GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE OF THE WEBSITE OADVOGADO.PT
Last updated: 24/10/2025
1. General Framework
1.1. This document governs the general terms and conditions for use of the website oadvogado.pt (hereinafter, the “Platform”), owned by INOVALEX, LDA, legal entity no. 518938085, headquartered at Rua Professora Alice Conceição Ferreira Martins, 36, 1.º dto, 4745-398 São Mamede Coronado, Trofa, Portugal.
1.2. The Platform’s purpose is to facilitate the scheduling of legal consultations and services between users (hereinafter “Clients”) and Lawyers duly registered with the Portuguese Bar Association, who join the Platform as independent service providers.
1.3. By using the Platform, the Client declares that they have read, understood, and accept in full these Terms and Conditions.
2. Role of the Platform
2.1. The Platform does not provide legal services itself.
2.2. Its functions are limited to:
a) providing a digital interface for booking consultations;
b) assigning the Client’s consultation request to a Lawyer based on two objective criteria: (i) availability for the time selected by the Client; and (ii) area of legal competence (type of consultation), without taking into account the Lawyer’s geographical location;
c) technically managing payments and, where applicable, rescheduling consultations or resolving communication failures between Client and Lawyer.
2.3. The Platform is a technical party in the execution of the scheduled consultation; it does not interfere with the consultation’s content, nor is it responsible for the quality, validity, or consequences of the legal advice given, which remains the sole responsibility of the Lawyer as an independent professional duly registered with the Portuguese Bar Association.
2.4. This exclusive liability of the Lawyer also includes the evaluation of any request for full or partial refund of amounts paid; the Platform may not pronounce on such matters or substitute itself for the Lawyer’s decision.
3. Assignment of Consultations
3.1. Consultations are assigned automatically by the Platform via a subjectively neutral, rotational system, based on the Lawyers’ previously indicated scheduling availability and competence in the relevant legal area. The Client does not choose which Lawyer will be assigned.
3.2. Initial consultations are assigned in accordance with objective, rotational, and transparent criteria, via a sequential queue system, ensuring not only fairness and transparency necessary to maintain fair competition among Lawyers, but also effectively realizing the Platform’s central goal: enabling the Client to access a Lawyer quickly, conveniently, and remotely, at the time desired by the Client.
3.3. In the event of unexpected unavailability by the Lawyer or the Client after booking, at the request of either party, the Platform will reassign the request to another eligible Lawyer to ensure the consultation takes place within the time frame desired by the Client.
3.4. However, nothing prevents the assigned Lawyer, if they so wish, from directly agreeing with the Client on a new time for the consultation, by mutual agreement and independently, even using another platform or means of communication (such as telephone or email).
3.5. In case of unforeseen unavailability of the Lawyer, the Platform will endeavor to propose to the Client a new scheduling with the same Lawyer at another time or with another Lawyer at the same time.
3.6. If no agreement on rescheduling is possible with the Client, the consultation fee will be refunded.
3.7. The Platform offers consultations in foreign languages; the Client must select this option should they desire that the consultation not be in Portuguese.
3.8. The Platform is not obligated to guarantee that the Lawyer has proficiency in a language other than Portuguese should the Client select a consultation in a foreign language.
3.9. The Platform does not provide legal advice under any circumstances. Its function is limited to enabling the scheduling of consultations with Lawyers registered with the Bar. If necessary, users may be assisted, via chat, in booking a consultation, which serves only that purpose.
3.10. The Client should not, and need not, disclose their full legal situation in the chat as if it were a consultation with a Lawyer. The Platform’s chat support is only intended to assist in identifying the consultation type most suited to their case, and does not require a detailed case description. If appropriate, a Lawyer may contact the Client to assist in that selection.
3.11. In a General Consultation, the Lawyer may provide general legal guidance on the matter presented, including, where appropriate, referral to another professional specialized in the subject. Under this modality, it is not guaranteed that the Lawyer has specialization in the legal area the Client desires.
3.12. In specialized-area consultations, the Client will be served by a Lawyer with practice in the relevant legal field; this modality is suitable for matters requiring deeper analysis or ongoing legal assistance.
4. Payments and Invoicing
4.1. The consultation fee is paid in advance via the Platform. Booking is only valid after payment confirmation.
4.2. Subsequent legal services (follow-ups) contracted with the Lawyer may also be paid through the Platform.
4.3. The Platform acts solely as a technical means for collection and transfer of amounts, in the name and on behalf of the Lawyers.
4.4. The Lawyer is responsible for issuing the invoice/receipt corresponding to the total amount charged to the Client and delivering it to the Client.
4.5. The Lawyer confers to INOVALEX, LDA, as manager of the oadvogado.pt platform, a mandate (arts. 1157 et seq. of the Portuguese Civil Code) to receive, in its name and on its behalf, the amounts paid by Clients as fees for legal services scheduled through the Platform.
4.6. INOVALEX, LDA does not assume ownership of the amounts paid by Clients; it acts exclusively as agent for collection and transfer of said amounts to the Lawyer, under the terms of articles 1157.º and following of the Civil Code.
5. Cancellations and Refunds
Initial Consultations:
5.1. The Client may cancel the consultation and is entitled to a full refund of the amount paid.
5.2. If the Client fails to attend the consultation without prior notice, they will not be entitled to a refund, but may reschedule once at no additional cost.
5.3. If the Lawyer fails to attend, the full amount paid will be refunded to the Client, or the consultation will be rescheduled, at the Client’s preference.
Subsequent (Follow-up) Services:
5.4. If the Client withdraws from a subsequent service after it has begun (e.g. case study, drafting a document, preparing pleadings, etc.), the refund will be determined exclusively by the Lawyer, based on applicable legal criteria.
5.5. The Platform does not verify or validate the merit of the refund request; it merely processes the amount instructed by the Lawyer, provided that the amount is still held by the Platform.
5.6. The Platform limits itself to processing the refund per the Lawyer’s instruction, without assuming responsibility for verifying or legal justification of the refund request.
5.7. This assessment is solely the responsibility of the Lawyer, who bears full liability vis-à-vis the Client, as is customary in the Client–Lawyer relationship under law.
5.8. If the amounts have already been transferred to the Lawyer and the Lawyer decides to refund, such refund is to be handled exclusively by the Lawyer.
General Provisions:
5.9. The stated duration for each consultation (e.g. 30 or 45 minutes) corresponds to the estimated total dedication by the Lawyer and may be fulfilled in different modalities.
5.10. The consultation fee is tied to the provision of legal advice, not strictly to the videoconference time.
5.11. The consultation may proceed:
a) via videoconference or telephone call, fully or partially; and/or
b) via a written response to the client’s issue, document review, or sending supplementary information by email, prepared after or in lieu of the call.
5.12. The consultation fee corresponds to the legal advice provided regardless of modality; the service may include videoconference, call and/or written response, and all these modalities are considered equivalent for the purpose of fulfilling the Lawyer’s obligation, even when delivered at different times.
5.13. No refund is due if the consultation has been conducted, including in cases where the Lawyer, exercising professional autonomy, considers it more appropriate to provide part of the service in writing at a later time, especially when analysis or additional investigation is needed. The format and response time will be defined by the Lawyer, based on the complexity of the issue and the means most suitable for delivering the requested advice.
6. Right of Withdrawal
6.1. The Client acknowledges that, in contracting a Lawyer through the Platform, they are entering into a mandate contract governed by articles 1154 and following of the Portuguese Civil Code.
6.2. Thus, the 14-day right of withdrawal provided by Article 10 of Decree-Law No. 24/2014 does not apply, since this is a relationship of trust and professional autonomy governed by specific norms, including the Statute of the Portuguese Bar and the Civil Code.
6.3. Notwithstanding, the Lawyer, under applicable law, may withhold the full agreed amount in cases of early termination of follow-up services; however, the Lawyer may, at their discretion, indicate the portion to be refunded to the Client.
6.4. The Lawyer’s right is based on Article 1172 of the Civil Code, which recognizes the right to indemnification when, for example:
• Revocation causes actual prejudice, such as loss of profit, especially when the Lawyer committed to specific work (e.g. drafting a petition, contract or opinion);
• As agreed upon;
• Revocation by the principal – if the service was for a certain time or subject matter – or revocation without proper notice.
6.5. By legal requirement, the Platform does not intervene in decisions about whether a refund is due or in the amount thereof; it only processes the amounts indicated by the Lawyer, if still held by the Platform.
7. Confidentiality & Data Protection
7.1. The content of legal consultations (i.e. communications between Client and Lawyer during the meeting) is strictly confidential and is not shared with the Platform, remaining protected by the professional secrecy obligation of the Lawyer under law and the Bar statute.
7.2. The Platform may access the information provided by the Client at the time of booking (including the case description and any uploaded documents), as well as scheduling and payment data, strictly for technical administration purposes.
7.3. All employees of the Platform are bound by confidentiality in accordance with Article 92.º, paragraph 8, of Law 145/2015, for all information to which they may have access.
7.4. The processing of personal data is conducted in compliance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (“GDPR”), applicable national legislation, and the Privacy Policy published on the Website, which forms an integral part of these Terms and Conditions.
7.5. INOVALEX, LDA ensures that Clients’ personal data is processed only for purposes strictly necessary for the operation of the Platform, using technical and organizational measures to ensure confidentiality, integrity and data security in compliance with the GDPR and applicable law.
7.6. Data processing by the Platform is limited to what is necessary to provide the Platform’s services, and does not include defining independent purposes distinct from those resulting from Platform usage.
7.7. For more information on data processing, Clients should consult the Privacy Policy available on the website, which is integral to these Terms and Conditions.
8. Applicable Law & Jurisdiction
8.1. These Terms and Conditions are governed by Portuguese law.
8.2. For any disputes related to the use of the Platform, the Court of the Lisbon District is competent, with express waiver of any other jurisdiction.
9. In the event of any conflict or discrepancy between the English and Portuguese versions of these Terms and Conditions, the Portuguese version shall prevail.