions.

Professional Engagements (The District Filing Workshop and Other Professional Engagements)

  • Fees are non-refundable once service delivery has begun or deliverables have been provided.

  • If you cancel before delivery begins, we may at our discretion offer a reschedule or service credit, less any non-recoverable costs.

  • Travel, lodging, and third-party costs incurred on your behalf are non-refundable.

How to Request a Refund

Email jcs@thelanguagefirm.org and include your account email, purchase date, and reason for the request.

Chargebacks and Disputes

If you initiate a chargeback or payment dispute, we may suspend access while the dispute is pending. If a chargeback is resolved in your favor, access may remain terminated for that purchase.

8. Customer Content and Responsibilities

"Customer Content" means data, text, files, and information you or your organization submit to or generate using the Services, including where applicable, student records.

You retain ownership of your Customer Content. You grant the Company a limited, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, process, transmit, display, and otherwise use Customer Content solely to provide, secure, maintain, and support the Services, and as permitted by any applicable order form, SOW, or DPA.

You are responsible for:

  • Having the rights and permissions to use and input your Customer Content

  • Complying with applicable laws and policies, including FERPA and district or school policies

  • Maintaining appropriate access controls and sharing permissions in your own workspace or storage environments

9. Education Data and Data Processing

Where Customer Content includes education records, we process such data only to provide the Services and as directed by you, in accordance with applicable law including FERPA. If your organization requires a Data Processing Addendum ("DPA"), please contact us at jcs@thelanguagefirm.org. Where a DPA is executed, it controls in the event of a conflict with these Terms.

10. Student Data Commitments (K–12)

To the extent Customer Content includes student data or education records, we handle such data in accordance with applicable federal and state law, including FERPA. We do not sell student data or use it for targeted advertising. Most Workshop and Watchlist engagements do not require the transfer of student records to the Company, because the Company's method is the analysis of vendor, policy, and regulatory language rather than the processing of student data. Where such transfer is contemplated, a DPA will be executed before data is shared. Organizations with specific contractual requirements for student data handling are encouraged to contact us before using the Services with student data.

11. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

  • Use the Services to violate any law or regulation

  • Upload or process data you do not have the right to use

  • Reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract source code, except as permitted by law

  • Bypass or attempt to bypass licensing, authentication, or security controls

  • Interfere with or disrupt the Services, including unauthorized load testing

  • Transmit malicious code or attempt to compromise our systems or infrastructure

12. Professional Engagements

When you purchase The District Filing Workshop or any other professional engagement offered by the Company:

  • Scope, deliverables, timelines, and fees are governed by the applicable SOW, order form, or written agreement.

  • You acknowledge that the Company's findings are the product of applied linguistic analysis of documents you provide or authorize us to access, that the Company does not independently verify facts asserted by third parties in those documents, and that the Company's outputs are advisory in nature and do not constitute a guarantee of any compliance outcome, audit result, or regulatory determination.

  • Deliverables from The District Filing Workshop and The Watchlist Subscription are advisory findings produced through forensic language analysis. They are not certifications, attestations, legal opinions, or regulated audits, and they do not substitute for review by counsel or the exercise of district judgment.

  • We provide advisory and implementation support. We do not provide legal advice unless explicitly stated in a written agreement. Our findings are intended to inform, not replace, the determinations of your legal counsel and institutional leadership.

  • You are responsible for decisions and actions taken based on our outputs, and for compliance determinations made in consultation with your counsel and leadership.

13. Intellectual Property

We own the Services and all related intellectual property, excluding Customer Content. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Services during your subscription term or engagement period, subject to these Terms.

You may not use our trademarks, logos, or branding without prior written permission, except as necessary to identify the Services in a factual, non-misleading manner.

14. Confidentiality

If we receive non-public information from you during support or professional engagements, we will use it only to provide the Services and will take reasonable steps to protect it. Additional confidentiality obligations may be specified in an SOW or DPA.

15. Privacy

Our Privacy Policy is incorporated into these Terms by reference. By using the Services, you agree to the data collection and use practices described in our Privacy Policy, available at languagefirm.org.

16. Disclaimers

THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE." TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. We do not guarantee that the Services will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that outputs will satisfy all regulatory requirements without independent human review. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain warranty disclaimers; in those jurisdictions, these disclaimers apply only to the extent permitted by law.

17. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF DATA, PROFITS, OR REVENUE. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE SERVICES WILL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNTS PAID BY YOU TO US IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM (OR $100 IF YOU ARE ON A FREE PLAN), WHICHEVER IS GREATER.

Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under applicable law. Where prohibited by law, this section does not limit liability for gross negligence or willful misconduct.

18. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Company and its officers, employees, and agents from and against claims, damages, losses, and costs (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of:

  • Your Customer Content

  • Your violation of these Terms or applicable laws

  • Your misuse of the Services

19. Suspension and Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access if:

  • You violate these Terms

  • Fees are unpaid

  • We reasonably believe continued access poses a security, legal, or operational risk

Upon termination, your right to use the Services ends. Customer Content may remain in your own workspace or storage environment under your control. We may retain limited billing and licensing records as described in our Privacy Policy and as required by law.

20. Changes to Services or Terms

We may modify the Services and these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be posted with an updated effective date and may be communicated through the Services or by email. Continued use of the Services after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

21. Governing Law and Venue

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, excluding conflict-of-law rules. Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Alameda County, California (or the Northern District of California for federal matters). You consent to personal jurisdiction in those courts, unless otherwise required by applicable law.

22. Miscellaneous

  • Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full effect.

  • Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets.

  • Waiver. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of our right to enforce it in the future.

  • Force Majeure. We are not liable for delays or failures caused by events beyond our reasonable control.

  • Entire Agreement. These Terms, together with any applicable order form, SOW, or DPA, constitute the entire agreement between you and the Company regarding the Services.

23. Contact

For support, questions about these Terms, or cancellation requests:

Email: jcs@thelanguagefirm.org

Website: languagefirm.org