These Attorney Ally Terms of Service ("Ally Terms") apply to the software application located at https://ally.story.law (the "Ally App") and certain services available through the Ally App (collectively, the "Ally Services"). The Ally App is made available only to law firm organizations — that is, to law firms that employ or are composed of one or more licensed attorneys. If you are not acting on behalf of a law firm organization, you are not permitted to access or use the Ally App.
These Ally Terms among a user of Ally App and Story LLP Software Inc are in addition to, and incorporate by reference, Story's general Terms of Service (the "General Terms") and Story's Privacy Policy. Where these Ally Terms address a topic specifically, the Ally-specific provision controls for your use of the Ally App; on all other topics, the General Terms continue to apply. Capitalized terms used but not defined in these Ally Terms have the meanings given to them in the General Terms.
We refer to each attorney or law firm employee using the Ally App collectively as "Attorney Allies" or "Allies" in these terms. However, we reserve a distinct status for Attorney Allies who lead or co-lead practices that have entered into and remain bound by the terms of a separate Referral and Joint Representation Agreement or similar joint legal representation agreement (each a "Joint Representation Agreement") for the provision of legal services as Co-counsel to clients of the Story Law firm (any such Allies, "Co-Counsel Allies"). For Co-Counsel Allies only, the terms of their applicable Joint Representation Agreement superseded these Ally Terms with respect to any matters addressed by the Joint Representation Agreement between the Story Law firm the the applicable Co-Counsel Ally.
Story.law is a collaboration between California Limited Liability Partnership and law firm Story LLP and Story LLP Software Inc, a Delaware corporation, operated pursuant to an exclusive license and collaboration agreement between these entities. As in the General Terms, when we use "Story," "we," "us," and/or "our" in these Ally Terms, we mean Story LLP Software Inc ("Story Software") and not the Story LLP Law Firm ("Story Firm"), unless we expressly say otherwise. The Story Firm is not a party to these Ally Terms.
All Attorney Allies are law firm organizations with one or more lawyers. There are two types of Attorney Ally, and your type determines what you may do on the Ally App:
Any law firm using the Ally App is an Attorney Ally of one of these two types. Unless these Ally Terms expressly distinguish between Vetted Allies and Public Allies, all provisions apply to every Attorney Ally.
If you are a Vetted Ally, you also have a separate, signed Joint Representation Agreement with Story. To the extent any provision of these Ally Terms conflicts with your Joint Representation Agreement, the Joint Representation Agreement controls and supersedes the conflicting provision of these Ally Terms. On any topic not addressed by your Joint Representation Agreement, these Ally Terms continue to apply.
These Ally Terms govern access to and use of the Ally App at ally.story.law, which is available only to law firm organizations. By accessing the Ally App, you represent and warrant that (a) you are a law firm with one or more licensed attorneys, (b) you are duly authorized to bind that law firm to these Ally Terms, and (c) all individuals you permit to access the Ally App under your organization are authorized members of your firm.
In addition to the representations in the Scope and Eligibility section above, you represent, warrant, and covenant to Story that:
Any Attorney Ally — whether Vetted or Public — who invites a client to subscribe to Story using the Ally App's invitation process is entitled to receive a software referral fee solely in connection with a software license fee paid by a client. The software referral fee is NOT a lawyer-to-lawyer fee sharing arrangment. With respect to that client, subject to all of the following conditions:
The referral fee is a software-side commercial arrangement between Story Software and the Attorney Ally. It is separate from, and must not be confused with, any legal-fee-sharing arrangement, which (where applicable) is governed exclusively by a Vetted Ally's Joint Representation Agreement and applicable rules of professional conduct. Allies are solely responsible for ensuring their receipt of any referral fee complies with the ethical rules of every jurisdiction in which they are licensed.
###Software Referral Fee Calculations Our goal is to help human lawyers and clients cooperate to get more of what they deserve. Our Ally App and the client app at story.law are the surfaces through which we achieve this. We built this platform to help human lawyers and human client cooperate better. Our expectation and hope is that you will enjoy using our experience together with your clients, and provide us with feedback we can use to make that experience better for everyone.
Therefore, if any Ally whether a Public or Co-Counsel Ally, introduces and invites their client to use our platform to work better together, we provide them with quarterly software referral fee equal to 20% (rounded to the nearest whole cent, a "Software Referral Fee") of package pubscription fees actually received by Story Software and not subject of chargeback, dispute, or refund from a user organization that meets the following conditions:
The Software Referral Fee applies with respect to amounts actually received by Story for a package subscription, and excludes any add-ons, features, matter-based fees. If a client keeps a continuous subscription but downgrades or upgrades that subscription to a lower or higher tier, the 20% fee will be calcuated against the amount fo new payment once the change takes effect, in consideration of any proration for the subscription term determined in Story Software's sole discretion.
###Fee Limitations
Fees are paid to Ally organizations only. Ally Organizations are solely responsible for determeineing how to distribute Software referral Fee proceeds to user within their firm. In order to receive a Software Referral Fee based on a Platform Invitation of any seatholder in its Ally App account, Ally Organizations must have:
You agree to abide by the following Acceptable Use Policy at any time you use the Ally App:
If Story encounters evidence of suspicious activity in connection with your account, including, but not limited to, evidence that the account is being used by someone who is not authorized to do so, you acknowledge that Story, in its sole discretion, may opt to temporarily disable your account or the related organizational account for a reasonable amount of time in order to investigate. In the event that Story disables your account, you understand that, absent a subpoena or court order, no information about your account will be provided to anyone outside Story, including you or any authorized contact, until the investigation is complete. You acknowledge that Story will not be liable for any delays caused by these policies and procedures.
The Ally App may generate automated time entries to reflect activity within the platform. Automated time entries will not be billed automatically. They are provided for your review and convenience only, and no automated time entry will be charged to a client, counterparty, or any other person unless and until an authorized member of your firm reviews and affirmatively approves it in accordance with your own billing practices and applicable rules of professional conduct. You remain solely responsible for the accuracy, propriety, and ultimate billing of any time entry.
Any fees payable by an Attorney Ally to Story for access to the Ally App (for example, subscription or seat fees) will be quoted to you before they are charged and are otherwise governed by the Fees provisions of the General Terms.
Attorney Allies acknowledge that the Ally App is built around the preservation of attorney–client privilege and the strict segregation of client and counterparty information. You agree to use the Ally App's audience-routing, visibility, and access controls as designed, and to take reasonable measures to prevent any disclosure that could waive privilege or improperly commingle the information of different clients or matters. You remain independently responsible for your own professional obligations of confidentiality and competence with respect to your clients. You agree to maintain adequate and appropriate legal malpractice insurance coverage for all legal work you do in connection with this Ally App. An Invtiation does not necessarily result in any attorney-client relationship between the Story Firm and the invited prospective client.
EXCEPT AS PROHIBITED BY LAW, YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY AND HOLD STORY AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, PARTNERS, AND AGENTS HARMLESS FOR ANY INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGE, HOWEVER IT ARISES (INCLUDING ATTORNEYS' FEES AND ALL RELATED COSTS AND EXPENSES OF LITIGATION, OR AT TRIAL OR ON APPEAL, IF ANY, WHETHER OR NOT LITIGATION IS INSTITUTED), WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE, OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, OR ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE ALLY TERMS, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY CLAIM FOR PERSONAL INJURY OR PROPERTY DAMAGE, ARISING FROM THESE ALLY TERMS AND ANY VIOLATION BY YOU OF ANY FEDERAL, STATE, OR LOCAL LAWS, STATUTES, RULES, OR REGULATIONS, EVEN IF STORY HAS BEEN PREVIOUSLY ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
EXCEPT AS PROHIBITED BY LAW, IF THERE IS LIABILITY FOUND ON THE PART OF STORY (WHETHER OF STORY SOFTWARE OR THE STORY FIRM), IT WILL BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU TO STORY FOR ACCESS TO THE ALLY APP, AND UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL THERE BE CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES AVAILABLE AGAINST STORY. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE PRIOR LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU TO THE EXTENT YOU RESIDE OR ARE SUBJECT TO THE LAW OF THAT STATE.
To the extent that Story recommends a third-party product or service that is not an Attorney Ally, STORY IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY FAILURE OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES OFFERED OR ADVERTISED AT THOSE SITES. A THIRD PARTY MAY HAVE TERMS OR A PRIVACY POLICY DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF STORY, AND THE THIRD-PARTY WEBSITE AND/OR SERVICE MAY PROVIDE LESS SECURITY THAN THE ALLY APP.
Story provides certain automated services through the Ally App — for example, automated time entries and data drawn from Story's automated legal work product — which are designed to support your work with shared clients but are not offered, and should not be relied upon, as independent legal advice. STORY SOFTWARE SHALL NOT BE DEEMED TO PROVIDE LEGAL ADVICE THROUGH THE ALLY APP, AND STORY SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR LEGAL MALPRACTICE ON THE BASIS OF THE OUTPUTS OF ITS AUTOMATED SERVICES. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT STORY CAN ONLY PROVIDE AUTOMATED OUTPUTS BASED ON INFORMATION PROVIDED TO IT, AND THAT SUCH OUTPUTS MAY BE INACCURATE, INCOMPLETE, OR WRONG IF THE UNDERLYING INFORMATION IS INACCURATE, INCOMPLETE, OR WRONG.
As between Story and an Attorney Ally, each Attorney Ally remains solely responsible for its own legal advice and the professional services it provides to its clients, and Story does not assume and expressly disclaims any liability for the Ally's legal work. Each of the Story Firm and an Attorney Ally remains responsible for any malpractice claims against it based on the specific non-automated human legal services it provided. Story.law's fully-automated legal services and contract processes are not offered as legal advice, but as a standard best practice at an accessible price point.
Unlike the General Terms, your use of the Ally App at ally.story.law is not subject to binding arbitration. Instead:
The following provisions mirror the Miscellaneous provisions of the General Terms — Force Majeure, Notices, No Waiver, Modification, Assignment, Severability, Entire Agreement, and Right to Refuse — adapted for your use of the Ally App, except that the dispute-resolution mechanism for the Ally App is as set forth in the Dispute Resolution section above rather than the arbitration provisions of the General Terms.
Story shall not be considered in breach of or in default under these Ally Terms or any contract with you, and shall not be liable to you for any cessation, interruption, or delay in the performance of its obligations under these Ally Terms by reason of earthquake, flood, fire, storm, lightning, drought, landslide, hurricane, cyclone, typhoon, tornado, natural disaster, act of God or the public enemy, epidemic, famine or plague, action of a court or public authority, change in law, explosion, war, terrorism, armed conflict, labor strike, lockout, boycott, or similar event beyond our reasonable control, whether foreseen or unforeseen (each a "Force Majeure Event"). If a Force Majeure Event continues for more than 60 days in the aggregate, Story may immediately terminate these Ally Terms and shall have no liability to you for or as a result of any such termination.
In the event of a conflict among the agreements that govern your relationship with Story, the following order of precedence applies: (1) a Vetted Ally's signed Joint Representation Agreement; (2) these Attorney Ally Terms of Service; and (3) the General Terms of Service. Any Engagement Letter Agreement you may separately hold with the Story Firm as a client governs that client relationship and is outside this order of precedence.
You agree to provide notice to Story under these Ally Terms by emailing help@story.law. You agree that any in-app notice or email sent to any email address associated with your Ally organization will constitute notice to an Ally user under these Ally App Terms.
The failure of Story to enforce any right or provision of these Ally Terms will not constitute a waiver of future enforcement of that right or provision.
Story reserves the right to modify these Ally Terms at any time consistent with the Modification provisions of the General Terms. The date of the last modification will be posted at the end of these Ally Terms. By continuing to access or use the Ally App, you agree to be bound by any modified Ally Terms. Story may, but is not obligated to, provide additional notice of updates to these terms.
You may not assign or transfer these Ally Terms, by operation of law or otherwise, without Story's prior written consent. Any attempt by you to assign or transfer these Ally Terms without such consent will be null and of no effect. Story may assign or transfer these Ally Terms, at its sole discretion, without restriction. Subject to the foregoing, these Ally Terms will bind and inure to the benefit of the parties, their successors and permitted assigns. These Ally Terms do not and are not intended to confer any rights or remedies upon any person other than the parties.
If for any reason a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision of these Ally Terms invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible and the other provisions of these Ally Terms will remain in full force and effect.
These Ally Terms, together with the General Terms and Privacy Policy incorporated by reference, constitute the entire agreement between you and Story regarding your use of the Ally App, and supersede all prior written or oral agreements regarding that use. Additional terms may apply to a Vetted Ally's Joint Representation Agreement; in the event of a conflict, the Order of Precedence above controls.
You acknowledge that Story reserves the right to refuse service to anyone.
These Attorney Ally Terms were last updated on: July 30, 2026