Making It Legal:

The small business mentor's guide to entrepreneurship and law

By Nina Kaufman

The Pros and Cons of Pre-Paid Legal

Far be it from me to turn away business (actually, I’m not), but there really are times when pre-paid legal services could be a better option for your business than hiring a firm and paying the higher rates.   

A pre-paid legal plan is like legal insurance.  You’re provided with some services at no cost (except for your monthly membership), some services at a reduced rate.  If most of your company’s legal needs involve quick consultations, pre-paid legal could be a convenient solution.  One of the drawbacks, as reported by Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt, Chairman of the Green Bay (Wisconsin) chapter of the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) is that you can’t necessarily request a particular attorney.  As a result, you don’t have the same opportunity to work with a trusted advisor who knows about your business and its goals, who can work with you proactively.   

Also, there are many companies offering pre-paid legal plans, and some may be less-than-adequate.  Ask for references, and research the companies before buying the coverage. 

This entry was posted on Monday, October 8th, 2007 at 10:24 am and is filed under Lawyer Low-Down. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

5 Responses to “The Pros and Cons of Pre-Paid Legal”

  1. iDiligence Forum » Pre-paid Legal? Says:

    […] It can be otherwise called a Legal Insurance. The blog in Entrepreneur.com by Nina Kaufman on Pre-paid Legal services throws light on the pros and cons of pre-paid legal services. Pre-paid legal services refers to […]

  2. Jason Jones Says:

    Nina,

    Interesting post. My company provides legal outsourcing services. I think offshoring labor price arbitrage might be a good fit for pre-paid legal plans. A lot of the low level work could get done “on the cheap” freeing up American attorneys under contract to pre-paid services providers to do the higher end work, while saving small businesses even more money.

  3. Sue Grace Says:

    You can so request a particular attorney… and speak with them as many times as you need to do so. Also, oftentimes, in Nevada, I cannot speak for other states, one of the head honcho attorneys (the ones in the name Black, Bloomberg and Gold, esquires) would call me back within 15 minutes of my request. How many other attorneys do you know who provide that kind of service?

  4. Bill Page Says:

    How do I check the references of Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.?

  5. Susan Byrtus Says:

    This is in response to those requesting references and desiring to research the company, Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc., and subsidiaries:

    When it comes to the legal service plan industry, Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc., a 36 year old, New York Stock Exchange Company, is the industry leader in North America.
    You can research it under Stock Symbol PPD.

    In USA Today on August 22, 2007, an article on the front page of the Business Section named the top three companies whose Founder was still CEO today. The article listed Pre-Paid Legal as one of those three companies indicating that their stock (PPD) had increased 4,302% over the past 15 years.

    Additionally, there was an educational program on TRU TV recently entitled “Justice For All, Accessing The Promise”. Some that appeared on this program were:

    Bill Paul-former Pres. of the American Bar Association
    Harry C Alford-Pres.& CEO Nat’l Black Chamber of Commerce
    Thomas J Donohue-Pres/CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
    Mike Turpen, former Attorney General, State of Oklahoma
    Grant Woods-former Attorney General, State of Arizona
    Mike Moore, former 4-term Attorney General Mississippi.

    To review this program copy and paste the following link:
    http://www.projectstreamer.com/users/ebenaim/JusticeForAllEB/JusticeForAllEB.wmv

    For a FREE, complimentary copy of the program,
    call 888-448-1489 and leave your name and address and one will be mailed to you.






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