Back to the Future in Legal Services: 40 Years and Counting

As Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. (NYSE: PPD) approaches its 40th year
anniversary, the legal profession (and industry) in the U.S. is undergoing
profound change. As noted in the April 2, 2011 "Report of the Task Force
on the Future of the Legal Profession," sponsored by the New York State
Bar Association, there is a "sea change" taking place in the legal
profession and in "the value proposition upon which the relationship
between lawyers and clients is based."

Although much of the report focuses on corporate law and major law
firms, the industry as a whole is changing. According to a May 5,
2011 Economist story, "Ultimately, lawyering is becoming more of a
business than a profession. Some lawyers decry this. Others welcome it.
Few deny it."
Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. (PPD) and the network of independent
provider law firms embrace the concept. As the professional and
academic debate about the future of "big law" continues, PPD provider
attorneys are delivering practical, cost-effective and efficient legal
counsel and solutions in a plan-based format for the everyday legal
issues that affect members (customers) throughout the U.S. and four
provinces of Canada.
Attorneys from among the 38 independent law firms that provide legal
services to PPD members were asked to offer their perspectives on the
PPD business model and delivery practices compared to traditional,
private practice law.

Differences in delivery models

"The private practice and the Pre-Paid Legal delivery models are as
different as night and day," said Jim Merritt, of Merritt, Flebotte, Wilson,
Webb & Caruso, PLLC, the Durham, North Carolina-based law firm and
PPD service provider.
"The differences in these business models and the way the services are
delivered reflect the revolution now under way in the legal services
industry. The Pre-Paid Legal delivery model provides for quality legal
service at lower cost, increased responsiveness, customer-oriented
service and access to the legal system for many who otherwise couldn't
afford it," Merritt said.
As an example of such responsiveness, Merritt says that 90 percent of
the time his firm's attorneys respond to member calls as they come in
rather than requiring a return call to that member. Throughout 2010, PPD
provider law firms responded to an estimated 2.1 million member
requests for legal services.
Merritt, Flebotte, Wilson, Webb & Caruso, PLLC (www.carotennlaw.com)
has been a PPD provider law firm since November 1995.
Billing is not the issue
"In a traditional law firm, a lawyer is only as good to the firm where he or
she works as the amount of billable hours he or she produces. In
addition, an initial consultation with a lawyer usually requires a fee," said
Joseph Lombino, senior partner at Lombino Martino, PS, the provider law
firm for PPD in the state of Washington. "When a PPD member calls into
his or her Pre-Paid Legal provider law firm for consultation, the Pre-Paid
lawyer is not concerned with billable hours or money. The focus is
directly on the member and how to resolve their legal issue."
"Simply stated, money does not get in the way of a Pre-Paid Legal
member obtaining the legal advice that is required," Lombino said.
Lombino has practiced law for 27 years, 13 of which he has spent
providing legal services to PPD members. Lombino Martino, PS (www.lm-
wa.com) has been a PPD provider firm since October 2005.

Access to the legal system

Michael Fiffik, an attorney with Welch, Gold & Siegel, P.C., says economic
conditions are eating away at the middle-class's ability to access the legal
system.
"We're seeing more pro se (self) representation in court hearings and it's
not only a growing problem, but an untenable situation," Fiffik said. "All
too often, the justice is producing perverted results because litigants lack
access to legal counsel and representation," he said.
Fiffik believes Pre-Paid Legal Service plans are helping to reset the
balance by making legal counsel available to those in the middle-class.
"The 'prepaid model' is revolutionizing the way people access legal
services and it continues to impact the way law is practiced and
delivered," Fiffik said.
Welch, Gold & Siegel, P.C. (www.wgspc.com) has been the PPD provider
law firm for the state of Pennsylvania since April 1996.

An ounce of prevention
"Unlike traditional private practice law, which is generally 'reactive,' to an
existing problem, the Pre-Paid Legal Services model provides for a
'preventative' approach," said Melvin Hall, a partner with Riggs, Abney,
Neal, Turpen, Orbison & Lewis Inc. (www.riggsabney.com), PPD's
Oklahoma-based provider law firm since 1987.
Based on 23 years of experience as both a PPD and private practice
attorney, Hall said people often contact an attorney only as a "last resort"
for legal issues that have become too significant to ignore. "The PPD
delivery model allows members and attorneys to deal with legal issues
before they become major problems," Hall said.
"In much the same way as with physical illness, early detection of legal
problems leads to the best possible outcome. With the prepaid model,
members have more incentive to contact their attorney and deal with the
'symptom' of distress rather than unwanted effect. Pre-Paid Legal
Services offers its members not only legal solutions, but stress relief. It's
plain, simple and effective," Hall said.
The "Report of the Task Force on the Future of the Legal Profession"
points to one of the fundamental driving forces in this "sea change,"
noting, "Clients are seeking more efficient services, predictable fees and
increased responsiveness to their needs." Pre-Paid Legal Services and its
provider law firms have practiced this approach to legal services for
decades.

About PPD
We believe our products are one of a kind, life events legal service plans.
Our plans provide for legal service benefits provided through a network
of independent law firms across the U.S. and Canada, and include
unlimited attorney consultation, will preparation, traffic violation defense,
automobile-related criminal charges defense, letter writing, document
preparation and review and a general trial defense benefit. We have an
identity theft restoration product we think is also one of a kind due to the
combination of our identity theft restoration partner and our provider law
firms. More information about us and our products can be found at our
homepage at http://www.prepaidlegal.com/info/sidcole

CONTACT: Sid Cole, Director at Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc., +1-916-

538-1841, cell, +1-916-743-0366, sidcole@prepaidlegal.com