Frequently Asked Questions

Issues refer to specific legal problems or challenges that individuals or businesses may encounter. Examples of issues include contract disputes, trademark infringement, or importer scams.

Scenarios, on the other hand, refer to the broader business or personal context in which legal issues arise. For example, “Selling to China” is a scenario that may involve a variety of legal issues related to international trade, intellectual property protection, and regulatory compliance.

Trustiics provides individual landing pages for popular scenarios and common issues to help users understand the legal landscape and connect with lawyers who have the expertise to help them navigate these challenges.

There are four types of services on Trustiics from the perspective of a potential user: Fixed-Price Services, Customized Services, Quick Legal Consultation and Concierge Services.

Three common features of these 4 types of services are (i) they are all provided by vetted lawyers based on clients’ needs, (ii) clients know exactly how much they need to pay before the service starts, and (iii) lawyers get paid only after the service is completed.

When users are unable to choose a legal service or select a lawyer, they can choose the Concierge Service. Based on the information form submitted by the registered member, Trustiics Client Support team will choose and coordinate with one or multiple lawyers with the relevant expertise. Trustiics Client Support team will facilitate the lawyer(s) to propose the most reasonable fees, and the users will then decide if they would proceed with a proposal. Once they make the decision to proceed forward, the rest of the process is the same as other Customized Services.

Trustiics offers a diverse range of legal services that depend on the country. In China, India, and Brazil, the focus is on business-oriented legal services such as intellectual property, contracts, corporate law, international trade, foreign direct investment, and disputes. In Canada and the U.S., legal services are geared towards new immigrants, entrepreneurs (particularly new immigrant entrepreneurs), and international students. These services include business formation, commercial contracts, immigration, employment, academic offences, and family law. Regardless of the country, Trustiics connects clients with vetted lawyers who have the expertise necessary to provide high-quality legal services in their respective areas.

Trustiics helps users from around the world who are looking for legal services provided by lawyers in Canada, China, the U.S., India, and Brazil. Our platform is designed to help clients with solutions provided by lawyers who have expertise in their respective countries and legal jurisdictions.  Our goal is to expand our network of lawyers and aim to provide a wide range of legal services to clients around the world.

The Quick Legal Consultation (“QLC”) service is a consultation in written form. It is a service that provides registered users with a quick and reliable answer in written form at an affordable price. It can be compared to a family doctor’s diagnosis, and it is more than just a simple answer. In this sense, it is more of a “Quick Consultation or “Quick Diagnosis” instead of a “Quick Answer.”

Like the Fixed-Price Services, clients do not need to choose a lawyer for a Quick Legal Consultation. Multiple vetted lawyers whose practice covers the relevant issue will be notified after a client places an order. The first lawyer who responds will be the lawyer to provide the written response.

Depending on the status of your order, you may be able to cancel your order. If your cancellation request was successful, you’ll receive a confirmation email. You won’t be charged for a canceled order, but your card may reflect a temporary authorization hold. Funds will become available once your bank releases the hold. If the cancellation window has passed, you can still refuse the order upon delivery. When we receive your refused order, we’ll process the return and send an email confirmation regarding your refund.

No. Trustiics is an online marketplace that connects clients with legal services provided by vetted qualified lawyers. As an online marketplace, we provide a platform that allows clients to easily find standardized legal services and/or find and connect with registered and vetted lawyers. Think of it like an online store, but instead of buying products, clients can access legal services from a network of experienced lawyers.

We do not provide legal services ourselves, but rather we facilitate the connection between clients and legal services/lawyers. We charge a digital marketing fee and a platform service fee to the service lawyers on a transaction-by-transaction basis, and we also charge a platform processing fee to clients.

As part of our platform promotion, we are currently waiving the platform processing fee for clients.To give an example, if a client needs help drafting a contract, they can log onto the Trustiics platform, browse the lawyer directory, and select a lawyer with expertise in contract law in a particular country.

The lawyer and client can then communicate through the platform, and the client can pay the lawyer for their services through the platform as well.In summary, Trustiics is an online marketplace that provides a convenient and efficient way for clients to solve legal issues by registered lawyers. We provide the necessary infrastructure and services to make the process as seamless as possible while charging fees to both lawyers and clients for our services and to maintain the platform.

You can communicate with your lawyer through the Trustiics platform, which has a built-in messaging system for secure and efficient communication.

The messaging system allows you to exchange messages, documents, and other files with your lawyer in real-time, ensuring that you are always up to date with your legal matter’s progress. You can also access your communication history with your lawyer for future reference.

Finding the right lawyer for your legal needs on Trustiics is easy. You can browse our lawyer directory by location, area of expertise, language, and availability. Once you find a lawyer who meets your needs, you can send a request for a free quote and communicate directly with the lawyer. This allows you to discuss your case further and determine if the lawyer is the right fit for you. Our platform also offers a messaging system that enables direct communication between clients and their service lawyers, allowing you to ask questions and receive updates on your case easily.

Yes, they are similar in general, and each has four major steps:

1. Select: a user selects a fixed-price service, a quick legal consultation, or chooses a lawyer & sends the lawyer a request for a fee proposal
2. Payment: the user authorizes a credit card for fixed-price services or makes credit card payment for customized services
3. Service in progress: once the payment is authorized, the lawyer will be notified and will start working immediately. Both the lawyer and the user can chat with each other on their Order detail page on Trustiics dashboard.
4. Service delivered: once the lawyer delivers the service, the user will receive a notification. The user can request revisions if needed. If the user is satisfied with the work, the user will accept the delivery.  The lawyer will get paid 14 days after the user accepts the delivery.

Please visit our How it Works page for more details.

No, the coupon will not have an impact on lawyers’ revenue. Coupon only applies to Trustiics revenue. When a client receives a $ coupon, Trustiics will deduct the same amount from the Digital Marketing Service Fee charged on the lawyer side.

For the Legal Service Fee, Trustiics collects GST/HST on behalf of the lawyers and pass on the whole amount to the lawyers. Trustiics does not report on behalf of Canadian lawyers or any non-resident lawyers. Canadian lawyers need to report to CRA on their own.

If any lawyer who is a resident in Canada for GST/HST purposes needs Trustiics to make regular GST/HST filings to CRA on your behalf, please get in touch with us directly at lawyersupport@trustiics.com to sign the T506.

Trustiics is very transparent about how its service is priced.

There are no retainers, subscriptions, or other fees besides the displayed fees, which are charged on a transaction-by-transaction basis.

In the Fixed-Price Services and Quick Legal Consultation, the displayed Price is the total amount the user needs to pay.

In Customized Services, the Proposed Legal Service Fees proposed by a lawyer are the total amount the user needs to pay. In a lawyer’s fee proposal, the lawyer will provide a clear breakdown of costs: the fee for service and any additional fees, such as a government filing fee in the context of company registration or trademark filing. You will need to accept the proposal before proceeding with the payment process.

The Digital Marketing Service fee and Platform Service Fee are expenses for Trustiics to provide the support and maintenance of the platform for the lawyers. To minimize the lawyers’ burden, these fees are charged only when there are transactions. If there is no transaction, no fee is charged.

Digital Marketing Service Fee: it is what Trustiics charges the lawyers to cover the cost of Trustiics in relation to the daily routine digital marketing activities (including content marketing, Google SEO, Google ads, social media marketing, and other types of online promotion).

Platform Service Fee: it is what Trustiics charges the lawyers to cover the costs of technology infrastructure (such as AWS cloud services and other technical tools) that is used to enable smooth transactions on the platform.

The total Digital Marketing Service Fee and Platform Service Fee count for approximately 15% of a user’s total before-tax payment on Trustiics.

As a Canada-based digital platform and online service marketplace, we comply with Canadian tax laws and regulations.  We have made every effort to understand and comply with applicable tax laws and regulations. We reserve the right to change the way sales tax is charged if there are any changes to Canadian tax regulations.

There are four different situations in which sales tax may apply to transactions on Trustiics:

• The lawyer is a non-resident, and the Client is a non-resident.

If both the Lawyer (i.e., legal service provider) and the Client (i.e., legal service recipient) are non-residents from the Canadian tax regulation perspective, then there is no Canadian sales tax issue. As a result, none of the fees described above are subject to GST/HST in Canada, and no GST/HST is charged in this situation.

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• The lawyer is a non-resident, and the Client is a resident.

If the Lawyer is a non-resident and the entire service is provided outside of Canada, all the fees described above, except for the Platform Service Fee charged on the client side, are exempted from Canadian sales tax, and no GST/HST would be charged.

For the Trustiics Platform Service Fee charged (but currently exempted) on the client side, GST/HST is charged in this situation since the Client is a resident in Canada.  The applicable tax rate is dependent on the location of the Client.

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• The lawyer is a resident, and the Client is a non-resident.

If the Lawyer is a resident, but the Client is a non-resident, Trustiics charges and collects GST/HST, but it is zero-rated in this situation unless it is an exclusion service. An exclusion service is a service that is excluded from GST/HST.

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• The lawyer is a resident, and the Client is a resident.

When both the Lawyer and the Client are residents, all the fees are subject to GST/HST in Canada, and the applicable rates are based on the place of supply rules – where the client lives.

For the Legal Service Fee and the Trustiics Platform Service Fee, the applicable GST/HST rate is used in the province where the Client is located.

For the Trustiics Digital Marketing Service Fee and Platform Service Fee charged on the lawyer side, the applicable GST/HST rate is used in the province where the Lawyer is located.

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As an online marketplace, Lawyers and other professionals provide service directly to registered users, and Trustiics provides supporting and infrastructure services.

Fixed-Price Services and Quick Legal Consultation
Users will pay the Display Price plus HST/GST (if applicable).

Customized Services:
Users will pay the Legal Service Fee proposed by lawyers plus HST/GST (if applicable).

Trustiics charges lawyers for Digital Marketing services and platform services (which also include Cloud services), and such charges, in total, represent up to 15% of and have already been included in the Price payable by the users.

No, the coupon will not have an impact on lawyers’ revenue. Coupon only applies to Trustiics revenue. When a client receives a $ coupon, Trustiics will deduct the same amount from the Digital Marketing Service Fee charged on the lawyer side.

For the Legal Service Fee, Trustiics collects GST/HST on behalf of the lawyers and pass on the whole amount to the lawyers. Trustiics does not report on behalf of Canadian lawyers or any non-resident lawyers. Canadian lawyers need to report to CRA on their own.

If any lawyer who is a resident in Canada for GST/HST purposes needs Trustiics to make regular GST/HST filings to CRA on your behalf, please get in touch with us directly at lawyersupport@trustiics.com to sign the T506.

Trustiics is very transparent about how its service is priced.

There are no retainers, subscriptions, or other fees besides the displayed fees, which are charged on a transaction-by-transaction basis.

In the Fixed-Price Services and Quick Legal Consultation, the displayed Price is the total amount the user needs to pay.

In Customized Services, the Proposed Legal Service Fees proposed by a lawyer are the total amount the user needs to pay. In a lawyer’s fee proposal, the lawyer will provide a clear breakdown of costs: the fee for service and any additional fees, such as a government filing fee in the context of company registration or trademark filing. You will need to accept the proposal before proceeding with the payment process.

The Digital Marketing Service fee and Platform Service Fee are expenses for Trustiics to provide the support and maintenance of the platform for the lawyers. To minimize the lawyers’ burden, these fees are charged only when there are transactions. If there is no transaction, no fee is charged.

Digital Marketing Service Fee: it is what Trustiics charges the lawyers to cover the cost of Trustiics in relation to the daily routine digital marketing activities (including content marketing, Google SEO, Google ads, social media marketing, and other types of online promotion).

Platform Service Fee: it is what Trustiics charges the lawyers to cover the costs of technology infrastructure (such as AWS cloud services and other technical tools) that is used to enable smooth transactions on the platform.

The total Digital Marketing Service Fee and Platform Service Fee count for approximately 15% of a user’s total before-tax payment on Trustiics.

As a Canada-based digital platform and online service marketplace, we comply with Canadian tax laws and regulations.  We have made every effort to understand and comply with applicable tax laws and regulations. We reserve the right to change the way sales tax is charged if there are any changes to Canadian tax regulations.

There are four different situations in which sales tax may apply to transactions on Trustiics:

• The lawyer is a non-resident, and the Client is a non-resident.

If both the Lawyer (i.e., legal service provider) and the Client (i.e., legal service recipient) are non-residents from the Canadian tax regulation perspective, then there is no Canadian sales tax issue. As a result, none of the fees described above are subject to GST/HST in Canada, and no GST/HST is charged in this situation.

‍

• The lawyer is a non-resident, and the Client is a resident.

If the Lawyer is a non-resident and the entire service is provided outside of Canada, all the fees described above, except for the Platform Service Fee charged on the client side, are exempted from Canadian sales tax, and no GST/HST would be charged.

For the Trustiics Platform Service Fee charged (but currently exempted) on the client side, GST/HST is charged in this situation since the Client is a resident in Canada.  The applicable tax rate is dependent on the location of the Client.

‍

• The lawyer is a resident, and the Client is a non-resident.

If the Lawyer is a resident, but the Client is a non-resident, Trustiics charges and collects GST/HST, but it is zero-rated in this situation unless it is an exclusion service. An exclusion service is a service that is excluded from GST/HST.

‍

• The lawyer is a resident, and the Client is a resident.

When both the Lawyer and the Client are residents, all the fees are subject to GST/HST in Canada, and the applicable rates are based on the place of supply rules – where the client lives.

For the Legal Service Fee and the Trustiics Platform Service Fee, the applicable GST/HST rate is used in the province where the Client is located.

For the Trustiics Digital Marketing Service Fee and Platform Service Fee charged on the lawyer side, the applicable GST/HST rate is used in the province where the Lawyer is located.

‍

As an online marketplace, Lawyers and other professionals provide service directly to registered users, and Trustiics provides supporting and infrastructure services.

Fixed-Price Services and Quick Legal Consultation
Users will pay the Display Price plus HST/GST (if applicable).

Customized Services:
Users will pay the Legal Service Fee proposed by lawyers plus HST/GST (if applicable).

Trustiics charges lawyers for Digital Marketing services and platform services (which also include Cloud services), and such charges, in total, represent up to 15% of and have already been included in the Price payable by the users.

Trustiics takes ethical and professional standards very seriously and has a comprehensive vetting process in place for all lawyers and service providers who wish to join our platform.

Before being able to offer services on Trustiics, lawyers and service providers must provide information about their qualifications, credentials, and areas of expertise. We verify this information and conduct a thorough background check, including reviewing their disciplinary history and professional conduct.

Furthermore, Trustiics requires that all lawyers and service providers agree to abide by our code of conduct, which includes ethical and professional standards. This code of conduct outlines expectations regarding client communication, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, and other important issues.

Trustiics regularly monitors lawyer and service provider performance and client feedback to ensure adherence to our code of conduct. Any issues or concerns raised by clients regarding ethical or professional conduct are taken seriously and addressed promptly. If necessary, we may terminate the relationship with the lawyer or service provider in question.

Trustiics takes conflicts of interest very seriously and has strict policies in place to ensure that clients are matched with lawyers who do not have any conflicts of interest. Our platform uses a comprehensive conflict-checking system to detect any potential conflicts of interest between clients and lawyers.

If a conflict of interest is detected, the lawyer in question will not be able to accept the case. In addition, our platform allows clients to easily switch to a different lawyer if they become aware of any potential conflicts of interest during their case.

If you have any concerns about conflicts of interest, please get in touch with our customer support team (support@trustiics.com), who will be happy to assist you.

Yes, you can leave a review or rating of the legal services you received on Trustiics. After your service is completed by a lawyer, you will receive an invitation to rate and review their services. The review process is quick and easy, and you can rate your experience on a scale of 1 to 5 stars, along with providing a brief description of your experience. Your feedback will help other clients make informed decisions about which lawyer to choose for their legal matters. Trustiics values all feedback from clients and uses it to improve the overall quality of our platform and services.

At Trustiics, we take the privacy and security of our client’s personal and legal information very seriously. We use advanced encryption technology and strict access controls to protect your information from unauthorized access or disclosure. In addition, all the registered lawyers and service providers are bound with confidentiality obligations to ensure that your information remains confidential.

At Trustiics, we strive to ensure that each client is 100% satisfied with the service provided by our vetted lawyers. However, if for any reason you are not satisfied, we invite you to contact our Customer Support at support@trustiics.com with your concerns. We will work with you and the lawyer to resolve the issue to your satisfaction.

In the unlikely event that we are unable to resolve the issue and you do not receive the service as agreed, we will provide a refund of the payment made for the service. Please note that refunds may take several business days to process, depending on the payment method used.

Trustiics has a rigorous three-step vetting process to ensure that only qualified and trustworthy lawyers are registered on our platform. The vetting process includes the following:

1. Identity verification: We require lawyers to provide official identification documents to confirm their identity.

2. Qualification check: We verify that the lawyers have valid legal qualifications in good standing in their relevant jurisdiction of practice. This includes checking their education, certifications, and professional licenses.

3. Professional reference check: We request references from previous clients or colleagues to ensure that the lawyer has a good reputation and can deliver high-quality legal services.

We are confident that the lawyers registered on Trustiics have gone through this vetting process and meet our standards. Additionally, all vetted professionals on our platform are able to provide legal services in English and the local language of their jurisdiction of practice.

Trustiics is primarily designed for individual lawyers and small boutique law firms, but we do welcome small groups of lawyers and small-size law firms to offer services on our platform. When signing up as a lawyer on Trustiics, you can indicate that you are part of a law firm and include your firm’s information in your profile. Each individual lawyer’s withdrawal of money can be linked to your firm’s account or your personal account for ease of use.

If you’re interested in providing legal services on Trustiics, getting started is easy. Simply sign up as a lawyer, complete your online profile, and submit your application. Our lawyer support team will then review your application and contact you regarding the vetting process.

To maximize your success on our platform, we recommend carefully considering what types of legal services you would like to offer and ensuring that they align with the current demand on Trustiics. You can research popular legal services on our platform and tailor your services to meet those needs.

We also provide a comprehensive Users Guide for Service Lawyers, which can help you get started quickly and easily.  Please contact our Lawyers Support team at lawyersupport@trustiics.com for a copy.

Qualified legal professionals, tax professionals, and legal document translators who meet certain requirements are welcome to become service providers on Trustiics. We recommend having several years of experience, specific areas of expertise, and a strong educational background. In addition, you must have a clean disciplinary record and/or a successful track record of cases. While our platform currently focuses on Canada, China, the U.S., India, and Brazil, we are open to starting conversations with lawyers from other jurisdictions. Please note that legal service demand may vary by country, and we encourage you to research each country’s needs by visiting our website.

Yes, it is best to update your browser to the latest version. Software (including browser) updates often contain security patches and other critical fixes, so it’s a good idea to install them as soon as possible.

In addition to security patches and critical fixes, updating your browser can also improve its performance, speed, and compatibility with the latest web technologies. It can also ensure that you can access the latest features and functionalities of Trustiics and other web applications.

Trustiics intends to support all the latest versions of browsers. These browsers include Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, 360 Secure Browser.As software manufacturers release new versions of their browsers, they stop updating older versions. These older versions gradually become less compatible with current web technologies.  Older browsers may not support the latest web technologies, such as HTML5, CSS3, or JavaScript, which are essential for modern web applications. Additionally, older browsers may have security vulnerabilities that can compromise the user’s data and privacy.

Yes, the Trustiics platform is optimized for use with the latest versions of popular mobile browsers, such as Safari for iOS (version 16 or later), Chrome for Android (version 113 or later), and Samsung Internet (version 21.0 or later).

Trustiics supports the latest versions of the following browsers: Chrome (version 2023), Safari (version 16.4.1 or later), Firefox (version 113 or later), and Microsoft Edge (version 113 or later).

Internet Explorer (IE) 11 was released in 2013, and Microsoft has not released any feature updates, which puts this browser well behind others in terms of its ability to support new technologies. In 2016, Microsoft announced that it would be discontinuing support for all but the latest version of Internet Explorer. The new default browser for Windows users is Microsoft Edge, which we support. Get the latest version of the Microsoft Edge browser here.

Trustiics understands that data privacy and security are of utmost importance to our users. Our platform is built on AWS in North America, and all data is stored and protected with world-class security and privacy standards. We use encryption and other security measures to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of all data stored on our platform. Additionally, we have strict policies and procedures in place to ensure compliance with all applicable data protection laws and regulations. Trustiics is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for our users’ data.