Every twelve months, the average law abiding citizen will have the need for the services of an attorney, according to studies conducted by the American Bar Association.  With this in mind, we created a product line that is both comprehensive and affordable, as well as being void of the usual exclusions and red tape that plague many of today's existing legal insurance products.

Legal Club of America® brings comprehensive, affordable access to the legal system to individuals and business owners through three different plans.

• Individual/Family Legal Plan - designed to service the legal needs of the member, spouse, and dependents 23 years of age or younger.

• Individual/Family Protection Plan - combines the benefits of our Individual/Family Legal Plan with tax advice & preparation, identity theft restoration, LifeEvents counseling and financial education & credit counseling. 

• Small Business Legal Plan - designed to meet the legal needs of the business owner.

• Employee Benefits Plan - the nation's premier Legal Services Plan is available as either a Voluntary Payroll Deduction program or as an Employer Paid benefit.

Legal service plans that offer the services of licensed attorneys to consumers on a prepaid basis or for reduced fee rates may be identified as "prepaid legal plans" or "legal expense insurance."  The basic service offered by legal expense insurance plans is general legal advice and consultation, typically offered over the telephone.  Depending on the plan, complex matters are generally excluded from coverage.  Legal Club's competitors offer "1-800" legal care, and when that is not sufficient, a 25% discount off usual and customary fees is offered; again, well beyond the average American's budget.

The primary drawback of other available legal expense insurance plans is that they are insurance-based programs that closely resemble those of health maintenance organizations (HMOs).  For example, their lawyers have the same cost pressures and considerations that confront HMO physicians.  As insurance products, they have numerous other limitations; exclusions for pre-existing conditions, complex claim forms to be completed, increases in premiums for overuse and, in many cases, waiting periods before access to benefits.

Given society's general aversion to the red tape associated with insurance products, Legal Club made a conscious decision to create comprehensive, easy to understand legal plans that would not be considered insurance programs. 

Legal Club's members have immediate access to the company's nationwide network of attorneys for all their legal needs, new or pre-existing.  Secondly, the company is not subject to state insurance regulations.  Our competitors' plans have limitations on the services available in states such as New York, Arizona, Hawaii, Kansas, Virginia, Nebraska, Arkansas, North Carolina, Michigan and Indiana.  While in each state the limitations differ, an example of this is that in New York state an insurance-based legal plan member is restricted in the number of telephone consultations, face-to-face consultations and letters that are written on their behalf.  In other instances, the plans are not even available in certain states.  As a member of Legal Club there are no limitations or exclusions in any state.

Unlike legal expense insurance plans, Legal Club does not reimburse its attorney network for any of its members legal care costs.  This allows Legal Club to encourage usage.  Legal Club refers its members to a proprietary network of attorneys that has contracted with them to receive these referrals.  In order to receive these referrals the attorney network must follow a free & discount fee schedule.  More importantly, the entire network has agreed to never charge more that $75.00 per hour for extended legal representation.  This also means we have no financial relationship with our attorneys.

As such, our plans offer continuity across the nation as well as some very distinct advantages over the many archaic legal insurance programs that currently exist.  Members will never be faced with limitations on usage, waiting periods, claim forms to fill out, claim adjusters, increase in fees for usage, and most importantly, no pre-existing condition exclusions.  Members, their spouse and dependents 23 years of age and younger, are given immediate access to the legal program and its entire network of pre-qualified attorneys.

In addition, Legal Club's plans include all areas of law and are completely transportable.  This means that members will be able to take the plan with them wherever they go.  Our plans are available in all fifty states and Puerto Rico.  Whether switching jobs or just moving out of state, Legal club plan members always have complete use of their legal plan and its nationwide network of participating attorneys.

Attorney selection is the key to creating and building a qualified, professional network of plan members attorneys.  Plan member attorneys are the foundation of our company, and we go to great lengths during our selection process to make sure all of them meet Legal Club's strict guidelines. 

When members join Legal Club of America, they will be assigned a plan attorney based on area of law, language they speak and location.  Members can use as many attorneys as often as they like, practicing any area of law, anywhere in the country, without limitations.  We are the only legal plan in America that will scout/recruit new attorneys for members in the event that a remote part of the country lacks coverage for a particular need.  Upon enrollment, our members are immediately assigned an attorney and given a welcome package.  Any additional attorney assignments or reassignments are given over the phone via our toll free Member Services help line.

Legal Club uses the Martindale Hubbell guide as a starting point for attorney recruitment.  Attorneys recruited must have a "BV" or better rating to join our network.  In addition, they must be in good standing with their respective state bars, maintain an office in the state in which they are domiciled and provide Legal Club with a certificate and proof of liability insurance.  Additionally, Legal Club sends its plan attorney list to each respective state bar and receives in return a reprimand report on every attorney in the network.  This is done on a quarterly basis.

Legal Club of America® knows that a comprehensive legal product is only as good as the service provided by its participating attorneys.  As part of our continued efforts to make sure that our members are handled by a professional and courteous attorney, Legal Club goes one step further and assigns all plan attorneys a "Courtesy Rating."  This rating system, much like that used in public schools, assigns plan attorneys a grade of A thru F.  The rating/grade of each plan attorney is determined through a series of quarterly professionalism checks, during which the attorney must answer a number of questions dealing with plan design, pricing, their hours of operation and overall business practice habits.  Only attorneys achieving a B or better rating are ever assigned to our members.  C rated attorneys are put on probation and given one quarter to bring the grade level up, and F rated attorneys are dropped from the plan immediately.

All new members will receive a Fulfillment Package that includes a membership card, a last will and testament questionnaire, a plan member guidebook, and information about the Legal Club plan member attorney to which they have been assigned.  Coordination of the attorney/client relationship is very important.  To that end, Legal Club of America's attorney services department will place a call to the referred attorney to make sure the attorney is aware that he/she is receiving a new client.  This will help facilitate proper handling of our members.  The plan member attorney that is referred to a new member is only one of thousands of pre-qualified plan member attorneys that a member can make use of at any time during their membership.

Legal Club of America® believes that customer service is the measure of any great company.  How you handle your members, member attorneys, and selling representatives will determine the extent of your success.  This is a philosophy by which we guide ourselves, and through a closely monitored customer service system, we are able to provide continuous quality care.

Legal Club's customer service department operates in a virtually paperless environment, thus allowing the information gathered to be acted upon immediately.  Our fully integrated NT server based network allows us to transfer information electronically with our clients and marketing arms, again making the working relationships more efficient and thus allowing us to better serve our customers.  State of the art ACD systems allow us to monitor the quality of care our members receive, giving our marketing partners the assurance their clients are being well serviced.

A direct measure of our success is the fact that we have a retention rate of 87%.  We attribute our retention to overall customer service satisfaction, the qualifications of our attorneys, and the overall perception by our members of the value they receive with our product.

Legal Club's plans can be purchased by groups or individuals.  In the worksite marketplace, there is no minimum participation requirement on the number of enrollees in a payroll deduction plan.  Legal Club's plans are not subject to open enrollment rules.  As such, individuals in need of legal care can enroll at any time during the year.  We believe it is important that individuals have access to the legal system as a legal need arises.

LEGAL CLUB OF AMERICA