The only one that I would trust is
ACLDN -- the Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network. It is not, however, an insurance program. That is because the people behind the
ACLDN wanted to be sure that they could fund a legal defense while it was happening, not simply reimburse someone after the court case was over.
The principals behind ACLDN include Massad Ayoob, Dennis Tueller, Tom Givens, John Farnam, Marty Hayes, and others who are well-known and well respected within the firearms training community.
They have almost a quarter of $1 million in their war chest right now, and have committed to using up to half of it on any one case.
When a member gets into a self-defense event, ACLDN immediately sends $10,000 to the member's lawyer to get the member's legal defense started even before there is any court case. Unlike all other true insurance schemes, the money does not come after court victory – it comes right up front, when you need it most.
After the initial cash infusion, the board of the ACLDN meets and agrees to fund the case, to whatever extent is needed and available (again, quarter million dollars in the war chest right now). Given the principals involved and the legal realities of insurance schemes for criminal defense, that meeting provides a reasonable and trustworthy procedure to be sure membership funds are not wasted on scumbags.
The money isn't all of it, however. The heart of the Network is providing legal education to its members. Toward that end, with membership you receive seven or eight DVDs that provide an excellent foundation for understanding the lawful use of force, pre-attack indicators, the aftermath of a self-defense shooting, the physiology of danger, and other important factors that may affect your legal defense.
In addition to this, the Network provides use of force experts to testify on your behalf. Those experts include the names I mentioned above.
You choose your own lawyer. This is not a prepaid legal scheme. However, the Network does have a list of lawyers that they have vetted and that they trust. You could choose someone from that list if you like, or go with your own.
Now for the full disclosure: the man who founded the Network, Marty Hayes, is a good friend of mine. I have often received a paycheck from him for my work at the Firearms Academy of Seattle. He has been my mentor for years, and I trust and like him as well as others who are involved with this program. I am one of the ACLDN's affiliated instructors, and I have been recommending the program for years without receiving a single penny in kickbacks to date. That's probably going to change soon, since they've added a program that will get a little money in the pockets of instructors who recommend them. I don't care one way or the other – I just think they are awesome, trustworthy people doing a good work.
pax
