Community Guidelines

1. Professional Standards

As a community of legal professionals, CounselConnect Members are expected to uphold the highest standards of professional conduct in all interactions on the Platform.

1.1 Respectful Communication

• Engage with other Members respectfully, even in disagreement;
• Critique ideas, not individuals;
• Use professional language appropriate to a legal community;
• Assume good faith in other Members' contributions unless evidence suggests otherwise;
• Refrain from personal attacks, insults, or demeaning language.

1.2 Accuracy & Honesty

• Present your credentials, qualifications, and experience accurately;
• Do not misrepresent your LSK status, years of practice, areas of expertise, or professional achievements;
• Clearly distinguish between personal opinions and legal analysis;
• Acknowledge uncertainty — do not present speculation as established law;
• Correct errors in your content when they are brought to your attention.

1.3 Professional Ethics

• Comply with the Advocates Act (Cap 16) and all subsidiary legislation;
• Adhere to the LSK Code of Conduct in all Platform interactions;
• Respect the rules on advertising and touting;
• Maintain client confidentiality at all times — do not share case details, client information, or privileged communications;
• Do not undermine the administration of justice or the integrity of the legal profession.

2. Prohibited Content

The following types of content are strictly prohibited on CounselConnect:

2.1 Hate Speech & Discrimination

• Content that promotes hatred, violence, or discrimination based on race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, or any other protected characteristic;
• Ethnic incitement or content that promotes tribal animosity;
• Content that dehumanises or demeans any group of people.

2.2 Harassment & Threats

• Bullying, intimidation, or targeted harassment of any individual;
• Threats of violence, harm, or legal action intended to silence or intimidate;
• Doxxing — publishing another person's private information (address, phone number, personal details) without consent;
• Coordinated campaigns to harass, silence, or discredit individuals;
• Stalking behaviour, including persistent unwanted contact.

2.3 False & Misleading Information

• Deliberately false legal information or analysis;
• Fabricated case citations, statutes, or legal authorities;
• Misleading claims about professional qualifications, experience, or achievements;
• Misinformation that could cause harm if acted upon;
• Manipulated media (deepfakes) that misrepresent a person's words or actions.

2.4 Confidential & Privileged Information

• Client-identifying information without informed consent;
• Privileged legal communications;
• Confidential case details, strategy, or settlement terms;
• Court-sealed or in-camera proceedings without authorisation;
• Personal information of minors involved in legal proceedings.

2.5 Inappropriate Content

• Sexually explicit or pornographic material;
• Graphic violence or gore (unless in a legitimate legal/educational context with appropriate warnings);
• Content promoting illegal activity, including drug trafficking, money laundering, or terrorism;
• Content promoting self-harm or suicide.

2.6 Spam & Commercial Abuse

• Unsolicited commercial messages or promotions;
• Repetitive or bulk posting of identical content;
• Chain messages, pyramid schemes, or Ponzi scheme promotions;
• Content whose sole purpose is advertising with no substantive value;
• Excessive self-promotion that adds no value to the community.

3. Prohibited Conduct

3.1 Identity & Account Abuse

• Creating or using a false identity;
• Impersonating another person, advocate, firm, or entity;
• Operating multiple accounts;
• Sharing account credentials with others;
• Using another Member's account without their authorisation.

3.2 Platform Manipulation

• Manipulating ratings, reviews, endorsements, or poll results through fake accounts, coordinated activity, or other deceptive means;
• Using bots, scripts, or automated tools to interact with the Platform;
• Circumventing Platform Fees by taking transactions off-platform to avoid charges;
• Gaming the feed algorithm or search results;
• Click fraud or engagement manipulation on advertisements.

3.3 Financial Misconduct

• Using the Platform for money laundering, terrorism financing, or other financial crimes;
• Creating fraudulent fundraisers or condolence posts;
• Scamming other Members through fake briefs, services, or listings;
• Filing fraudulent chargebacks or payment disputes;
• Providing false M-Pesa confirmation codes or payment receipts.

3.4 Professional Misconduct

• Practising law without a valid practising certificate;
• Touting or improper solicitation of clients in violation of the Advocates Act;
• Accepting briefs while suspended or struck off the Roll of Advocates;
• Misrepresenting court outcomes, case results, or professional track record;
• Retaliatory reviews or ratings against opposing counsel or parties.

3.5 Data & Privacy Violations

• Scraping, crawling, or harvesting data from the Platform;
• Collecting other Members' personal information (email, phone, location) without consent;
• Sharing other Members' private information without authorisation;
• Circumventing privacy settings or access controls.

4. Reviews, Ratings & Endorsements

4.1 Honest Reviews

Reviews and ratings must be:

• Based on genuine, first-hand experience;
• Honest, factual, and fair;
• Relevant to the service or interaction being reviewed;
• Free from personal attacks unrelated to the professional service.

4.2 Prohibited Review Practices

• Fake reviews (positive or negative) from people who did not receive the service;
• Self-reviews using secondary accounts;
• Coordinated review campaigns to inflate or deflate ratings;
• Retaliatory reviews against opposing counsel, opposing parties, or users who gave you a negative review;
• Reviews that disclose confidential client or case information;
• Offering or accepting compensation for reviews.

4.3 Endorsements

Skill endorsements should reflect your genuine assessment of another Member's competence. Do not endorse skills you have not personally observed. Do not engage in endorsement exchanges ("endorse me and I'll endorse you") without a genuine basis.

5. Groups & Channels

5.1 Group Governance

Group owners and administrators are responsible for establishing and enforcing group-specific rules that are consistent with these Community Guidelines. Group rules may be more restrictive than Platform-wide policies but may not be more permissive.

5.2 Moderator Responsibilities

• Moderators must enforce group rules fairly and consistently;
• Moderators must not abuse their powers (e.g., removing members for personal reasons, selectively enforcing rules);
• Moderators must escalate serious violations to CounselConnect support;
• Moderators are responsible for ensuring group content complies with Platform policies.

5.3 Channel Conduct

Channel participants must follow channel-specific topics and rules. Off-topic, promotional, or disruptive content may be removed by channel moderators.

6. Content Moderation

6.1 How We Moderate

CounselConnect moderates content through:

• User reports: Members can report content and users through the Platform's reporting feature;
• Automated tools: We use automated systems to detect potential violations;
• Human review: Reported content is reviewed by our moderation team;
• Proactive monitoring: We may proactively review content in high-risk areas.

6.2 Review Timeline

• Urgent safety concerns (threats, doxxing, criminal activity): Reviewed within 24 hours;
• Standard reports (harassment, misleading content, spam): Reviewed within 48 hours;
• Complex cases (professional misconduct, IP disputes): Reviewed within 7 business days.

6.3 Moderation Actions

We may take the following actions in response to violations:

• Removing or restricting the visibility of specific content;
• Adding warning labels to content;
• Issuing a formal warning to the Member;
• Temporarily restricting certain account features;
• Temporarily suspending the account;
• Permanently banning the account;
• Reporting to law enforcement or the LSK Disciplinary Committee.

7. Consequences of Violations

Consequences are proportionate to the severity and frequency of the violation. We generally follow a progressive enforcement approach:

Note: CounselConnect reserves the right to skip levels and immediately impose severe consequences for egregious violations. We are not required to follow the progressive approach in all cases.

8. AI Chat & Case Briefs Usage Guidelines

The following guidelines apply to the use of the AI Chat Service (chat.counselconnect.co.ke) and Case Briefs Service (cases.counselconnect.co.ke):

• Do not attempt to manipulate the AI to produce harmful, misleading, or unethical outputs;
• Do not present AI-generated legal opinions as your own professional advice without independent verification;
• Report inaccurate or potentially harmful AI responses using the feedback feature;
• Do not input confidential client information into the AI Chat Service;
• Do not reproduce AI-generated case briefs in court filings without verifying against the original judgment on Kenya Law (new.kenyalaw.org);
• When sharing case briefs externally, attribute them to CounselConnect Case Briefs.

9. Appeals Process

9.1 Right to Appeal

If your content is removed or your account is restricted, you have the right to appeal the decision within thirty (30) days of the action.

9.2 How to Appeal

1. Submit an appeal through the Platform's support system or email support@counselconnect.co.ke;
2. Include: your account details, the specific action you are appealing, the reasons you believe the action was incorrect, and any supporting information;
3. Do not create a new account to circumvent a suspension while your appeal is pending.

9.3 Review Process

• Appeals are reviewed by a member of the moderation team who was not involved in the original decision;
• We aim to respond to appeals within fourteen (14) business days;
• The appeal decision is final.

9.4 Abuse of the Appeals Process

Submitting duplicative, frivolous, or bad-faith appeals may itself constitute a violation of these Guidelines and may result in further action.