Lawsuits and legal issues can present themselves at any time without warning. Unfortunately, being ill prepared for these circumstances can lead to hastily hiring unreliable attorneys and expensive last minute lawyer fees.
To put the magnitude of some of these cases into perspective, consider how the Federal Trade Commission estimates that 4.8 million consumers have been victims of fraudulent weight-loss programs. On a separate note, over 1.4 million people are arrested for their first DUI offense every year. Whether you like it or not, it is sometimes difficult or impossible to avoid getting caught up in a civil or criminal case. And when you do, it can be expensive.
Fortunately, some institutions may offer group legal services insurance plans, in which there are multiple different law firms available for a number of different circumstances.
Rather than rushing to find an attorney after receiving a subpoena or to get the compensation you deserve from an outside party, this prepaid legal insurance acts similar to most other insurances. By paying segmented fees, any legal services in connection with the group plans will be at the individual’s disposal. Another upside is that these flat fees will often be more affordable than the average legal fees.
Before actually finding a lawyer, many people may choose to perform extensive research online to find what service may work best for them. While this can be helpful, it is terribly time consuming, can be stressful, and some websites may not always have reliable information. A Harris Poll actually found that respondents report that they are somewhat or very likely to a consult a website where users can post legal questions for attorneys to answer.
Even once they do find a potential service, they will still end up spending substantial amounts of time looking for information on them. The Harris Poll also found that an estimated 44 percent of respondents were very to somewhat likely to visit the individual lawyer’s webpage. Many lawyers are aware of this fact and know that having an online presence is the key path to success.
In fact, data from the American Bar Association’s (ABA) 2010 Legal Technology Survey Report revealed that a little over half of all independent lawyers, and four out of five group law firms have a website. However, group legal services insurance plans can consolidate a number of services for their clients to take their pick with confidence that the options will be reliable.
It’s never enjoyable to consider the possibilities of facing legal action in the future, but being prepared with a group legal services insurance plan could mean the difference between winning a case and being convicted.