FAQ's

Align is a digital platform where future barristers receive work experience recommendations which are tailored to their individual needs. This is done by assessing their past work experiences and other relevant factors, and then making those recommendations. Our team will also offer feedback as the customer works their way through the work experiences.

Align was created in response to the call to increase diversity at the bar. We join many others who are demystifying the process allowing our users to have confidence in their pursuits. Further we want each person in our community to be in a position to make an informed decision about their career choice and that may be deciding that it’s not becoming a barrister. The skills which are focused on by using the “Achievement Ladder” are transferrable to almost every profession, if not all.

Persons with limited connections at the bar can struggle to understand the process to becoming a barrister. Oftentimes there can be a lack of clarity on how to build a competitive portfolio. The focus on other aspects outside of good grades can be overlooked, at least not until very late in the process.

Align was designed with this group in mind. However we are hoping that future barristers from all walks of life will join our budding community and make this the ‘new normal’ for barrister training in England and Wales.

Align is committed to helping future barristers now and for a long time to come. In order to do that we must employ a sustainable approach to our operations. Some features on the website will remain free such as events which are relevant to our community.

We place great emphasis in pairing you with the correct P.A.L. and a lot of consultation and work goes into that process. To benefit from that experience there is a cost attached to accessing that feature. Currently it is the only way we can remain commercially viable to keep serving you.

We have the two co-founders Neive (CEO/Product Development) and Jonathan(Website Administrator/IT). Also Chantelle takes care our social media and marketing strategy and implementation.

Align has an Advisory Board who will consult on all aspects of the Pupillage Achievement Ladder.

There will be a special feature to get to know each team member on our upcoming podcast, if that’s not up yet.

Over the past year we have won one competition and been awarded two grants which has been used to build the platform.

Align is a member of the accelerator program with City LaunchLab which offers business advice and resources to help build and scale.

Email- info@alignthebar.co

Phone (WhatsApp  friendly)- 07359 176848

Address- 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ

You can also use the ‘Get in touch’ button at the top of the Home page or follow the ‘Contact Us’ and social media links at the bottom of the Home page.

We are eager to hear from Chambers, law firms and others who have a genuine interest and want to partner in assisting future barristers build their legal portfolios.

Email- info@alignthebar.co

Phone (WhatsApp  friendly)- 07359 176848

Address- 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ

You can also use the ‘Get in touch’ button at the top of the Home page or follow the ‘Contact Us’ and social media links at the bottom of the Home page.

Cancellation Period

Please read the information below as it relates to how Align will do business with you, the customer or visitor. Where we “Align” refer to “digital content” we mean the supply of any and all the services that we contract to provide to you.

In relation to a contract for the supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium, the cancellation period expires at the end of 14 days after the day on which the contract is entered into. Under such a contract, the digital content cannot be supplied before the expiry of the cancellation period.

Align can begin to supply of the digital content before the end of the cancellation period if:

(a)  the consumer gives their express consent to this, and

(b)  the consumer has acknowledged that the right to cancel the contract will be lost.

Please also note that the consumer will no longer have the right to cancel the contract if, before the end of the cancellation period, the consumer is supplied with the digital content after the consumer has given the consent and acknowledgement as outlined above.

Where digital content has been supplied on a medium that is not on a tangible medium during the cancellation period, and the consumer cancels the contract, the consumer is not responsible for paying for the content if:

1. the consumer has not given prior express consent to the beginning of the supply of the digital content before the end of the 14-day period,
2. the consumer gave that consent but did not acknowledge when giving it that the right to cancel would be lost, or
3. Align fails to provide confirmation required by the regulations in relation to confirmation of distance contracts and the provision of a copy or confirmation of off-premises contracts.

Refunds and Returns

The consumer’s statutory rights in relation to refunds and returns are protected subject to and including the contents of the Cancellation Period above.

WEBSITE TERMS OF USE FOR J’Evien Group Limited trading as Align

1. About our Terms
   1. These Terms explain how you may use this website (the “Site“).
   2. References in these Terms to the Site include the following websites: www.alignthebar.co, and all associated web pages. 
   3. You should read these Terms carefully before using the Site.
   4. By accessing or using the Site or otherwise indicating your consent, you agree to be bound by these Terms and the documents referred to in them.
   5. If you do not agree with or accept any of these Terms, you should stop using the Site immediately.
   6. If you have any questions about the Site, please contact us by:
      1. e-mail info@alignthebar.co (Monday to Saturday: 9 am to 6 pm), or
      2. telephone 07359 176848 (Monday to Friday: 9 am to 6 pm). 
   7. Definitions

1. 1. Using the Site
      1. The Site is for your use only. You agree that you are solely responsible for:
         1. all costs and expenses you may incur in relation to your use of the Site; and
         2. keeping your password and other account details confidential.
      2. The Site is intended for use only by those who can access it from within the UK. If you choose to access the Site from locations outside the UK, you are responsible for compliance with local laws where they are applicable.
      3. We seek to make the Site as accessible as possible. If you have any difficulties using the Site, please contact us at info@alignthebar.co.
      4. You must not use the Site:
         1. in any way that causes, or may cause, damage to the Site or impairment of the availability or accessibility of the Site;  
         2. in any way which is unlawful, illegal, fraudulent or harmful, or in connection with any unlawful, illegal, fraudulent or harmful purpose or activity;
         3. to copy, store, host, transmit, send, use, publish or distribute any material which consists of (or is linked to) any spyware, computer virus, worm, Trojan horse, or other malicious computer software.
      5. You must not access without our permission, interfere with, damage or disrupt any part of the Site, any equipment or network on which the Site is stored, any software used in the provision of the Site or any equipment, network or software owned or used by any third party.
      6. If you are a consumer, as a condition of your use of the Site, you agree to comply with our Online terms and conditions for the supply of goods, services, and digital content (as applicable), where applicable. We may prevent or suspend your access to the Site if you do not comply with any part of these Terms, any terms or policies to which they refer or any applicable law.
   2. Your privacy and personal information
      1. Your privacy and personal information are important to us. Any personal information that you provide to us will be dealt with in line with our privacy policy, which explains what personal information we collect from you, how and why we collect, store, use and share such information, your rights in relation to your personal information and how to contact us and supervisory authorities in the event you have a query or complaint about the use of your personal information.
      2. Our privacy policy is available at https://alignthebar.co/data-protection-and-privacy-policy/.
   3. Ownership, use and intellectual property rights
      1. The Site and all intellectual property rights in it including but not limited to any Content are owned by us, our licensors or both (as applicable). Intellectual property rights means rights such as: copyright, trade marks, domain names, design rights, database rights, patents and all other intellectual property rights of any kind whether or not they are registered or unregistered (anywhere in the world). We and our licensors reserve all of our and their rights in any intellectual property in connection with these Terms. This means, for example, that we and they remain owners of them and free to use them as we and they see fit.
      2. Nothing in these Terms grants you any legal rights in the Site other than as necessary to enable you to access the Site. You agree not to adjust to try to circumvent or delete any notices contained on the Site (including any intellectual property notices) and in particular in any digital rights or other security technology embedded or contained within the Site.

• Trade marks: P.A.L. (which refers to Pupillage Achievement Ladder is our unregistered trademark of explaining a key component of our process. It is taken to mean that the work experience recommendations which are made to the consumers which they may or may not complete will be used to give the consumer feedback from Align, and that the details of the work experience(s) may be used in the consumer’s pupillage applications) are our trademarks and any logos of other websites, companies or affiliates used on the Site (if any)] are trade marks of [the companies or affiliates. Other trade marks and trade names may also be used on the Site. The use of any trade marks on the Site is strictly prohibited unless you have our prior written permission.

1. Submitting information to the Site
   1. While we try to make sure that the Site is secure, we cannot guarantee the security of any information that you supply to us and therefore we cannot guarantee that it will be kept confidential. For that reason, you should not let us have any patentable ideas or patent applications, advertising or marketing suggestions, prototypes, or any other information that you regard as confidential, commercially sensitive or valuable (“Unwanted Submissions“). While we value your feedback, you agree not to submit any Unwanted Submissions. 
   2. We may use any Unwanted Submissions as we see reasonably fit on a free-of-charge basis (bear in mind that we have no way of knowing whether such information is confidential, commercially sensitive or valuable because we do not monitor the Site to check for these matters). Therefore, we will not be legally responsible for keeping any Unwanted Submissions confidential nor will we be legally responsible to you or anybody else for any use of such Unwanted Submissions.
2. Accuracy of information and availability of the Site
   1. While we try to make sure that the Site is accurate, up-to-date and free from bugs, we cannot promise that it will be. Furthermore, we cannot promise that the Site will be fit or suitable for any purpose. Any reliance that you may place on the information on the Site is at your own risk.
   2. We may suspend or terminate operation of the Site at any time as we see fit.
   3. If you are a consumer, you may have certain legal rights when using the Site (such as if the Online terms and conditions for the supply of digital content, goods, or services (as the case may be) apply to you). These are also known as ‘statutory rights’ as they are derived from laws such as the Consumer Rights Act 2015. A summary of your key rights is set out at the beginning of the Online terms and conditions for the supply of digital content, goods, or services (as applicable).
   4. If you are a business user of the Site, we exclude all implied conditions, warranties, representations or other terms that may apply to our Site or any content on it.
   5. Content is provided for your general information purposes only and to inform you about us and our products and news, features, services and other websites that may be of interest. It does not constitute technical, financial or legal advice or any other type of advice and should not be relied on for any purposes.
   6. While we try to make sure that the Site is available for your use, we do not promise that the Site is available at all times nor do we promise the uninterrupted use by you of the Site.
3. Hyperlinks 
   1. The Site may contain hyperlinks or references to third party websites other than the Site. Any such hyperlinks or references are provided for your convenience only. We have no control over third party websites and accept no legal responsibility for any content, material or information contained in them. The display of any hyperlink and reference to any third party website does not mean that we endorse that third party’s website, products or services. Your use of a third party site may be governed by the terms and conditions of that third party site.
   2. You may link to the home page of our Site, provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage out reputation or take advantage of it. 
   3. You must not establish a link in such a way so as to suggest any form of association, approval or endorsement on out part where none exists.
   4. We reserve the right to withdraw linking permission without notice. 
   5. If you wish to link to or make any use of content on our site other than that set out above, please contact info@alignthebar.co.
4. Limitation on our liability
   1. Except for any legal responsibility that we cannot exclude in law (such as for death or personal injury) or arising under applicable laws relating to the protection of your personal information, we are not legally responsible for any:
      1. losses that:
         1. were not foreseeable to you and us when these Terms were formed; or
         2. that were not caused by any breach on our part;
      2. business losses; and
      3. losses to non-consumers.
5. Events beyond our control

We shall have no liability to you for any breach of these Terms caused by any event or circumstance beyond our reasonable control including, but not limited to, strikes, lock-outs or other industrial disputes; breakdown of systems or network access; or flood, fire, explosion or accident.

1. Rights of third parties

No one other than a party to these Terms has any right to enforce any of these Terms.

1. Variation

These Terms are dated 10 September 2021. No changes to these Terms are valid or have any effect unless agreed by us in writing or made in accordance with this clause 12. We reserve the right to vary these Terms from time to time. Our updated Terms will be displayed on the Site and by continuing to use and access the Site following such changes, you agree to be bound by any variation made by us. It is your responsibility to check these Terms from time to time to verify such variations.

1. Disputes
   1. We will try to resolve any disputes with you quickly and efficiently.
   2. If you are unhappy with us please contact us as soon as possible.
   3. If you and we cannot resolve a dispute using our complaint handling procedure, we will:
      1. let you know that we cannot settle the dispute with you; and
      2. give you certain information about our alternative dispute resolution provider.
   4. If you want to take court proceedings, the relevant courts of England and Wales will have exclusive jurisdiction in relation to these Terms.
   5. The laws of England and Wales will apply to these Terms.

IMAGE COPYRIGHT STATEMENT

Most of the images on the website of Align are in the copyright of Align itself. Regarding those few which are not, Align is committed to obtaining the necessary consent from copyright holders before publishing images but sometimes, despite our best efforts in exercising due diligence, we have been unable to establish the identity of copyright holders or to contact them.

If you are able to give us further information on the copyright ownership of any images that we have left uncredited or have credited wrongly please email us and we will take the appropriate remedial action.