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LegalShield

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5.6

Overall Score

Author: Kaitlyn Short

LAST UPDATED: March 15th, 2022

LegalShield, also known as Pre-Paid Legal, develops and markets pre-paid legal plans for legal services through a network of more than 6,900 independent provider attorneys across the U.S. and Canada. For a monthly fee, members can access law firms without having to worry about hourly bills. LegalShield's primary goal is to provide affordable legal protection for everyone who needs it. Among the best online legal service companies we have reviewed, LegalShield offers a variety of legal documents and are among the most affordable. At the bottom of this page check out some LegalShield reviews.

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The Good

  • Various Legal Services Available
  • 24/7 Emergency Service
  • Affordable Prices
  • Plan Options 
  • Experience
  • Mobile App
  • MLM Business Model

Various Legal Services Available

LegalShield offers a variety of legal advice so customers can choose a plan that best fits their needs. Also, LegalShield offers several products and services, like identity theft protection, real estate advice, divorce advice, speeding tickets, will preparation, and more.

Customer service has great reviews from consumers. A Resource Center is available 24/7 that provides definitions and explanations for difficult legal topics and legal matters.

LegalShield has made it very easy for members to contact a lawyer whenever they have legal questions or need legal assistance. Members are given a toll-free number to their Provider Law Firm.

24/7 Emergency Service

LegalShield wanted to ensure that customers could have access to their legal forms and service at any time. For this reason a LegalShield associate is available 24/7.

Affordable Prices

The cost for a LegalShield membership is broken down into four options, Personal/Family Plans start at $24.95 a month, Small Business Plan start at $39.00 a month, Commercial Driver Plan start at $12.95 a month, and Identity Theft Plan at $12.95 a month.

Personal/Family Plans- LegalShield offers unlimited legal advice, trial defense services, coverage for your family, and 24/7 Emergency Assistance for $24.95 per month.

An upgraded version of this Family Package will cost $44.95 per month but assists customers with moving violations, DOT violations, tragic accident assistance, Will preparation, IRS audit, and many other legal services.

Small Business Plans- This service provides small business owners with professional legal advice at a much lower cost. This package gives small businesses access to all LegalShield features starting at $39.00 per month. Price may vary on the size of the company.

Small business owners can't afford an on-site attorney but they also can't afford to not have legal advice. This saves companies thousands of dollars each year for access to all of LegalShield's documents, attorneys, and professional help.

Commercial Driver Plan- Commercial drivers tend to have unique questions when it comes to legal matters. The Basic Commercial Drivers Legal Package offers a wide variety of services starting at $32.95 per month. Upgrading to the Super Commercial Drivers Legal Plan costs $44.95 a month.

Identity Theft Plan- With thousands and thousands of hackers and scammers throughout the world, IDShield is a product created by LegalShield to protect individuals and families from the Dark Web and identity theft. It's individual IDShield Plan costs $12.95 a month, and for the IDShield Family Package it is $27.95.

IDShield immediately starts monitoring your ID and alerts you when there are suspicious issues with your ID. It has programs that search your credit records, public records, court records, the sex offender lists, address changes, payday loan, high-risk applications or transactions, and it also monitors your information that appears on the Dark Web. These features protect you from identity theft, the dark web, and credit card fraud.

This package is one of the most useful packages we have seen. Not only does LegalShield protect individuals from the law, but also protects from hackers, scammers, and identity theft.

Experience

On average, a LegalShield attorney has 19 years tenure in their profession and 13 years as a LegalShield associate. It has helped clients with almost everything that could require a lawyer. Everything from identity theft to a car accident, LegalShield can offer help in a variety of situations.

Mobile App

The LegalShield app gives customers access to all of their documents and files instantly. The app provides customers with the legal forms they need and getting answers to simple questions.

MLM Business Model

LegalShield is a Multi-Level Marketing business. This business model can be a good thing for those looking to make a little extra money. Sadly, it has been known to scare off potential customers. In the case of LegalShield, this business model has helps cut down on costs for legal assistance and provide competitive rates that other law firms can't offer.

Multi-Level Marketing is when customers of its product or services become brand ambassadors. Customers sign up for a membership and as they refer friends to join LegalShield they make money. Some people are scared of the MLM business model because there is a stigma that people who join only lose money or its all just a pyramid scheme. These ideas could not be farther from the truth.

Because each client is also a potential employee, LegalShield takes care of its members better than most of its competition. Customers clearly show their support in the reviews below. The LegalShield complaints are often particular and do not apply to the entire company but to a specific employee or moment. LegalShield's reviews are among the best we have seen in the online legal service market.

Put simply, this business opportunity does not force you to sell products but rather recruit friends and family to use LegalShield's services. The compensation plan is simply receiving a portion of the service price each month the person you referred is still a member (also called a residual income). In simple terms it is a glorified referral program. Customers just reap the benefits every month instead of a one time offer.

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The Bad

  • No Filing
  • No Free Trial
  • Enrollment Fee

While LegalShield does offer some beneficial services for a reasonable price, there are limitations as well. There is no testing period for potential clients which can create problems. There is also some missing information regarding important legal processes and whether or not LegalShield handles these cases.

No Filing

LegalShield does not mention whether or not it's contracted law firms will file legal documents for their members. However, LegalShield's lawyers will provide direction on how to do so.

No Free Trial

LegalShield does not currently offer a free trial to potential members, which does not allow prospective members to test the water before deciding if they should choose this company for their legal needs.

Enrollment Fee

There is a $10 one-time enrollment fee when signing up for LegalShield. New members are required to pay this fee and is non-refundable.

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The Bottom Line

For those who want to save money and want to feel like they have a personal attorney without paying a high hourly rate, LegalShield is a great option. Members can pay as little as $20 a month to have 24/7 access to a Provider Law Firm in their area.

This service is great if you have quick legal questions or need help completing legal forms. Among all customer reviews and responses, we have received, feedback has been positive. If customers find that they are regularly in need of legal representation, legal assistance, or specific legal advice, this is a great option. Not only do you have access to a lawyer at any given moment, but you can also make money as you refer people who also need legal advice.

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Star Rating

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3.9

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189 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

64%

4 grade

10%

3 grade

2%

2 grade

3%

1 grade

22%

Sentiment Criteria

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Quality

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Wyoming Guy Cheyenne, WY

I’ve been a member with Legalshield for at least eight years, and in that time I’ve had a few small issues consultation with my primary provider law firm was generally very good. Recently a referral for a family law matter shows me where the significant problem is. Legalshield will refer you to their provider for a discounted rate. Only their provider in my case the provider had been censored by the state bar five years previous and didn’t have a single review that was positive online. I requested a different provider and this was the only option for the entire state. Legalshield is careful not to promise in their member guidebook that they will give you a good lawyer just that they will give you one of their lawyers. It’s obvious to me that they don’t screen For quality referral providers like they would if it was their life on the line. I strongly and emphatically do not recommend Legalshield. They get you for the small things in your membership but you can do that much more effectively and reasonably through other providers and other offerings online. Do yourself a favor and stay clear of Legalshield

4 years ago

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Reply from LegalShield

Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. We appreciate your feedback and would like to provide some clarification. The provider lawyers in our network are committed to assisting our members with their legal issues. They will work diligently to provide you with the appropriate legal advice and actionable steps to take while strictly adhering to our membership contract of benefits. If a referral is needed, if a member feels that a proper referral was not received, our team is more than happy to provide another referral. We have systems and resources in place for members to notify us if they are not satisfied with the services provided. We encourage all members with questions about their specific membership benefits or service complaints to contact our Member Services Team at (800)-654-7757 between 7-7 CST Monday-Friday, where a team member would be happy to provide support.

Mar. 15th, 2022

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MM Largo, FL

I thought that LegalShield would be able to offer me some advice on a court case I am involved in to recover unpaid wages from my further employer. I was wrong. They only referred me to another attorney for which I would have to pay a retainer. This is more for vet basic legal functions like creating a will or drafting an eviction letter-generic stuff. Also, when I cancelled my membership they still charged me for another month. The maximum page limit for documents they will review is 15 pages.

4 years ago

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Reply from LegalShield

Thank you for your feedback. We're disappointed to hear that you feel our services did not meet your needs and we would like to provide some clarification. The provider lawyers in our network are dedicated to assisting our members with their legal issues. They will work diligently to provide you with the appropriate legal advice and actionable steps to take while strictly adhering to our membership contract of benefits. The legal system requires every law firm to perform a conflict check. Ethically a law firm cannot represent a client if they have previously represented the adverse party. Therefore, a referral is made. The same membership benefits will be provided through the referral lawyers, however, if additional representation is needed for services that are outside of your membership benefits, you may continue to use your referral provider lawyer. The additional services are 25% off the law firm's standard hourly rates. Your provider lawyer will go over these fees and let you know when the 25% discount applies. Please note, this discount does not include contingency matters.

Mar. 7th, 2022

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Bob Paol Milford, DE

I have been with Legal Shield since 2006. Most of their attorneys are helpful and knowledgeable. There have been wrong quite a few times costing me hours of my time and had me file more than once incorrectly. Costing me hundreds in court cost and time. The document department need to be replaced/fired in my opinion as a paying member. Buyer beware is my opinion

4 years ago

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Reply from LegalShield

Bob, thank you for bringing this to our attention. We apologize for your previous experience and thank you for this important feedback. We want to provide clarification. LegalShield manages our member's subscriptions to our legal and identity theft protection plans. Our network of provider law firms administers the legal plan benefits to legal plan members. While we do not play a role in administering legal services, we do hold our provider law firms accountable to service level agreements (SLAs) that are mutually agreed upon by LegalShield and the provider law firms. We provide our members with resources to let us know if their provider law firm is not meeting those SLAs and will work to remediate any issues related to those SLAs. We encourage all members who are unsatisfied with their service to reach out to our Member Service team at (800)-654-7757 between 7-7 CST Monday-Friday, where a member of our team will be happy to assist in providing a resolution.

Mar. 10th, 2022

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Review Source

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RICHARD WATTS Sacramento, CA

THEY GAVE ME A ATTOR.IN LA.PARKER,S.IM THE FAMILY OF SIR J.W,THAT MADE THE MOTOR.IM HAVING TROUBLE WITH MY OWN INS.PROGRESSIVE,FULL TIME RV.TRUCK,AND RV.MY LIC.EXPIRED DURING THE LAPS OF IN.I HAVE NO HOME AND HAVE NO CLUE WHAT TO DO.500,000 IN INS.AND NOTHING.THANK YOU.R.D.W THE POWER THAT LITES THE WORLD.

5 years ago

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Reply from LegalShield

Richard, thank you for your feedback. We have systems and resources in place for members to notify us if they are not satisfied with the services provided. We encourage all members with questions about their specific membership benefits or service complaints to contact our Member Services Team at (800)-654-7757 between 7-7 CST Monday-Friday, where a team member would be happy to provide support.

Mar. 16th, 2022

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Herman Davis Beaumont, TX

Legal Shield the company is fine, but the business concept separates family. My family member spends too much time doing the business and less time with extended family. Worry less live more.

11 years ago

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Raven Brodsky New York, NY

They were only ever asked for help once in the years I paid for this service. It is just not needed often enough to matter for me.

5 years ago

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Reply from LegalShield

Thank you for your feedback. We're disappointed to hear that you feel our services did not meet your needs. If you need legal help in the future, we hope you consider LegalShield.

Mar. 16th, 2022