Throwing out the baby with the bathwater

Opening a new account is like moving to a new town to get away from a few people who are spreading rumors about you. PowerSellers are not going to risk their reputation, after all, this is the power of a reputation. People know you want to keep it, and they know you will go to almost any lengths to do so.

You really will find selling on eBay so much easier, and there is only one way to get a good reputation: make sure you please your customers, every single time. According to the American Bar Association (ABA), Americans have come to view legal assistance as a necessity. Yet, most Americans have not used a lawyer more than once due to the sky-high attorney fees anywhere from $100 to $1,000 per hour and the trepidation involved in the search for legal services.

Prepaid legal insurance might just be the answer you have been looking for. The concept is simple: for a fixed monthly subscription, you get telephone access to advice from a lawyer. You pay a fixed amount in advance each month to defray the cost of legal services furnished in the future.

These services span various areas of the law, anywhere from reviews of simple legal documents and the writing of a simple will to more comprehensive coverage of trials, divorce, bankruptcy, and real estate issues. Pre-paid legal coverage is a very attractive proposition for people who do not have the resources to retain a lawyer on a regular basis whenever they need assistance. You effectively have a network of attorneys you can use as retainer to seek preliminary advice about what the issues are and how the procedures work whenever legal matters arise.

Services not covered by the plan are available to members for a discount on regular hourly rates or flat fees. A fact, however, is that more than half of new subscribers drop out of a prepaid plan after their first year. One reason could be that many members do not require any legal assistance during their first year, so they opt out.

Another reason is the scope of services offered, which are very basic and limited in nature. Most plans have certain caps or maximums as far as benefits provided are concerned, and purport to offer discount on standard attorney fees instead. However, by virtue of simply calling around by yourself you could probably negotiate a lower rate.

Another problem with pre-paid legal plans is the likelihood of getting assigned to a novice attorney. Because of cost considerations, many of the companies behind per-paid services assign trainee or inexperienced attorneys to handle phone consultation and drafting of simple legal documents. You are also less likely to build rapport and understanding, two of the most important attributes of choosing a good attorney, as over 90% of the work is done over the phone.

Employers are on the hunt, researching benefit tools that are low-cost, easily administered, and satisfy their employees’ needs. One such tool is pre-paid group insurance. The first benefit employers expect from legal insurance plans is increased productivity and efficiency.

Today’s employees are interested in a variety of benefits to balance their work with their life requirements. Given that most American household had an issue with law last year that might have led them to hire a lawyer, it is only normal that a legal benefit would increase employees’ morale and efficiency. Having legal benefit as part of a work-benefit package can help the company recruit and retain the best employees.

In this age of work-benefit hysteria, many prospective employment candidates base their career choices on the set of benefit package provided by employers.