Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.

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This article is about the company. For the legal term, see Pre-paid legal services.
Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.
Type Public (NYSE: PPD)
Founded 1972
Headquarters Ada, Oklahoma
Key people Harland Stonecipher (founder, CEO, chairman)
Industry Multi-level marketing
Pre-paid legal services
Products Family Plan (Standard and Expanded), Business Owners Legal Solutions Plan, Law Officers Legal Plan, Commercial Drivers Legal Plan, Legal Plan for the Self-Employed, Identity Theft Shield, Legal Shield Rider, Home-Based Business Rider
Revenue $461M
Employees 813 Full Time
Website www.prepaidlegal.com

Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. develops, underwrites and markets legal service plans through a network of more than 50 independent law firms across the U.S. and Canada. The plans provide for legal service benefits, including unlimited attorney consultation, letter writing, document preparation and review, will preparation, traffic violation defense, automobile-related criminal charges defense and a general trial defense. The Company also markets an identity theft monitoring and restoration product. The company is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol PPD. Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. is a member of the S&P 600 SmallCap index and the S&P 1500 Super Comp index.

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[edit] History

Pre-Paid Legal Services began on July 11, 1969 when CEO and founder Harland C. Stonecipher was involved in a vehicle accident which left him with legal bills. He began researching the industry of European legal expense plans. On August 8, 1972, Harland Stonecipher created Pre-Paid Legal’s predecessor, The Sportsman’s Motor Club, offering legal expense reimbursement services as a motor service club. Pre-Paid Legal started selling plans through network marketing in 1983. Pre-Paid Legal went public on the NASDAQ National Market System in 1984, and two years later moved to the American Stock Exchange. On May 13, 1999, Pre-Paid Legal moved to the New York Stock Exchange, and within four months was listed as the 33rd fastest growing company on the NYSE, according to Equities Magazine.

In 2000, Pre-Paid Legal made the Forbes list of the 200 Best Small Companies in America for the fifth year in a row. In 2007, Pre-Paid Legal made the Forbes list of the 200 Best Small Companies in America again. The company currently provides services in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and four provinces in Canada, with over 1.5 million members. Currently most plans are sold through the network marketing system (also known as multi-level marketing). It is also sold as an employee benefit through payroll deduction.

On September 29, 2007, CourtTV ran a 30 minute segment entitled "Accessing the Promise" which featured former Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore presenting information about Pre-Paid Legal's family plan.

[edit] Products

[edit] Legal Plans

Plans are sold by independent associates and can be purchased either by a one-on-one basis or in a group setting as the plans may be provided as an employee benefit. All plans are non-contractual and may be purchased on a monthly, semiannual, or annual basis.

Plans provide preventive legal services, which include telephone consultation on unlimited personal legal issues, document and contract review, and will preparation (with yearly updates). The Standard Legal Plan also provides motor vehicle services, trial defense, IRS audit assistance, and a 25% preferred member discount on any other legal issue. The exact coverages vary from state to state (or province to province) depending on local laws, and fees are adjusted according to the services provided in each state.

The company offers several riders which can be added to the basic plan for an additional fee, including the Legal Shield, which provides 24-hour access to an attorney in the event the member is detained or arrested, is seriously injured in an automobile accident, is served with a warrant, or if authorities attempt to remove the member's child(ren) from their custody; and the Home Based Business Rider, which provides services such as debt collection letters and an account with GoSmallBiz.com, a service designed to help expand, manage, and grow the client's own business.

The company also markets several specialty plans, standalone prodcts designed to meet specific legal needs. Specialty Plans for business owners include the Small Business Legal Plan (1 to 50 employees), the Medium Business Legal Plan (51 to 99 employees), and the Legal Plan for the Self Employed. There are also the Legal Officer's Plan, the Foster Parent Legal Plan, the Commercial Driver Legal Plan, and the iPlan.

[edit] Identity Theft Shield

In 2003, Pre-Paid Legal entered into a joint marketing agreement with risk-consulting company Kroll, Inc., to market Kroll's Identity Theft Shield to consumers. Kroll had previously only developed products for large corporations, and did not have a sales force geared towards indiviuals. The Identity Theft Shield provides a credit report upon enrollment; thereafter, the member's credit report is monitored on a daily basis, with activity notices being sent to the member either by email, postal mail, or phone. In the event an identity theft occurs while the member is enrolled, Kroll provides identity restoration service via a limited power of attorney. The Identity Theft Shield may be purchased alongside a legal plan, or as a standalone product. Unlike the legal plans, which require associates to hold insurance licenses in some states, the Identity Theft Shield is considered a service product in all states and provinces in which they are offered. For this reason, new associates operating in a so-called "license state" may sell only the Identity Theft Shield until they obtain their license from the state's Department of Insurance.

[edit] The Pre-Paid Legal Advisory Council

Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc created an Advisory Council of four legal professionals with a wide range of experience in law and business. “The Pre-Paid Legal Advisory Council provides seasoned professional guidance and advice.” - Harland Stonecipher, Founder, Chairman, CEO

Mike Moore (Former Mississippi Attorney General)

Mike Moore was the Attorney General of Mississippi from 1988 to 2004. He now has his own law firm, Mike Moore Law Firm, LLC, based in Flowood, Mississippi. Mr. Moore received international attention in 1994 when he filed the first lawsuit against 13 tobacco companies. He won the largest settlement ever in the world; $246 billion dollars. The state of Mississippi received $4.1 billion. The Michael Mann-directed film The Insider (starring Al Pacino and Russell Crowe) portrays some of the events leading up to this settlement, and Moore appears in the film as himself in several scenes.

Mr. Moore was selected as one of the Ten Most Outstanding Young Americans by the National Jaycees in 1992. He was awarded him the Wyman Award as the most outstanding Attorney General in the nation by his fellow Attorneys General Iin 1994. He was the president of the National Association of Attorneys Generals. The National Law Journal named him "Lawyer of the Year" in 1998. Governing Magazine named him "Public Official of the Year" in 1998.

The National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids presented him with their "Champion Award" in 2003. In 2004 Mr. Moore was awarded the Julius Richmond Award from the Harvard School of Public Health. Mr. Moore is currently chairing The Partnership For A Healthy Mississippi. He also serves on the National Board of Big Brothers, Big Sisters of America, and works with Boys and Girls Clubs nationally.

Grant Woods (Former Arizona Attorney General)

Grant Woods was the Attorney General of Arizona from 1991 to 1999. He was selected by his fellow Attorney General’s as the nation’s top Attorney General’s in 1995. He chaired the Civil Rights and Supreme Court committees for the National Association of Attorneys General. He was President of the Conference of Western Attorneys General. Mr. Woods founded the Mesa Education Foundation, the Mesa Boys & Girls Club, and the Mesa Arts Academy.

Mr. Woods was a principal architect and negotiator in the states' lawsuits against tobacco companies. This resulted in the largest civil settlement in history - $246 Billion dollars. He was given special recognition from the, the American Lung Association, American Cancer Society, the Salvation Army, and the Children's Action Alliance.

Andrew Miller (Former Virginia Attorney General)

Andrew Miller was the Attorney General of Virginia from 1970 to 1977. He is currently active in the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), the Conference of Western Attorneys General (CWAG), the Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA), and also the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA). He is a partner at Powell Goldstein and provides counsel for a wide variety of clients including agricultural corporations, electric utilities, financial service organizations, pharmaceutical companies, and telecommunications firms, as well as trade associations and other organizations advocating business initiatives.

Mr. Miller was selected as Chairman of the Southern Conference of Attorneys General, Chairman of NAAG's Antitrust Committee, and a member of NAAG's Executive Committee. He was the recipient of NAAG's Wyman Memorial Award. He established the John Marshall Foundation and was its first president.

Duke R. Ligon (Strategic Advisor for Loves, Inc.)

Duke R. Ligon is Strategic Advisor for Loves, Inc. He has worked for the U.S. Departments of the Interior and Treasury and the Department of Energy in various positions. He was Senior Vice President & General Counsel for Devon Energy Corporation. He was a partner at Mayer, Brown, Rowe and Maw, a law firm in New York City, and was a Senior Vice President and Managing Director at Bankers Trust. Mr. Ligon was a captain in the U.S. Army in Vietnam and was awarded a Bronze Star.

Mr. Ligon is a member of the American Bar Association, Oklahoma Bar Association, District of Columbia Bar Association, the Advisory Board of the International and Comparative Law Center of the Southwestern Legal Foundation, and serves on the University of Texas Law School's Foundation Board.

In addition to his career achievements, Mr. Ligon has been actively involved in a number of civic organizations including serving on two board committees of the New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art, the board of directors of the Seminole Nation Museum, the Friends and Advisory Group of the National Association of Episcopal Schools, Friends of the New York Public Library, the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Oklahoma City Art Museum, and the Oklahoma City Petroleum Club.

[edit] Criticism

Pre-Paid Legal has come under fire by both former members and legal authorities, charging fraud, deception, and accounting irregularities.

  • In 2001, the Wyoming Attorney General classified Pre-Paid Legal as a "multi-level marketing" organization and won refunds for multiple customers who were defrauded.[citation needed]
  • Some criticisms in Mississippi may have been void by Pre-Paid Legal, Inc. victories in court; US Chamber of Commerce claims Pre-paid Legal, Inc. had been unfairly sued and case was dismissed in court.[citation needed]

[edit] News

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[edit] External links