Frequently
Asked Questions

How does it work ?

See Operation of the website

What type of questions am I entitled to ask?

Subject to exceptions [insert link to next question], TRAIAL allows you to ask any question of a legal nature, and to attach relevant documents along and related to your question, such as email exchanges, a contract, a court decision or any other document allowing the provider to answer your question in full knowledge of the facts.

A drop-down menu allows you to choose the domain concerned by your question, so that we can optimize the connection with a provider having the required skillset to answer.

Are there any questions that I am not allowed to ask?

In general, you are free to ask any question. For obvious reasons, however, TRAIAL cannot endorse questions that would be asked in order to carry out unlawful activities, in particular of a criminal nature such as:

pedophilia
hard pornography
drugs and narcotics
human trafficking
incitement to racial hatred or physical violence
disturbance of public order or acts of terrorism

In accordance with its legal obligations and according to the circumstances of the case, TRAIAL reserves the right to report to the competent authorities any person who would have requested information for the purpose of carrying out an illegal.

Does everyone have access to my question and to the attached related documents (if any)?

With the exception of platform administrators who have such access, the answer is negative.

At no time will your identity or any other data you communicated to TRAIAL when creating your account be disclosed to anyone, including legal providers unless, of course, this information is contained in your question, which our Terms of Use forbid you to do.

When you submit your question, the only information disclosed to the legal providers registered in the relevant field of expertise are the question, the area of expertise and the pricing, at the exclusion of any further information. As a result, in the event that your question contains personal data, which would be a violation of TRAIAL Terms of Use, such personal data will be rendered accessible to all providers who would have been notified and have accessed your question.

The documents you would have attached along your question will only be accessible to the legal provider you will have selected to respond to your question.

I would like to ask an additional question as a follow-up to the answer provided to my prior question, how can I do?

The affordable price offered through TRIAL to benefit from legal support only allows you to ask a single question and, if necessary, additional information in order to clarify the answer given. While the answer to your question may lead to further questions, the process will need to be repeated, subject to an additional fee.

Who are the providers who will answer my question?

The legal providers affiliate to the platform all enjoy at a minimum a Bachelor degree obtained from a Law School in the country in which you require legal support. TRAIAL is however convinced that there is no need to be a registered lawyer or even to hold a lawyer's license to be able to offer a useful answer to the needs of the users. Thus, general questions may be dealt with by providers holding a simple Bachelor's degree, whereas more complex questions, such as related to tax law, may be dealt with by a tax expert who does not necessarily have a lawyer's license, or by an insurer in insurance matters.

For these reasons, the platform is open to any individual having obtained a Bachelor's degree in law, although some areas (such as tax law or intellectual property rights) are reserved for to qualified jurists having demonstrated a significant experience.

Is there any control as to the quality of the providers?

Any provider interested in joining the platform must complete his/her profile and submit to us relevant documents demonstrating his/her skills (including diplomas, a resume and other relevant information).

The information provided during registration is checked during a telephone interview which is a requirement prior to any registration.Once confirmed, each provider is continuously monitored when rendering his/her services, whether through users when providing their assessment (mandatory), or through TRAIAL who will contact each provider who will have received an evaluation below 4/5. TRAIAL may further terminate the account of any provider who has received two evaluations below 3/5 and whose rating, after having discussed with the concerned provider, prove to be justified.

Am I entitled to choose my legal provider?

When you choose the standard mode (the default mode), TRAIAL strives to provide you with the choice between three service providers who are willing to answer your question and have been pre-selected according to their area of expertise. You then choose among the proposed selection the one of the service providers who will answer your question. The concerned legal provider will then be informed of his appointment to answer your question.

In the event that fewer than three providers are willing to answer your question four hours after you have submitted your question through the platform, TRAIAL will inform you of the provider (s) who agreed to answer your question.

When you opt for the express mode as defined below (see below section: "In which deadline can I expect to receive an answer to my question?"), no choice is offered, and the provider who first accepts to answer your question will automatically be selected to answer it.

Whichever option you choose, you are free to let us know that you would prefer to work with a specific provider that you have been satisfied with in the past. In this case, this person will be notified and he/she will be allowed to accept the mandate entrusted, within two hours following the sending of your question; if by chance this person does not answer within this time limit or is not interested, then all other providers with the desired skills will be given the opportunity to declare themselves ready to accept

In which deadline can I expect to receive an answer to my question?

In standard mode (applicable by default): once you have chosen the legal provider who will answer your question, the latter agrees to answer your question within twenty-four hours following his/her appointment, or on the next working day if his appointment took place during the weekend or a day off.

In express mode (if requested): the provider has four hours (business day) to answer your question after having been informed of his/her appointment. In the event, however, that the complexity of the question asked would require more time, and after having issued a preliminary opinion, the legal provider is entitled to request from you an additional period of time to be agreed upon in order to be able to provide a final answer.

The legal provider is entitled to ask you to clarify your question in order to be able to answer you as efficiently as possible. Likewise, you are entitled to request a clarification to the answer given to you to get a valuable answer.

How much will the recourse to TRAIAL cost me?

See Costs

How do I pay?

Payment for the Services shall take place in advance through credit card. Your credit card will ONLY be debited once you have appointed a provider to answer your question or, in the express mode, once a provider has accepted to respond to your request.

With whom do I contract?

Opening an account on TRAIAL enable you to access and benefit from the Services offered by the providers through the platform. TRAIAL acts as an intermediary to enable the transaction to be directly entered into by you and the provider appointed to answer your question.

From a legal standpoint, the submission of your question is considered as an offer to contract. The contract is actually concluded when you choose the provider who will answer your question, providers having accepted your offer only doing so on the condition, suspensive, to be chosen as the final provider.

You are liable for paying the provider for the Services provided. You hereby appoint TRAIAL as your agent to process the payment in favor of the provider on your behalf. Furthermore, you understand that TRAIAL cannot be held responsible for the quality or accuracy of any information or legal services provided by the provider(s) you connect with via TRAIAL.

What is the TRAIAL rating?

Each time you use our Services, you undertake to provide a rating of the provider having answered your question when prompted to do so. Refusing to provide such rating shall prevent you from further using our Services, until such rating is provided.

A TRAIAL rating reflects an aggregation of users’ assessment of a given provider, based upon the information obtained by or submitted by users having benefitted from the Services of the concerned provider. Someone else's assessment of the same provider may be very different, or be based upon different information. Such rating is not an endorsement of any particular provider, and is not a guarantee of a provider’s quality, competency, or character. As a consequence, any rating should not be considered as a predictor of the outcome of any matter in which such provider is involved. Rather, the TRAIAL rating is intended to be a starting point to gather information about providers who may be suitable for your legal needs.

Can I benefit from TRAIAL support when the answer to the question leads me to wishing to potentially hire a lawyer?

Yes. If you are of course completely free to choose any lawyer, whether or not affiliated with the platform, the use of a lawyer affiliated with the platform has the following advantages: just like the question, we optimize the get in touch by pre-selecting for you some lawyers whose field of competence will allow to best answer your problems.

More interestingly, interested lawyers must submit a flat-rate quote for the intended service, thereby ensuring that you control your costs and do not sign a blank check.

In exchange for this service, TRAIAL will charge you an amount equivalent to 10% of the quote emitted by the lawyer you finally have chosen, but not more than CHF 2'000 .-- excluding VAT. This amount will be paid before enabling contact between the lawyer and yourself to actually take place.

The conclusion and performance of the mandate will then directly take place between you and the lawyer you will have appointed.

I do not have any scanner. How can I upload my documents ?

You can download an application that will enable you to scan your documents using your mobile phone. We recommend an application like CamScanner (https://www.camscanner.com), it being specified that TRAIAL has no interest or affiliation with the supplier.

How does it work ?

See Operation of the website

I am a studying Law. Am I entitled to enroll to the platform as a provider?

Such an approach is premature. To join the platform, you must first have obtained a degree from a Law School in the country where you want to provide advice. A Bachelor in Law is the minimum diploma that you should have to join the platform.

What is meant by field of expertise. Am I entitled to select as many as I want?

The field of expertise is the one in which you have, by your career, obtained special skills superior to a general practitioner. Such an experience may result from your activity (for example tax, insurer, in-house legal counsel in a real estate management or a public administration, etc.) or specific diplomas demonstrating a particular aptitude (such as a diploma issued by the Swiss Federation of Lawyers ). You can choose up to three areas of expertise.

In which deadline am I expected to provide my answer?

In standard mode (applicable by default): once you have received the confirmation of your appointment to answer the question, you must answer it within 24 hours, being specified that questions will have to be answered during the next business day if your appointment took place during the weekend or a holiday.

 In express mode (if requested), you have four hours (business day) to answer the question after having been informed of your appointment. In the event, however, where the complexity of the question asked requires more time, and after issuing a preliminary opinion, you are entitled to request from the user an additional period to be agreed upon to be able to provide a definitive answer.

The question is not accurate and would require further information. What can I do?

You are entitled to invite the user to clarify his/her question so as to enable you to answer as efficiently as possible. Similarly, the user is entitled to request a clarification to the answer given to meet his/her expectations.

Does the answer have to be very detailed?

The goal of TRAIAL is to help users by providing them with a practical, easy-to-implement answer that tells them how to move forward in solving their problem. By asking a question, the user does not wish to obtain a legal opinion riddled with scholarly and case law references that are incomprehensible to him, but a practical opinion. The answer must be clear, concise and precise.

A user asks me to provide a follow-up to my answer. Do I have to comply with such request?

The user is entitled to request a simple clarification to the answer provided to ensure that he understands your recommendation. However, the user can not challenge you for additional questions related to the problem addressed. In this case, he is free to ask a new question to which you can once again answer if appointed to that effect, subject to an additional remuneration.

The same user is asking a follow-up question to the one I have answered related to the same problematic. Will I automatically be chosen to answer any follow-up question?

No. The user is entitled to mention when he/she sends his/her new question that he/she wishes to continue with you, but he/she is not obliged. If it does, you will be informed before all other providers and have a priority period of two hours during which you will have the right to accept the mandate; if you do not agree within the priority period granted to you, the question will then be sent to all other service providers with particular expertise in the area in question. If the user does not mention that he or she wants to continue working with you, the regular process is initiated, and you are free to share your interest like any other provider.

Are there any question that I am not entitled to respond to?

As a matter of principle, TRAIAL allows any question of a legal nature to be asked. For obvious reasons, however, TRAIAL cannot endorse any question that might be asked in order to carry out unlawful activities, more particularly of a criminal nature such as:

pedophilia 
hard pornography
drugs and narcotics
human trafficking
incitement to racial hatred or physical violence
disturbance of public order or acts of terrorism

.  Should you become aware of any conduct intended to pursue illegal activities as mentioned above, we invite you to inform us at: denonciation@traial.ch.

How much will I get paid?

Services are offered at the following fixed prices in standard mode:

Question (number of characters)	Price (CHF, VAT incl.)	Remark
≤ 200	18.75	Price for a simple question, not requiring detailed explanations
> 200 ≤ 400	45	Price for several simpe questions or requiring more detailed explanations
> 400 (max 700)	90	More complex case requiring a more detailed presentation and, where appropriate, several questions

To this amount must be added the following price in case of attached document:

Nature of the file uploaded	Price per page (CHF, VAT incl.)	Remark
Court ruling	4.50	Simple document, generally easy to read, essentially requiring a knowledge
Correspondence (mail, email, simple document)	9	As above
Contract, general terms	16.5	More complex document, possibly requiring more attention and reading time per page as a result of the density of the text (as the general conditions)

Pricing examples :

Question	Price	Uploaded file	Price	Total (VAT incl.)
≤ 200	18.75	0	-	18.75
≤ 200	18.75	Correspondence 3 pages	27	45.75
≤ 200	18.75	Contract 5 pages	82.50	101.25
> 200 ≤ 400	45	0	-	45
> 200 ≤ 400	45	Correspondence 3 pages	27	72
> 200 ≤ 400	45	Contract 5 pages	82.50	127.50
> 400 (max 700)	90	0	-	90
> 400 (max 700)	90	Correspondence 3 pages	27	117
> 400 (max 700)	90	Contract 5 pages	82.50	172.50

When the user opt for express mode, the above prices are increased by 25%.

How will the payment be made?

Payment for the Services is made in advance by credit card through the platform. The user's credit card is automatically debited once he has chosen a provider to answer the question or, in the case of express mode, once a provider has agreed to answer the question. In this way, the provider is assured of receiving his remuneration, which will be paid to him within three days following the sending of his reply.

 In the event that you happen to be the lawyer that the user decides to hire as a follow-up to the answer provided to the question initially raised, it is your responsibility to ensure the payment of your fees. TRAIAL will not act as a representative of the user to guarantee payment of the fees for any legal consultation taking place outside the platform.

Is VAT included in my remuneration?

The payment made by the user includes the VAT. You are responsible as a provider to comply with your legal obligations towards the tax authorities, notably with regards to payment of the VAT (if applicable).

With whom do I contract?

Opening an account on TRAIAL allows you to access and take advantage of the Services offered through the platform, which acts as a facilitator enabling the conclusion of a direct mandate contract concluded between you and the user. 

From a legal point of view, the submission of a question by the user constitutes an offer to conclude a contract. The contract is actually concluded when the user chooses the provider who will answer his/her question, as the providers’ acceptance is only made under the condition, suspensive, to be chosen as final provider. 

The user is thus responsible for paying you for the services rendered. However, the user has appointed TRAIAL for this purpose as a representative to execute the payment in your favor, which guarantees you to be compensated and avoids any risk of unpaid.

What is a TRAIAL rating?

The rating of providers is a crucial element to ensure the quality of the services for the benefit of all, whether users or providers.

 Each time he/she uses our Services, the user has to evaluate the provider who answered his/her question. 

Your TRAIAL rating reflects the combination of assessments made by users about you based on pre-selected criteria, i.e.: (i) effectiveness, (ii) accuracy, (iii) clarity, and (iv) practical usefulness of the answer to the question asked.

Am I entitled to object to my TRAIAL rating?

You are obviously always entitled to contact us at any time to discuss your evaluation. Such an exchange will however in any case be mandatory if your evaluation is below 4/5. Any assessment below 3/5 is considered clearly insufficient; assuming you receive three ratings below 3/5, your account will automatically be closed.

The question raised leads to me recommend the hiring of a lawyer. Assuming I am a lawyer, am I sure to handle the mandate as a follow-up to this question?

No. The user obviously has no obligation to go through the platform to do this. Assuming that he or she decides to hire one of the attorneys affiliated with TRAIAL, you will be able to make an offer consisting of a fixed price like all other lawyers affiliated with the platform having the same area of expertise.

 Similarly to the process in place to answer a question, the user will be notified of the first three offers received, after which the system shall be blocked. The use will then freely choose in his/her capacity as principal the lawyer he/her wishes to entrust with the mandate.

Am I entitled to object to my TRAIAL rating?

I do not have any scanner. How can I upload my diplomas and resume ?

To what extent can the professional secrecy to which I am bound as a lawyer be safeguarded?

The platform has been designed to meet the ethical requirements that lawyers are required to meet, in particular so as to take into account the recommendations of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) on the use of online legal platforms, as well as the indications and recommendations on the use of online platforms by lawyers issued by the Swiss Bar Association.

In this context, the user who asks a question through the platform expressly and transparently agrees before sending his question that his identity, the content of his question as well as any attached documents are accessible by TRAIAL (which is a third party to the mandate that binds the user to the provider), as such information is hosted there. These documents can be downloaded at any time by the provider who has to answer the question, again in a manner compatible with the aforementioned recommendations.

Do I have to pay any commission in return for the mandates entrusted to me through the platform?

No, no deduction is made to your remuneration by the platform, which pays you the full amount set out here How much will I get paid?. In other words, the platform is entirely funded by users, at the exclusion of providers whose affiliation is completely free and whose mandates will not lead in return to any commission to be paid by them to the platform.

The user to whom I just answered the question poses a new related to this same problem. Am I assured that I can answer this new question?

If such is the case, you will be informed before all other providers and have a priority period of two hours during which you will have the right to accept the mandate; if you do not accept the mandate within the priority period granted to you, the question will then be sent to all other providers with particular expertise in the area in question.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently
Asked Questions