Choosing lawyer for self defense representation

Jeeze, am I gonna get slammed for this or what???

I was reading this OLD OLD thread because I was curious to know
if anyone had mentioned prepaid legal plans anywhere on TFL.
Apparently someone has and it has been discussed heatedly.
But there seem to be loose ends and misconceptions…

So after giving this far, far too little thought, I have decided to weigh-in
for just a moment… . First the disclaimer: I am NOT an attorney. I am an
insurance agent in Ohio. Yes, I am a Prepaid Legal Services client and a
representative. Yes, I would be compensated if one or more of you bought
into the plan. That being said…

What kind of lawyer can you get for a lousy 34 bucks a month?? Just you?
Not much of a lawyer I’m afraid. But multiply your $34 by 1.5 million
other members and suddenly you are looking at $51 MILLION a month gross!
Divide that by one leading law firm in each state and you are at about a million per month “retainer”… Now realistically they don’t get it all, but if they got a third that would be about 300 grand per month per firm. I have no knowledge of precisely how much they get, and I’m sure the company wouldn’t tell you either! But the “quality of lawyer” is moving rapidly upward!

Do they cover everything? Of course not. It is mainly a preventative service.
It’s like medical insurance if you get sick. Some things are completely covered. Other services are discounted. But if you are arrested or detained by a LEO (because God forbid you shot someone) you have toll-free 24/7 access to a legal firm that will insure that your rights are protected.

They will cover your entire family for that fee. They will do your will, living will and healthcare power of attorney for free. They will do your spouses for an additional 20 dollars. They will cover all your kids up to age 23 if they are still in school. You can talk to an attorney qualified to answer any of your questions all day if you need to – at no additional charge. They will make calls for you, write letters for you, represent you in court and IRS audits, etc etc. There’s an add-on 10 dollars to provide identity theft and restoration services. There's plans for LEOs and CDL drivers.

That’s it – I’ve rambled enough... but I had to speak up! Flame me if you have to, but I wanted to get some facts out in the open. Look at my website if you are interested. If you are really interested you can enroll. If you’re not interested at all – that’s fine too. Have a great day.
 
No flames from me, but I would like to cut through the polyannaish jibberish and get a few questions answered directly. Does the "prepaid lawyer insurance" pay for a lawyer of my choice? If not, then who decides that I'm talking with a qualified lawyer or not, the insurance carrier, or somebody in a law firm affiliated with the pre-paid lawyer plan?

I wouldn't dream of buying a "pig-in-a-poke", when my life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness are concerned.
 
Rivers (et al)
The law firms are selected by Prepaid Legal. There is a "lead" firm in each state. The Ohio firm is in Columbus. You cannot choose your own lawyer.
It would be impossible to manage...think of a million clients each choosing their own lawyer. And what lawyer would want your business for 34 bucks?
But pool the resources and it becomes attractive to the quality firms as a package.

If you were in a touchy situation and wanted to hire a specialist for a couple hundred dollars an hour, nothing would keep you from doing that. I sometimes look at this as an inexpensive first line of defense. It's not "legal insurance"... it's a legal membership program. I suppose the simplest way to say it is: The program is what it is. Some people are very well-served by a membership. Others might not be.

I'm a member. I like it. It has worked well for me with personal legal matters (not shooting related).
 
No flames from me either, but I think FallsGuy is overlooking something. With 1.5 million members and collecting $34 per month from each member, there is indeed a big pot of money. And if you were the only one who was calling the lawyer, I am sure you would get good service.

But isn't it reasonable to think that a plan that covers the entire family will result in each member using the plan once a year? In that case, you have 1.5 million calls each year. The $34/month comes to $408/year in gross receipts per member for the plan. Assuming that all that money is turned over to the lawyers (of course, it couldn't be since the plan needs to pay for marketing and overhead and needs to make a profit itself), that would mean that the lawyers could render $408 of service per member each year without losing money. True, some services might cost less than $400 to render, but some would cost more.

It's hard to imagine getting an effective defense in a shooting case for $408. In this area, a drunk driving case will run about $2,500 in legal fees from a run-of-the-mill criminal lawyer. Ditto a shoplifting case.

Since FallsGuy is a representative of a plan, he could provide a service to the readers of this thread (and maybe sign up some customers) if he were to find out exactly what the plan would pay for if a plan member were charged with homicide or assault with a deadly weapon. Is that covered at all, or is it excluded? Is there a dollar limit to coverage?

Your mission, FallsGuy, should you accept it, is to find out and let us know. What'cha say?

--Rick
 
Alrighty then, but again my disclaimer: I am NOT an attorney. I am not giving legal advice. I am giving my opinion of the coverage provided, based on what I read in my plan contract. I hope I am accurate. IF you are even remotely interested in this service – look at the website & maybe buy the plan (for whatever it costs in your state). Review it. Keep it if you like it. Or if you decide to cancel, at least get your will written or updated for free first. There is no refund after three days of completing the enrollment process.

There are 2 plans available: standard and expanded. The only difference between the two is the number of “trial defense” hours provided at no additional charge. You would probably want to add the “legal shield rider”… that’s the part that gives the 24/7 access. Otherwise it’s normal business hours access only. IN OHIO the standard plan is $16/month, expanded is $25/month. The “legal shield rider” adds $1/month to either. State specific price and coverage info is on the website.

The way I read this (regarding the potentially sad event of you shooting someone): I see nothing in the plan that says that defense of a shooting is excluded. Assume that you are arrested or detained. You now have a lawyer to call for advice 24/7. They don’t arrange or post bond. During normal business hours you can telephone consult with an attorney about ANY legal matter. If you go to trial, the firm will represent you for a 25% discount off their normal or corporate hourly fee. At that point, you would probably have to contract for their services and pay a retainer.

IF the criminal/civil charge arose in the course of your regular employment (there is a separate plan for LEOs) during the first standard membership year you would get 60 hours of attorney time free. Second year 120 hours. Third 180 hours… up to fifth year 300 hours. That adds up to a lot of coverage considering a lawyer is probably at a bare minimum 150 bucks per hour! The expanded plan gives 75 hours first year, 150, 225, 300, and tops at 375. But remember, if it wasn’t in the course of your employment then ONLY the 25% discount applies. I didn’t think there was that much of a difference to me, so I went with the standard plan.

RIVERS asked about using a lawyer of his choice… there actually IS a provision for that in Ohio. I don’t know about other states. The plan lawyer could contract with the lawyer you choose - and then pay the lawyer you chose the benefits that are available to you under the plan.

So, again my little disclaimer: I am NOT an attorney. I am NOT providing legal advice. I am just trying to respond to your questions to the best of my ability. There is probably someone reading this forum that knows more about all this than I do! One final thing: Most people that complain about plans like this have gripes because they didn’t fully understand what they were signing up for! It’s not a get-out-of-jail-free card. It’s not going to cover every possible situation you might get yourself in to. It doesn’t mean that you are going to get Johnny Cochran for 34 dollars! It’s low cost access to the legal system, and legal services free or at a discounted rate. It’s like medical insurance: It’s just peace of mind knowing that if something happens to you, you don’t the pay full price.
 
I have used my lawyer for a couple things. He's on the pricey side, but he has a mean streak that I think could be useful one day.

Since that time, I have phoned him about 5 times asking advice about varied issues. Each time he gave me that advice, except for once, when he had an associate of his in New York call me and advise me. I've never seen a bill for any of those occasions.

All of these have been civil matters. However, if the guy can have a patent attorney from New York call me in 15 minutes, I'm sure he can find me a decent criminal attorney quickly as well.

While talking with him about another matter, I mentioned to him that I own a gun. He told me "don't shoot anybody with it".

I am not going to bother with sitting down with him or a criminal defense lawyer to be advised. In an emergency, much of that will go out the window anyway. What is important is being able to put your finger on somebody decent quickly. I think I'm pretty solidly in that position.
 
Ask a local police officer or an ex-officer who the good and well respected defense attorneys are. They'll know, because word gets around....
 
I would keep the card from the same firm that is hired by the cops to defend them in civil suits over and over would be a good bet. Pricier than prepaid but what is your future worth?:)
 
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