American Prepaid Legal Service Institute

Product Information

A Concise Guide to Legal Plans (31 pages)
Revised and Edited by Alec M. Schwartz
Price: $24.50 ($35.50 for hardcopy, plus $6.50 shipping)
Format: Electronically Distributed Adobe PDF
Date: August 2004

For lawyers who are contemplating becoming a legal service provider and for others who are in the initial stages of designing a legal service plan, we publish the Concise Guide to Legal Plans.

The Guide is designed to acquaint readers with some of the details of how plans are constructed, how lawyers provide services, funding mechanisms, insights as to marketing of and consumer demand for legal service plans and the different arrangements open to lawyers interested in providing services.

Table of Contents

Getting to Know Legal Service Plans

The Basic Legal Plan Formats
The Group Legal Services Plan: No Prepayment Necessary
The Prepaid Legal Service Plan--Type I & II
Type I: The Prepaid "Access" Plan
Type II: The Comprehensive Prepaid Plan
The Plan Sponsor
The Administrator (or "Third Party")
The Underwriter
The Legal Services Employee Benefit Trust
The Marketer
Arrangements with Lawyers
Enrollment in a Legal Services Plan
Voluntary Enrollment
True Group Enrollment (100 Percent Participation)
Legal Service Plan Regulation
Legal Plan Benefits and Exclusions
Deductibles and co-payments
Exclusions

Figuring Out The Cost Of A Legal Services Plan

Establishing the Basic Assumptions
Cost Calculations

Legal Service Plan Regulation

Regulation of the Legal Profession
State Insurance Laws
Regulation at the Federal Level

Contractual Arrangements

Basic Document Types
Organizational Documents
The Plan Description
Service Agreements with Attorneys
Attorney Compensation
Agreements for Administrative Services

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Marketing Legal Service Plans

Who Needs It -- Who should Want it -- And Why?
Who Is The Market?
Who Is Doing The Marketing?
Marketing to a Group's Membership
Communication Is The Key

Legal Service Provider Arrangements For Lawyers

First, Some Caveats
A Word About Disclosure
Option 1: Accepting Plan Clients
Option 2: Becoming A Contract Legal Service Provider
A Special Case: The Telephone Access Attorney
Contracting To Be The Sole Provider
Option 3: Advisor And Consulting

The Economic Impact Your Law Firm

Options Available
Fees, Cases and Administration
Knowing What's Going On Is Important

Administrative Aspects Of The Legal Service Plan

Operational Aspects
Keeping Good Records
Other Administrative Elements

Taking The Next Step – Getting Started

Discovering What's Out There
Knowing Who You're Dealing With
On Your Own - Getting Your First Group