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At the gun show last weekend, I came upon this company (http://www.texaslawshield.com). The guys seem friendly and the program seems like it would be good. What do you guys think? Is it a waste of money or money well spent?
Legal Defense "Retainer"
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622 Posts
It's only for Texas residents. I am trying to be cynical (critical?) and look at it that way, but I can't find much to dislike with it.
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Im kinda of curious with them being based out of Houston can they be available to help the people they just signed up in Fort Worth?
Alex!
Alex!
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That would be my very first question for them.
"If I have to call you at O-dark 30 to come to my house to talk to the police, how big is the bill from your company, or that lawyer in particular, that I am going to see in the mailbox in the following weeks for that one conference?"
"If I have to call you at O-dark 30 to come to my house to talk to the police, how big is the bill from your company, or that lawyer in particular, that I am going to see in the mailbox in the following weeks for that one conference?"
sounds like Prepaid Legal service:
Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.
Having a lawyer on retainer is a fairly expensive deal. You better have a real good relationship with him/her to. (read that; I spend a boat load of money with him/her) not many lawyers are going to get out of bed at 3am to bail your butt out of jail unless your worth a lot of money to them and they all ready know you
That's not a 'slam' against lawyers, it's just they way it is. I generally won't get out of bed at 3am to service a furnace unless it's an established customer. I have received phone calls from tenants at 2-3am and went and fixed a minor problem only to find out the landlord didn't "authorize" the repair and I never got paid....needless to say, you better be an established customer or your going to be cold for another 4 hours
Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.
Having a lawyer on retainer is a fairly expensive deal. You better have a real good relationship with him/her to. (read that; I spend a boat load of money with him/her) not many lawyers are going to get out of bed at 3am to bail your butt out of jail unless your worth a lot of money to them and they all ready know you
That's not a 'slam' against lawyers, it's just they way it is. I generally won't get out of bed at 3am to service a furnace unless it's an established customer. I have received phone calls from tenants at 2-3am and went and fixed a minor problem only to find out the landlord didn't "authorize" the repair and I never got paid....needless to say, you better be an established customer or your going to be cold for another 4 hours
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2,333 Posts
Put a $20 into an envelope sitting in your gunsafe every month and every time you buy a new gun.
Put the change in your pockets into a jar every time you buy a box of ammo.
Every year, buy a 5 year maturity savings bond with the money.
If you live a semi normal life in that you don't go looking for trouble, the day you need a lawyer you will be able to drop a wad of bonds or a brick of cash on his desk and he will go do for you like a tiger.
And yes, I am a lawyer.
Save your Bling. Keep it in YOUR pocket working for YOU till you need it.
Put the change in your pockets into a jar every time you buy a box of ammo.
Every year, buy a 5 year maturity savings bond with the money.
If you live a semi normal life in that you don't go looking for trouble, the day you need a lawyer you will be able to drop a wad of bonds or a brick of cash on his desk and he will go do for you like a tiger.
And yes, I am a lawyer.
Save your Bling. Keep it in YOUR pocket working for YOU till you need it.
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2,267 Posts
I have been doing something similar to that for years; actually that site is a little expensive, I basically pay my attorney 50$ per year, for that I get a laminated business card with his personal cell phone number on it. It resides in my wallet right behind the CHL. Believe me, having that card in your wallet to hand to an LEO after you have had something bad happen is well worth the money you paid for it.
My advice is if you want to do something like that, seek out a good criminal defense attorney and meet with this attorney and state your intentions. They will listen and give you advice based on the area you live in and your circumstances. Make sure whichever attorney you select is board-certified and has experience in criminal defense and trial law. You don't want a tax attorney or a divorce lawyer defending you from a murder/manslaughter/homicide charge.....
My advice is if you want to do something like that, seek out a good criminal defense attorney and meet with this attorney and state your intentions. They will listen and give you advice based on the area you live in and your circumstances. Make sure whichever attorney you select is board-certified and has experience in criminal defense and trial law. You don't want a tax attorney or a divorce lawyer defending you from a murder/manslaughter/homicide charge.....
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307 Posts
I don't know if PrePaid Legal would cover you in a criminal trial such as a self-defense shooting.
The NRA has a policy specifically for this. I believe the cost is $165 a year.
The NRA has a policy specifically for this. I believe the cost is $165 a year.
Save the money
I've no experience with criminal attorneys but bunches (unfortunately) with some civil stuff and personal financial matters.
A retainer is simply a contract that makes sure the lawyer gets paid for work done. E.g., You go in and talk to your lawyer and he says something like I bill 300 dollars an hour. Before I get started, I need a 3 K retainer to draw on. You get billed in 50 dollar increments for each 10 minutes. A phone call lasting 1 minute is billed as 10 minutes. That's the deal client, take it or not, and put up 3K and I'll roll up my sleeves. Then somewhere in the contract he gives himself the various rights to collect if you don't pay up. If you get in arrears, he fires his client.
Mitch correctly states that you can easily save up enough for a "retainer" if you ever need one; and if you don't, then you have extra money when you are retired.
And remember, the retainer is not pre-paid insurance or an agreement to give unlimited free legal advice. It is "a deposit," "a down-payment." It is money against which the lawyer draws his 300 bucks or so an hour.
The sky is the limit on defense costs. Most of us probably can't afford it without losing our house, car, kids, wife, and every dime we will earn the rest of our lives. And the prosecutor always has the unlimited resources of the state to back his case.
So, be extra careful to stay out of trouble.
Here here for MitchCT.
I've no experience with criminal attorneys but bunches (unfortunately) with some civil stuff and personal financial matters.
A retainer is simply a contract that makes sure the lawyer gets paid for work done. E.g., You go in and talk to your lawyer and he says something like I bill 300 dollars an hour. Before I get started, I need a 3 K retainer to draw on. You get billed in 50 dollar increments for each 10 minutes. A phone call lasting 1 minute is billed as 10 minutes. That's the deal client, take it or not, and put up 3K and I'll roll up my sleeves. Then somewhere in the contract he gives himself the various rights to collect if you don't pay up. If you get in arrears, he fires his client.
Mitch correctly states that you can easily save up enough for a "retainer" if you ever need one; and if you don't, then you have extra money when you are retired.
And remember, the retainer is not pre-paid insurance or an agreement to give unlimited free legal advice. It is "a deposit," "a down-payment." It is money against which the lawyer draws his 300 bucks or so an hour.
The sky is the limit on defense costs. Most of us probably can't afford it without losing our house, car, kids, wife, and every dime we will earn the rest of our lives. And the prosecutor always has the unlimited resources of the state to back his case.
So, be extra careful to stay out of trouble.
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622 Posts
What should we do? Get the card of a lawyer we trust & keep it handy, paying him once we actually need the services?
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Mitch gave us great advice.
Dude, lawyers come and go. Say you pay a guy a retainer, keep his card in your wallet, etc. and when you actually blast some attacker, you find out he's left his practice and is now teaching yoga in Santa Monica?
How often do you plan on shooting someone? That will drive your decision.
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Well, never hopefully. But you would probably not want to have to hit the Yellow Pages with a BG lying dead on the floor of your suburban home. I think it would be a good idea to already have a guy in mind.
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Seems like a waste to me. When I took my CPL class the instructor handed out a card for a lawyer all the cops use who's available 24/7 without any "retainer". It's programmed into my cell.
My bet is that if you called the guy with the website after an incident you'd get the exact same treatment and pricing whether you've been paying monthly or not.
My bet is that if you called the guy with the website after an incident you'd get the exact same treatment and pricing whether you've been paying monthly or not.
Program looks like crap to me.
What is your $11 per month getting you? It doesn't cover your legal expenses ... it just gives you a card in your wallet?
As has been said already, get a real lawyer and put him/her on retainer. The money goes in escrow, you don't lose any of it until you actually need it.
Look into legal insurance, though I don't know anyone who has it privately, my wife's company offers it for $8 per paycheck ($16 per month) and it covers everyone in the family. This covers all legal expenses fully.
When I bought my apartment - my real estate lawyer was free. When I got an out of state traffic violation, my traffic lawyer was free. If I am convicted of a crime, am getting divorced, need to write up a will, start a business, whatever .... it's all free. The only caveat with the program is that we have to use one of the lawyers in their system (there appear to be plenty to chose from however).
What is your $11 per month getting you? It doesn't cover your legal expenses ... it just gives you a card in your wallet?
As has been said already, get a real lawyer and put him/her on retainer. The money goes in escrow, you don't lose any of it until you actually need it.
Look into legal insurance, though I don't know anyone who has it privately, my wife's company offers it for $8 per paycheck ($16 per month) and it covers everyone in the family. This covers all legal expenses fully.
When I bought my apartment - my real estate lawyer was free. When I got an out of state traffic violation, my traffic lawyer was free. If I am convicted of a crime, am getting divorced, need to write up a will, start a business, whatever .... it's all free. The only caveat with the program is that we have to use one of the lawyers in their system (there appear to be plenty to chose from however).
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So basically what you guys are saying is that if you have $10K+ saved up, you can just use that once you actually have an "incident." They will jump when you say you need help & have the cash?
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2,393 Posts
Before you sign up, find out what it covers exactly…
I don’t like it that it says’s retainer fee. A retainer is just an upfront fee charged to represent you.
In most cases, if your legal fees are more than your retainer you have to pay the difference.
So find out what it covers.
I don’t like it that it says’s retainer fee. A retainer is just an upfront fee charged to represent you.
In most cases, if your legal fees are more than your retainer you have to pay the difference.
So find out what it covers.
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