Policies Portal
The purpose of this portal is to provide our clients with access to certain key aosphere policies and information that you may need in order to do business with us.
Commercial FAQs
About aosphere / Commercial FAQs
aosphere Limited (aosphere) is a provider of online legal information services. Over 1200 organisations subscribe to one or more of our products which analyse global law and regulation across a range of topics. aosphere was established in 2002 (previously aosphere LLP and originally called Derivatives Services LLP), and consists of 15+ online subscription services. The service aims to provide a cost-efficient alternative to bespoke legal advice.
Below are answers to frequently asked questions about our business.
What is aosphere's relationship with Allen & Overy?
In 2024 Inflexion Private Equity and Endicott Capital made a strategic investment in aosphere. Prior to this date, aosphere was a subsidiary undertaking of Allen & Overy LLP (A&O). Following the sale, A&O continues to indirectly hold a significant minority stake in aosphere.
How many clients does aosphere have?
aosphere provides online services to 1200+ institutions globally.
Can we negotiate the aosphere commercial terms?
We do not negotiate pricing or other commercial terms as these are based on standard price lists and contractual terms for all clients. aosphere offers a lower cost alternative to bespoke legal advice. Some subscriptions may attract a multiple purchase or year one introductory discounts, the details of which will be set out in the contractual terms supplied. Our pricing is tiered based on the size/type of an organisation. We do not negotiate discounts for individual clients. Our services are available as an annual subscription renewal which can be terminated ahead of each renewal period.
We are a content publisher, not an IT or software vendor.
aosphere provides access to incredibly comprehensive but generic legal information, which is delivered online. We do not monitor clients trading positions or otherwise process clients confidential data. On this basis, we are unable to respond to requests for IT surveys or due diligence questionnaires.
How is aosphere delivered?
All aosphere products are accessed via the internet using a login and password. Additional users can be requested by emailing Support. There is no installation or specific IT equipment required.
We aim to achieve 99.9% availability but we are unable to guarantee availability levels and we do not offer service credits.
What if I have a question or feedback on the content?
Subscriber feedback is very welcome and can be provided online using the "Support" link from within our subscription services. Feedback is periodically reviewed by the aosphere team and enhancements of potential interest to the wider subscriber base will be considered for inclusion.
Please note that aosphere's services are generic and provided to multiple institutions and do not include responding to individual time sensitive requests for additional advice in specific jurisdictions. If you have feedback which requires a response outside the scope of your subscription (e.g. a time-sensitive or institution-specific information request or a clarification of content) you will need to consider raising such issues directly with a local lawyer or other local expert who will advise of any charges for the work to be carried out. Each memorandum commissioned by aosphere will include relevant local counsel contact details.
Who are the aosphere legal team?
The aosphere team are based primarily in the UK and are English qualified senior lawyers with an average of 19 years of post-qualification experience (PQE). Many of our lawyers have worked in-house as well as in private practice. These lawyers work exclusively on the aosphere subscription services to ensure high standards of quality and consistency.
Data privacy
aosphere values your privacy and cares about the way in which your personal information is treated. See our Privacy Statements below.
Modern slavery & human trafficking
Modern slavery is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights. It takes various forms, such as slavery, servitude, forced and compulsory labour and human trafficking, all of which have in common the deprivation of a person's liberty by another in order to exploit them for personal or commercial gain. aosphere is committed to acting ethically and with integrity in all its business dealings and relationships, and to taking appropriate steps to ensure modern slavery does not occur anywhere in its business or in any of its supply chains.
Data hosting & IT security
aosphere services are accessed at https://www.aoslogin.com and utilises known cloud hosting providers. aosphere is primarily cloud based, and our suppliers are responsible for maintaining high availability environments. On top of this aosphere has implemented a backup policy and backup solution. These backups are stored in multiple datacentres within the EU region ensuring redundancy (i.e. backups will not be lost should one of these datacentres becomes unavailable).
Supplier code of conduct
aosphere is committed to maintaining high standards of corporate integrity, responsible sourcing, environmental sustainability and the safety of workers. Our Supplier Code of Conduct sets out the minimum standards that we expect to be met by our suppliers.
Diversity & inclusion
Since 2002, aosphere has been tearing down barriers to traditional legal services through our online services but also in our recruitment ethos. From the beginning equity, diversity and inclusion has been woven into the fabric of our how we’ve built our company.
aosphere has lead by example by embracing work-life balance and respecting the individual. This has given us the opportunity to recruit and retain purely on the basis of exceptional talent. The majority of our employees work remotely & flexibly. Our retention rate is exceptional because we foster a unique culture of respect and collaboration.
Embracing DE&I laid our foundations and will continue to build our future.