Payment terms

Who provides the service and who charges

Legal services are provided by the lawyer or firm you hire, not by Slawly. The firm charges its fees and issues its invoice to you.

Slawly is a technology platform: it puts clients and lawyers in touch and offers the means of payment. Payments are processed by Stripe Payments Europe, Ltd., an authorised payment institution, and the fees go straight to the firm's Stripe account. Slawly doesn't hold or manage clients' money.

Third-party costs and advances (court agent, experts, court fees, notary) aren't paid through Slawly. Those are dealt with directly with the firm.

For clients: what you pay

Before paying you see the breakdown: the lawyer's fees, their VAT, the Slawly service fee with its VAT, and the total. The service fee belongs to Slawly; it isn't part of the lawyer's fees and the lawyer has no share in it.

The service fee is currently 0.3% of what you pay the firm plus €1.99, VAT added. If it changes, the new amount applies only to later payments and is always shown before you pay.

Notice under article 18 of the Spanish Bar's Code of Conduct: Slawly may charge the lawyer or firm for clients it introduces through the platform. That amount is never added to what you pay.

If you pay fees as a business or professional and must withhold income tax (IRPF), tick it when paying and give your name or company name and NIF: you pay the fees with VAT less the withholding (15%, or 7% if the lawyer is in their first three years; none if the firm is a company) plus the service fee, and get a receipt. You pay the withholding to the tax office. The option appears once the firm has completed its tax details; paid consultations are for individuals only.

For clients: when and how you pay

Fixed price: you pay it in full when accepting the engagement letter, and the matter starts once the payment is confirmed.

Hourly or retainer: the firm sends you payment requests during the matter, which you see and pay from the matter itself.

Paid consultations: you pay when booking; the appointment is confirmed once paid. If you don't complete the payment, the slot is released after about 30 minutes.

You pay by card. Stripe emails you the receipt.

For clients: withdrawal

If you hire as a consumer, you have 14 calendar days to withdraw from the contract with the firm without giving reasons (articles 102 onwards of the Spanish consumer protection act).

If you ask the lawyer to start before those 14 days end (we ask when you pay) and then withdraw, you pay for the part of the service already provided. Once the service has been fully provided, you can no longer withdraw.

You withdraw with the firm, which provides the service. The Slawly service fee is refunded only if the whole payment is refunded.

For clients: refunds, cancellations and disputes

Refunds are made by the firm. A full refund also returns the service fee; a partial one returns part of the fees.

Consultations: if the lawyer cancels, you get everything back. If you cancel, you get everything back with the notice the lawyer sets (you see it before paying); later, nothing.

If your bank opens a dispute (chargeback) on a payment, it is settled by the bank, Stripe and the firm. We recommend talking to the firm first.

For any problem with a payment, write to us at [Support email].

For lawyers and firms: getting paid

To get paid through Slawly, the firm's owner sets up a connected Stripe account and accepts Stripe's services agreement. The firm is the merchant: it charges its fees, pays Stripe's fees and receives payouts to its bank account on Stripe's schedule.

The firm answers to the client for the service, its invoice, refunds and disputes; those amounts come out of its Stripe balance. Slawly only charges the client its service fee, as the platform's commission.

Third-party costs and advances can't be requested through Slawly (article 19 of the Code of Conduct). Fees are charged with their VAT; the firm issues its invoice in its own system.

For lawyers and firms: credits and introduced clients

When a client who reached you through Slawly's recommendations (waves) hires you, the credits of their specialty's price, published in Settings › Plan, are taken: a higher price if fixed fees exceed the high-value threshold, and a surcharge if the client marked the case as urgent. You see it on the opportunity before proposing. Clients who reach you otherwise (directory, your intake link, your own clients) use no credits.

Credits are bought in packs, as a one-off payment, without changing or cancelling the subscription. Plan credits expire at month end and are used first; bought credits don't expire monthly and stay if you cancel the subscription, while your account is active. They are lost if the account is closed or suspended for breaching these terms. Credits aren't money, aren't refunded in cash and don't guarantee clients or income.

If the client withdraws and is fully refunded within 14 days, you get that hire's credits back. They're not returned because a client decides not to hire you: they're only spent when one does. Pack and specialty prices may change; changes apply to later purchases and hires.

For 12 months after Slawly introduces a client to you, any work you do for them, hired on the platform or off it, counts as hired through the platform. You agree not to take clients introduced by Slawly off the platform to avoid credits.

Before a hire, Slawly may warn you when a text includes contact details and keep a record of the warning; it never reads the messages of hired matters.

For lawyers and firms: the platform's tax duties

As a platform operator, Slawly must report to the Spanish Tax Agency every year what you earn through it and your tax details (DAC7 directive, form 238). The firm's owner gives them in Settings › Firm › Tax details; your name and tax ID also appear on your clients' withholding receipts.

Slawly invoices you, with VAT, for its own services (subscription and credits).

Changes and governing law

If we change these terms we'll tell you in advance and ask you to accept them again. They are governed by Spanish law; if you hire as a consumer, the courts of your place of residence have jurisdiction.