02/21/10

Referral Attorney Requirements and Checks

Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. imposes high standards on the provider law firms and on all referral attorneys that provide legal services for their members. In order to receive referrals, an attorney must meet the following requirements:

Category: General

Posted by: primelegal

• Attorneys must be in good standing with any State Bar, Supreme Court or other bar regulatory body having jurisdiction over the attorney.
• Must have a minimum of two (2) years experience practicing law.
• Must have and maintain legal malpractice insurance with a minimum coverage of $100,000 per occurrence.
• Attorney coverage status is checked annually. Attorneys may have no public discipline by the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court for any state where they are licensed to practice law.
• If rated by Martindale-Hubble, attorney must be AV or BV rated (cannot be CV rated). A referral attorney can also be un-rated.
• Neither a Referral attorney, spouse, nor any employee or employee's spouse may be a Pre-Paid Legal marketing associate.
• In return for providing client referrals to you or others in your law firm, you will be required to provide legal services to the Pre-Paid Legal client at a discount of 25% off your standard rates for hourly and flat fee cases. We understand a reasonable retainer may be necessary. We also ask that you give our members a free initial consultation.

Several of these requirements are checked annually and semi-annually. These include the following:
Checked semi-annually:

• Must be active and in good standing with the bar
• Must not have a CV rating (can be not rated) on Martindale-Hubbell
• Must have no public discipline

Checked annually on expiration date of malpractice insurance:

• Carry minimum of $100,000 coverage
• New questionnaire submitted with any changes (i.e. contact info, types of cases and locations attorney interested in, hourly and discounted rates, etc.)
• New Service Commitment Agreement signed

These requirements and reviews are meant to insure that Pre-Paid Legal members receive the finest legal service available. Keep an eye out for emails and letters from PrimeLegal, LC. They will contact your firm for both the annual and semi-annual checks.

WOW: Ownership

I promise to handle each interaction with Pre-Paid Legal members as if that experience will be the sole factor in determining whether a person keeps the PPL membership…because IT IS!

Companies frequently poll customers to find out if they are satisfied with their service.  The most important question is whether the customer is happy enough to tell others how much they like the company.

Giving clients an experience that makes them promote your business takes ownership at every level of service.  Each interaction you have with a client builds a profile in their mind.  Bad experiences tend to stick with clients, so it is important to make each experience exceptional.

Memorable service is achieved by giving clients what they want.  This doesn’t mean clients want you to change the law.  Clients simply want a certain level of customer service, particularly when things do not go their way.  They want you to take ownership of your role and not pass the problem on to someone else.

Next time you help a client deal with a difficult situation, think about the important role that you play in the success of both your firm and Pre-Paid Legal.

How to Recycle Your Computer

Computers have become irreplaceable in the work place.  Unfortunately there comes a time when hardware needs to be upgraded.  The question is what should be done with the old equipment.  Consumer electronics are full of toxic chemicals that can be a danger to the environment.

Here are a few tips to help you safely dispose of unwanted electronics.

• Donate old equipment that still works. Many non-profit organizations rely on donated equipment.  Check with a local not for profit organizations, Goodwill or similar charity shops.  You may even get a tax rebate for your donation.
• Check with the manufacturer. Many electronics companies have recycling programs.  You can view a report card on these programs here.
• Use an e-recycling company. Be sure to do some due diligence and check up on the company you use.  This is still a new field and there are many companies out there that claim to recycle electronics, but simply ship the waste to the third world where it is dumped in landfills.

 

 

 

 

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