Terms of engagement.
These govern paid record-defensibility engagements. They are written to be read by your counsel, so they are short, and every limit is stated rather than implied. The free record check is covered by nothing here: it transmits nothing and asks nothing of you.
1. Who you are contracting with
JRS and the Justification Review Standard are the practice of Phillip Wikes, sole principal, trading as JRS™. Engagements are performed personally and are not subcontracted. Contact for all notices under these terms is info@jrsstandard.com.
2. What an engagement is
A structured read of documentation quality against the five JRS review conditions and the seven documented failure modes, delivered as a written finding. Fees are fixed and agreed in writing before work begins: $250 AI Documentation Defensibility Review, $500 AI Governance Documentation Review, $750 Benchmark Access and Calibration. Turnaround is stated at scoping. There is no hourly rate, no retainer, and no scope variation clause, because scope is a fixed number of records.
3. What an engagement is not
It is not legal advice and creates no attorney-client relationship. It does not assess whether a decision was correct, lawful, or defensible in law. It does not establish compliance with the EU AI Act, NIST AI RMF, ISO/IEC 42001 or any other framework, and no framework requires JRS. It is not a certification, an accreditation, or an audit within the meaning of any professional standard. JRS is under operational validation and is offered as such.
4. Your records
Records are supplied by you, de-identified to a standard agreed at scoping. All customer files and sample records submitted for diagnostic evaluation are processed in ephemeral working memory and deleted upon delivery of the diagnostic report. Customer records are never stored, logged to public research sets, or used for model training. A record arriving with an identifier is returned rather than redacted. Records are read by one person and are not passed to any third-party service. No sub-processors are engaged.
5. Ownership
The written finding is yours outright on delivery. No licence back is retained, your material is not reused in research or marketing, and no case study, testimonial or client name is published without your separate written agreement. The JRS method, rubrics, field guides, benchmark and marks remain the property of the practice. An engagement grants no licence to use JRS materials in your own client work; that is a separate written licence.
6. Confidentiality
Your material, your identity as a client, and the content of any finding are treated as confidential. An NDA on your paper is accepted and can be signed before scoping. This survives the engagement.
7. Payment
Invoiced on agreement of scope. Purchase orders accepted. Terms are net 30 unless your procurement process requires otherwise, in which case they follow yours. Fees are exclusive of any tax that applies in your jurisdiction.
8. Cancellation
You may cancel before records are transmitted at no charge. After records are received and reading has begun, the fixed fee is payable in full, because the fee buys a read of a fixed set rather than time.
9. Liability
Liability under any engagement is limited to the fee paid for that engagement. Neither party is liable for indirect or consequential loss. Nothing here limits liability that cannot be limited by law. You remain responsible for your own decisions and records; a finding is an input to your judgment and not a substitute for it.
10. Changes
These terms apply as published on the date your scope is countersigned. A later change to this page does not alter an engagement already agreed.
Questions on any clause before you engage: info@jrsstandard.com. How an engagement runs in practice is on the engagement page.