And you thought your lawyer was expensive!
Filed under: Extracurriculars, Ripoffs and Scams, Fraud
Probably the worst part about pursuing a legal remedy to a problem is hiring a lawyer. It's not that they're not good. It's not that they don't help you win your case. It's that they're so darn expensive for the average person. With billing rates in the hundreds of dollars per hour, the cost to have an attorney go to court for you can rise quickly.But companies with deep pockets find attorneys expensive too. Just as Sun-Times Media Group (formerly Hollinger International), the parent company of the Chicago Sun-Times and several smaller newspapers. The company reported numbers for 2007, and they weren't good.Contributing to the company's pain were legal fees and liabilities of almost $200 million related to related to former CEO Conrad Black, the man who is now in prison for a fraud that caused shareholders of Hollinger International to lose millions of dollars. Does that make you feel any better about the lawyer bill you recently paid? Probably not, because even bigger lawyer bills paid by your neighbors probably don't ease the pain when you're writing out a check to your attorney.
If lawyer fees have you down, don't look toward an "insurance" plan like Pre-Paid Legal. Those plans are more fluff than substance, and they play right into your fears of attorney bills that you can't afford. Unfortunately, the plans pay for very little real legal help when you need it most. So don't buy one of these bogus plans. You're much better off saving the money you would have spent on the plan and starting a rainy day fund to help you out if you ever do need to hire a lawyer.
Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-17-2008 @ 3:37PM
Tracy Coenen said...
That didn't take long!
50% of people who purchase Pre-Paid Legal plans cancel them within the first year because they realize it's a scam. The company targets low and middle income people who would be better off getting a fill-in-the-blanks will at Office Depot. That's the only "preventative" service you're talking about.
And as for actual legal services if you have a civil or criminal problem and really need a lawyer to help you: You have to pay for almost all of it. The plan offers you NOTHING.
Oh wait - it gets you a discount on your lawyer, right? Yes... you get really crappy legal services from a brand new (just out of law school) lawyer at a second rate firm. And you get to pay a discounted rate for those crappy services.
Stay far, far away from Pre-Paid Legal.
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3-17-2008 @ 8:07PM
Susab Kroth said...
Again, you don't have your facts. Not sure what your beef is but you really have a lot of things in error. When you slander something you really should at least get your facts straight. Yes you get a disoucnt but it isn't on some second rate lawyer just out of school. Unless you think that Parker Stanbury, LLP is a second rate law firm. But, what do you know? Are you an attorney? Have you ever used the services or do you jsut like to talk big and think you are an expert? A 35 year old NYSE Company in which the President is on his third term with the Board Of Directors for the United States Chamber of Commerce AND has people like Robert Kiyosaki endorsing them have more credibilty than you ever will. Who are you anyway? Never mind, I don't care.
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3-17-2008 @ 8:10PM
Susab Kroth said...
This is your quote "Although discussing facts is much harder than throwing out statements like "only the oil companies win" and not backing them up.
What a hypocrite you are - enough said!!! I have been saying you don't have your facts straight yet you seem to think you can throw out statements without backing them up. You are actually very entertaining and maybe that is your entire purpose?
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3-17-2008 @ 8:38PM
Tracy Coenen said...
LOL - Having Robert Kyosaki endorse a company is really not something to be proud of. Yes, the firms that provide services via Pre-Paid Legal are know to provide a low level of service from largely inexperienced attorneys. Unfortunately, those who pay money to Pre-Paid Legal are getting totally ripped off. The facts are what they are: Almost no services are provided for the monthly fee. 50% of customers cancel their plans in the first year because they figure out what a scam it is. Members have to pay extra for almost all legal services that they might need, and they pay high rates for poor quality. Those are just the facts.
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3-17-2008 @ 10:53PM
Susab Kroth said...
You are totally wrong about Pre-paid Legal. Have you ever used this? If you put the $26/mo away into a rainy day fund, it would take you a long time to have enough set aside to break even on the Preventative Legals services available thru this plan, that doesn't cover all the other benefits. How many people don't get their wills done because they don't think they will need it? Having access to an attorney to talk to about everyday life events is huge!
I am willing to bet, your Health Insurance doesn't cover everything at 100%! Yet, you pay ten times the amount for that coverage. You are three times more likely to end up in court than in the hospital. Yet people pay hundreds or dollars every month for helath insurance that has more conditions and exlusions than any other benefit we have for ourselves.
Don't knock Pre-paid Legal unless you really know what you are talking about.
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6-06-2008 @ 10:27PM
Mark said...
Hello,
I am sorry you have had bad experience with this serivce. But I hope your attitude is not stemmed from the mentality that you rarely use the service. Buddy I rarely use my health service and I assure I you I do not view health benefits as a scam. Why because some day down the road I may suffer a major health crisis. IN the past 15 years I have gone to the doctor about 10 times. That is no where close to the money I am pre-paying for health insurance. That is the same way I view legal benefits.
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