Terms of Service
These terms govern use of Civil Rule 26 by attorneys who order investigations and by invitees who respond to one. By creating an account, sending an invitation, or authorizing a retrieval, you agree to them.
What the Service Is
Civil Rule 26 connects a requesting attorney and an invitee through Plaid's API so the invitee can authorize scoped, revocable, read-only access to their own financial account records, in lieu of or in addition to a formal Subpoena Duces Tecum, to value account-based assets as of a past date in dissolution, probate, bankruptcy, and similar matters.
Not Legal Advice
Civil Rule 26 is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Using the service, including the model brief, does not create an attorney-client relationship. Verify every rule, statute, and case against your own jurisdiction before relying on anything here.
Attorney Accounts
You must provide your real name and an active bar license number for every jurisdiction you claim. We verify each license against official bar records before granting account access. We try to do that automatically first; if the automatic check can't confirm you, we ask for your contact details and check your bar record by hand, and those details must be accurate too. A passkey registered on your device is your only credential afterward. You're responsible for keeping that device and passkey secure, and accounts are limited to licensed attorneys ordering discovery for legitimate matters.
Invitee Authorization
An invitee decides whether to authorize access, does so at their own institution's login page, and can revoke that authorization at any time. Neither Civil Rule 26 nor the requesting attorney ever asks for, or receives, an invitee's banking credentials.
Fees and Payment
There's no subscription and no monthly minimum. Each investigation is priced individually - from the institutions, records and months requested, as set out in its quote - and the quote is paid when the order is placed, before an invitation is sent. If the data provider's charges for an investigation come to more than the quote (for example, the invitee links an institution that wasn't ordered, or the bank has more statements than expected), the difference and the service fee on it are charged later to the card used for the order, up to the limit you set when ordering. Any amount beyond that limit is charged only with your approval, and the investigation's records can't be downloaded until it is paid. If the invitee never grants access, nothing is charged beyond the quote.
Retrieved Records
Each institution is disconnected as you plan when you order: at the end of the calendar month it is linked in, or after the months you choose. The records are kept for you to download until the deletion date you set when ordering, which you may move up to a year after they arrive, and are then deleted. Download them before that date: retrieving them again requires a new order.
Permitted Use
The service exists for legitimate civil discovery. Use retrieved records only for the matter they were authorized for, don't request records for someone without a good-faith basis to seek their financial information in a legal proceeding, and don't attempt to bypass bar-license verification or an invitee's authorization.
Limits of the Method
Institutions and account types vary in what they expose through Plaid, lookback windows are typically 12 to 24 months, and an invitee's consent is required every time. Retrieval through this service may supplement traditional discovery rather than replace it, and a refusal to authorize still has to be pursued through other means.
Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability
The service is provided as-is. We don't guarantee that a court will permit or admit records obtained this way, or that any particular institution or account will be available through Plaid. To the extent the law allows, Civil Rule 26 isn't liable for indirect or consequential damages arising from use of the service.
Termination
We may suspend or terminate an account for inaccurate bar information, misuse of retrieved records, non-payment, or violation of these terms.
Changes to These Terms
If these terms change materially, we'll update this page and change the date it was last revised.
Governing Law
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Washington.
Contact
Questions about these terms can go to info@civilrule26.com . See also the Privacy Policy .