Bamboo Tech Law
bambootechlaw.com

Terms of Service

Version 2026-11-15 · In force from 2026-11-15

These terms are an agreement between Bamboo Media ("we", "us"), trading as Bamboo Tech Law, and the law firm or practitioner that signs up for the service ("the Firm", "you"). They apply to everyone at the Firm who uses the service ("Users").

By creating an account, ticking the acceptance box, or using the service, you accept these terms. If you accept on behalf of a firm, you confirm that you have authority to bind it.

Please read clauses 7 (your professional responsibility), 11 (cancellation and refunds), 15 (warranties) and 16 (limitation of liability) carefully. They limit our responsibility and place responsibility on you, and you may have to indemnify us (clause 17). Nothing in these terms limits a right you have under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 or the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 ("ECTA") that the law does not allow us to limit.

1. Definitions

  • Service: the Bamboo Tech Law web app at app.bambootechlaw.com (including the installable phone app), and its features, updates and support.
  • Firm Data: everything the Firm or its Users put into the service, including client records, case files, documents, time entries, invoices and trust records. It includes personal information about the Firm's clients and other people.
  • Account Data: information about the Firm and its Users that we need to run the account (names, email addresses, billing details, sign-in records).
  • Plan: the subscription the Firm has chosen, with any extra users or storage it buys.

2. The service

2.1 Bamboo Tech Law is practice-management software for legal practitioners: clients and cases, documents, diary and tasks, time recording, billing, a trust account ledger, a client portal and electronic signing.

2.2 We may improve, change or remove features. If we remove a feature that is material to the Plan you pay for, we will tell you at least 30 days before, and you may cancel and receive a pro-rata refund of fees paid in advance for the remaining period.

2.3 Free trial. New firms get a 14-day free trial.

  • To start it, the Firm adds a card. We check the card with a small charge that we refund straight away.
  • When the trial ends, the Plan starts automatically and the card is charged for the first period. That is a monthly Plan at the prices in clause 8, with enough users for everyone active at the time, unless the Firm chose a different Plan in Settings → Plan before then.
  • We will remind the Firm's owner at least 3 days before the trial ends.
  • The Firm can cancel at any time during the trial in Settings → Plan. Nothing is then charged, and the account becomes read-only when the trial ends.
  • Nothing is deleted when a trial ends.

3. Accounts and security

3.1 Each User needs their own sign-in. Sign-ins may not be shared.

3.2 The Firm decides who has access and what each role can see, and is responsible for its Users' actions in the service.

3.3 Users must keep their passwords secret, use two-step sign-in where the Firm or the service requires it, and tell us straight away at support@bambootechlaw.com if they suspect that an account has been accessed by someone else.

3.4 The Firm must remove access promptly for anyone who leaves the Firm or should no longer have it.

4. Firm Data

4.1 The Firm owns its Firm Data. We do not own it, sell it, or use it for advertising.

4.2 The Firm gives us permission to store, copy, process and transmit Firm Data only to provide, secure, support and improve the service, and as the law requires.

4.3 Data protection. For Firm Data, the Firm is the responsible party and we are its operator under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA"). Our Data Processing Agreement forms part of these terms and governs how we process Firm Data. Our Privacy Policy explains how we process Account Data, for which we are the responsible party.

4.4 Confidentiality and privilege. We treat Firm Data as confidential. Our staff do not access Firm Data except to provide support that the Firm asks for, to keep the service secure, or when the law requires us to. Storing data with us is not intended to waive legal professional privilege, and we will not do anything to waive it. If we receive a subpoena, court order or similar demand for Firm Data, we will tell the Firm (unless the law forbids it) so that it can oppose it or claim privilege.

4.5 Getting your data out. Owners can download an export of the Firm's records at any time from Settings, and download any document. We will help with a full bulk export of all files on request.

4.6 The Firm is responsible for the lawfulness and accuracy of Firm Data. It must have a lawful basis under POPIA to put personal information into the service, and must tell its clients, as POPIA requires, that their information is processed by an operator.

5. Acceptable use

The Firm and its Users must not:

  • break any law, including POPIA, the Cybercrimes Act 19 of 2020 and the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014, using the service;
  • upload malware, or try to get into accounts, data or systems that are not theirs;
  • probe, scan or test the security of the service without our written permission (see our Security page for responsible disclosure);
  • overload the service, or scrape or copy it automatically outside its normal features;
  • resell or sublicense the service, or use it to build a competing product;
  • store material they have no right to store, or use the service to harass, defame or defraud anyone.

We may suspend a User or the account if this clause is breached in a way that puts the service, other firms or other people at risk. Where it is reasonable, we will warn the Firm first and give it a chance to put things right.

6. Artificial intelligence

6.1 Bamboo Tech Law does not currently use artificial intelligence on Firm Data. Firm Data is not sent to AI providers.

6.2 If we add AI features in future, we will update these terms and our Data Processing Agreement and tell the Firm's owner at least 30 days before they are switched on. The Firm will be able to choose not to use them.

7. Your professional responsibility

7.1 We are not a law firm and do not give legal advice. Templates, examples, prescription calculations and country packs are tools. The Firm decides what to rely on.

7.2 Diary, deadlines and prescription. Reminders, court dates and prescription dates depend on what is entered and on notifications reaching you. The Firm remains responsible for its diary and for meeting every deadline. Do not rely on the service as your only diary system for critical dates.

7.3 Trust accounting. The trust module helps keep trust records, but it does not replace the Firm's duties under the Legal Practice Act and the Legal Practice Council Rules (including Rule 54), its accounting records, its own controls, or its auditor. The Firm must reconcile its trust bank account against bank statements, keep its records, and have them audited as the rules require.

7.4 Electronic signatures. The service provides an electronic signature with a signing record. It is not an "advanced electronic signature" under ECTA. Some documents cannot be signed electronically or need an advanced electronic signature (for example agreements for the sale of land, long-term leases of land, wills and bills of exchange). The Firm decides whether electronic signing is suitable for each document.

7.5 Client payments. Online invoice payments use the Firm's own Paystack account. Money goes from the client to the Firm through Paystack and never through us. Paystack's terms apply between the Firm and Paystack.

8. Fees and payment

8.1 Prices (in rand, excluding VAT):

  • Plan: R999 a month, including 2 users and 50 GB of storage;
  • extra users: R399 per user a month;
  • extra storage: R99 per 100 GB a month;
  • annual billing: 12 months for the price of 10, paid upfront.

We are not currently registered for VAT, so no VAT is charged. If we register, VAT will be added at the standard rate from the date of registration, and we will tell you first.

8.2 Fees are charged in advance in South African rand through Paystack, to the card the Firm saves, at the start of each monthly or annual period (the first period starts when the free trial ends). The Plan renews automatically until it is cancelled. Firms outside South Africa are charged in rand. Their bank converts the amount and may add its own fees. Prices shown in other currencies on our website are estimates.

8.3 Extra users or storage added during a period are charged pro rata for the rest of that period, and then at the full rate from the next period.

8.4 If a payment fails, we will retry and let the Firm know. If it still has not been paid after the retries, the account becomes read-only until payment is made. Nothing is deleted.

8.5 We may change prices with at least 30 days' written notice. New prices apply from the next billing period after the notice ends. If you do not agree, you may cancel before then.

8.6 We may offer free or discounted ("complimentary") access at our discretion. It ends on the date we set, or on notice from us.

9. Support and availability

9.1 We aim to keep the service available at all times and to fix problems quickly, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free service. Planned maintenance will be kept short and, where possible, announced.

9.2 We take reasonable steps to back up the database. Backups are a safety net for disasters. They are not a way to recover individual items a User deleted. Deleted documents go to the bin first and can be restored from there.

9.3 Support is by email at support@bambootechlaw.com during South African business hours.

10. Security

10.1 We take appropriate, reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect Firm Data, as POPIA section 19 requires. They are summarised on our Security page and in the Data Processing Agreement.

10.2 No system can be made completely secure. If we become aware of unauthorised access to Firm Data, we will notify the Firm as set out in the Data Processing Agreement, so that it can meet its own duties under POPIA section 22.

11. Cancellation and refunds

11.1 The Firm may cancel at any time in Settings → Plan. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current paid period. The account then becomes read-only.

11.2 Cooling-off (ECTA section 44). If the Firm is a natural person (for example a sole practitioner) contracting as a consumer, it may cancel within 7 days after the paid Plan starts (including when it starts at the end of a free trial), without reason and without penalty. We will refund the payment within 30 days. You can cancel by emailing support@bambootechlaw.com.

11.3 Apart from clause 11.2, clause 2.2, and refunds the law requires, fees already paid are not refundable, including for partly used periods.

11.4 After an account ends, the Firm's data stays available read-only for at least 90 days so that it can be exported. After that, we may delete it, but only after giving the Firm's owner at least 30 days' notice by email.

11.5 Closing an account and deleting data. The Firm's owner can ask us to close the account and permanently delete all Firm Data from Settings → Firm. We will do so within 30 days, except for information we must keep by law (for example our own invoices to the Firm, kept for 5 years under the Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011). Deleted data cannot be recovered. Copies in backups are overwritten in the normal backup cycle.

12. Ending or suspending the agreement

12.1 We may suspend or end the Firm's access if the Firm:

  • materially breaches these terms and does not fix the breach within 14 days of our written notice;
  • does not pay fees that are due, as set out in clause 8.4; or
  • is sequestrated, liquidated or placed in business rescue, or (for a practitioner) is struck off the roll or suspended from practice.

12.2 We may end the service for everyone with at least 90 days' notice. Fees paid in advance for the period after the service ends will be refunded pro rata.

12.3 Clauses 4, 7, 11.4, 11.5, and 15 to 21 survive the end of this agreement.

13. Intellectual property

We own the software, design, text and trade marks of Bamboo Tech Law. The Firm may use them only as part of the service while it has an active account (or read-only access). Templates the Firm creates are the Firm's. Feedback or suggestions you give us may be used freely to improve the service.

14. Third-party services

The service works with third parties, including Paystack (payments), Google and Microsoft (sign-in), calendar apps, and the providers listed in our Privacy Policy. We are not responsible for third-party services that the Firm chooses to connect, which are governed by their own terms.

15. Warranties

15.1 We warrant that we will provide the service with reasonable skill and care, and substantially as described on our website.

15.2 Apart from what clause 15.1 and the law guarantee, the service is provided "as is". We do not warrant that it will meet every need, be free of errors, or that output (including calculations, templates and AI output) will be accurate or complete.

16. Limitation of liability

16.1 To the extent the law allows:

  • we are not liable for indirect, special or consequential loss, or for loss of profit, income, business, goodwill, clients or data (other than our obligation to restore from backup where we caused the loss);
  • we are not liable for loss caused by a missed deadline, prescription, court date or filing, or by relying on output from the service without checking it;
  • our total liability under or in connection with these terms is limited to the fees the Firm paid us in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim.

16.2 Nothing in these terms limits liability for fraud, gross negligence, or wilful misconduct, or any liability that cannot be limited by law.

17. Indemnity

The Firm indemnifies us against claims by third parties (including the Firm's clients and regulators) arising from:

  • Firm Data, or the Firm's lack of a lawful basis to process it;
  • the Firm's breach of these terms or of the law; or
  • advice, documents or services the Firm gives its own clients.

This indemnity does not apply to the extent that a claim is caused by our breach of these terms or of the Data Processing Agreement.

18. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. For material changes we will give at least 30 days' notice by email or in the app, and Users will be asked to accept the new version. If the Firm does not agree, it may cancel before the change takes effect, and clause 11.1 applies without the notice period counting against it.

19.1 We may give notices by email to the Firm's owner, or in the app. The Firm may give notices to support@bambootechlaw.com.

19.2 Our chosen address for the service of legal documents (domicilium citandi et executandi) is 131 Oxford Road, Rosebank, Johannesburg, 2196, South Africa. The Firm's is the physical address in its firm settings.

20. Disputes and governing law

20.1 South African law governs these terms.

20.2 If a dispute arises, the parties will first try to resolve it in good faith. Either party may start by writing to the other, and senior people from each side will meet (in person or online) within 20 business days.

20.3 If the dispute is not resolved, either party may refer it to the courts of South Africa. The parties consent to the jurisdiction of the Magistrates' Court under section 45 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 32 of 1944, but either party may approach the High Court (Gauteng Division, Johannesburg) where the amount or nature of the claim requires it. Nothing prevents either party from seeking urgent relief.

20.4 Consumers keep their rights to approach the National Consumer Commission, a consumer court, or an ombud.

21. General

21.1 These terms, the Data Processing Agreement, the Privacy Policy and the prices on our website are the whole agreement between the parties.

21.2 If any part is unenforceable, the rest remains in force.

21.3 A delay in enforcing a right is not a waiver of it.

21.4 The Firm may not transfer this agreement without our written consent. We may transfer it to a successor of our business, with notice to the Firm.

21.5 Neither party is liable for delay caused by events beyond its reasonable control (for example load-shedding, failures of national networks, or disasters), provided it takes reasonable steps to limit the effect.

21.6 The information that section 43 of ECTA requires is on our Company information page. You can save or print these terms from your browser at any time. Earlier versions are available on request.

Terms of Service · Bamboo Tech Law