Can Pre-Paid Legal Services Help Freelancers?

Credit: Andy Dean Photography on Photodune

As freelancers, the thought of trying to tackle a legal problem can be scary: whether youre just trying to collect on an unpaid invoice or youre facing a much bigger problem, the fact that we dont have lawyers at our backs can make things more intimidating.

But just because you arent in a position to plunk down a few hundred dollars on a lawyers desk doesnt mean that you are absolutely out of options. There are organizations that offer other alternatives, such as pre-paid legal services.

The mechanics of the opportunity are not so different from an insurance plan: you choose a plan and pay a monthly fee. Then, when you need legal help, you go to a lawyer and your plan pays the costs.

There are limits, of course, but the prices for most plans are much more affordable than an hours time with an attorney would be otherwise.

The Benefits for a Freelancer

Joe DEramo is a freelance copywriter and has used Pre-Paid Legal for several years, specifically for help with collections and copyright. DEramo explains his motivations for choosing Pre-Paid Legals services:

I purchased the Pre-paid Legal Plan…because it made sense. I have a very good friend whos an attorney who offers his advice at no cost and will work for family discount. But I hate to impose on our friendship. Hes also a busy guy. Pre-Paid Legal gave me an option where I could get my legal questions answered in a timely fashion at a more than reasonable price without my own guilt.

Hes found the service helpful more than once:

The two areas where I have had to ask questions are copyright and collections. Generally, I’ve gotten enough advice where I felt comfortable enough without hiring an attorney. For the collections part, I hadn’t been able to collect from somebody and needed the money. To have a lawyer who will draft a letter on your behalf creates a kind of karma. I never ended up sending the letter and had payment that week.

With a pre-paid legal company, you do work through legal advisers that the company chooses. When DEramo has needed help, he calls a line the company maintains and leaves information about the legal problem hes facing. Someone calls back within a day and he says, "Ive felt comfortable acting on the advice Ive received, particularly where I had concerns about copyright issues.

In fact, DEramo recommends other freelancers explore the options that using a pre-paid legal service provides:

At some point, if it hasnt happened already, somebody is going to be unhappy or attribute liability for your services and seek damages. Its best to have a legal response in place. Even if the service doesnt cover it, they can point you in the right direction. I also recommend it if you have any difficulty collecting from clients. A nice letter on a law firms letterhead typically gets a response from people who are slow to pay.

There arent a lot of different companies offering pre-paid legal services; the main one is Pre-Paid Legal, the company DEramo uses. But you may be able to find local lawyers in your area who will let you work out a similar deal or barter services if you so choose.

A Few Concerns About Pre-paid Legal

If you run the phrase Pre-paid Legal through a search engine, you may notice that the company operating under that name has had a few legal problems of their own. Pre-Paid Legals sales system does operate as a multi-level marketing arrangement, which can make many people uncomfortable. Its worth noting that the organizations issues stem from marketing practices specifically and not legal advice.

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by Andy Dean Photography.