Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Pre-Paid Legal Services

[fertilezone (fertilezone]

Pamela Leitch wrote: 
> ..I am an attorney and .. I urge caution to folks who are 
considering this (Pre-Paid Legal Service).
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I understand how you feel.  10 years ago private practitioners hated 
HMO's for changing their world.  And now these pre-paid legal 
plans are doing the same thing to the legal profession. 

Only because others broadcast this subject, l'll cc: the list, and ad 
that some lawyers may have good reason to resent these service 
plans.

Never mind the co-housing groups with legal needs, or the HMO 
style growth for these plans; there probably is a catch to giving 
away full-legal service plans for peanuts.

Maybe people are doing more price shopping, and want faster, 
better, and cheeper legal help.

To make matters worse,  -- William W. Falsgraf --  President of the 
American bar Association,  had to go and say, "The ABA endorses 
the concept of prepaid legal plans 100%!."   

Then on Sep.29, last year, Fortune Magazine ranked Pre-Paid 
Legal Services, Inc. the 29th fastest growing company on the US 
stock exchange.

Go figure!

I checked my regional Better Business Bureau, and would 
recommend  doing the same in your state, they use a name or 
address to do the check over the phone, for free.  

I personally believe these legal-plan providers make higher profits 
when litigation becomes the catalyst for legal plan memberships. 

Many services for pre-existing cases (occuring before membership) 
are billed at 75% of the providers published rates.  So. if more work 
is pre-existing cases, then less work is billed at the plan's normal 
rate.  

However, last year the company reportedly used it's ($12. - $25. 
monthly) membership-fee revenue to pay-out over 30 Million to 
provider firms.

Regards,

Roger Ruhle
I am now a customer service Associate for Pre-Paid Legal 
Services, Inc.
http://web.oo.net/ppl/