LegalShield

Last updated
LegalShield
Formerly
  • Sportsman's Motor Club (1972–1976)
  • Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. (1976–2011)
Type Private
IndustryLegal services
Founded1972;51 years ago (1972)
FounderHarland Stonecipher
Headquarters,
U.S.
Areas served
  • United States
  • Canada
Key people
Products
Services
  • Legal services
  • identity theft monitoring and restoration
Revenueest. $400 million [1]  (2014)
Owner MidOcean Partners
Stone Point Capital [4]
Further Global [5] [6] [7]
Number of employees
700 [8]  (2014)
Website legalshield.com

LegalShield (previously known as Pre-Paid Legal Services or simply Pre-Paid Legal) is an American corporation that sells legal service products direct to consumer through employer groups and through multi-level marketing [9] in the United States, and Canada. It was available in the United Kingdom from 2019 [10] to 2021. [11] According to LegalShield's income disclosure regarding associates selling the product: "For Associates with 0-2 years of experience who made at least one sale, average annual earnings were $798 for 2019. Approximately 73% of all Associates across experience years made less than $1,000 in 2019." [12]

Contents

The company was founded in 1972, as the Sportsman's Motor Club. In 1976, it was incorporated as Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc., and made its initial public offering in 1984.

In 2011, Pre-Paid Legal went from being traded on the New York Stock Exchange back to being a private company when it was acquired by MidOcean Partners and subsequently changed its name to LegalShield.

Services

LegalShield develops and markets pre-paid legal service plans through a network of more than 6,900 independent provider attorneys across the U.S. and Canada. [13] The company also markets IDShield, a privacy and reputation management service that also provides identity theft monitoring and restoration. [14] [15] The company's membership plans are sold as employee benefits, through its multi-level marketing division, and direct to consumers. [9]

History

Exterior of the company's headquarters in Ada, Oklahoma (2012) LegalShield Building in Ada Oklahoma.jpg
Exterior of the company's headquarters in Ada, Oklahoma (2012)

Sportsman's Motor Club

LegalShield started as Sportsman's Motor Club in 1972 in Ada, Oklahoma. [16] [8] [17] Harland Stonecipher (1938–2014) was the company's founding president and chief executive officer (CEO). [18] [19] The life insurance salesman from Ada, Oklahoma, created the "motor service club" after being in a car accident in 1969. The other party in the crash was cited for fault but still filed suit against Stonecipher for the accident. Although he had health, life, and vehicle insurance coverage, he was required to hire a lawyer to defend himself in court and struggled to pay the legal expenses. [20] After researching the industry of European legal expense plans, he established the Sportsman's Motor Club to reimburse members for legal fees relating to vehicle accidents. [20] [16]

The club changed its name and incorporated as Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. in 1976, [21] becoming the first company in the United States to provide pre-paid legal plans for individuals. [20] Initially, members could choose their own lawyer and seek reimbursement from Pre-Paid, but by the 1980s, the company directed members needing legal help to pre-selected firms. [20]

Pre-Paid Legal went public in 1984. [22] Pre-Paid was first listed on the NASDAQ, then moved to the American Stock Exchange in 1986, [23] [24] followed by the New York Stock Exchange in 1999, where it was listed as "PPD". [19] [25] [26]

In 1998 Pre-Paid acquired The People's Network, a marketing company based in Dallas. [27] [28]

In 1999 the company began offering plans in Canada in 1999, with some modifications to suit the Canadian legal system. By 2009, it covered 28,000 Canadian families across four provinces. [29] [30]

In 2000 Pre-Paid Legal was criticised by CBC's Marketplace for operating as a multi-level marketing model and encouraging sales associates to buy training material. [31]

In 2003, the company moved into a new corporate headquarters in Ada, Oklahoma. [30]

In November 2006, Pre-Paid announced plans to spend $27.4 million to repurchase shares owned by executives. [25]

In 2010, Stonecipher resigned from the positions of president and CEO. Randy Harp and Mark Brown were appointed as co-CEOs, with Harp assuming the role of company president. Stonecipher retained his position as chairman of the company's board. [30]

Controversies

In 2001, a Wyoming attorney general announced, "When we discovered that Pre-Paid was using prohibited income representations to promote their multilevel marketing program, we warned them that the representations were prohibited by Wyoming law." Pre-Paid denied violating the law, but agreed to adjust its marketing messaging and pay $7,000, including $2,000 refunded to participants who alleged the company had misled them. [32] [33] In the same year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) required Pre-Paid to stop counting the commissions paid out to sales associates as assets instead of expenses, which reduced reported earnings by over half. [18] As a result, Pre-Paid amended its reporting and filed its 2000 financial statements in February 2002. The statements showed huge decreases in earnings (from $43.6 million to $20.5 million) and stockholder equity (from $147 million to $42 million). [34] Later that year, however, the Denver Business Journal reported that Pre-Paid earned a $27.1 million profit on $303.7 million in revenue, a large increase from its $1.9 million profit on revenues of $129.6 million in 1997, and its members had access to a network of 46 firms with 1,270 lawyers. [35]

In 2004, approximately 250 plaintiffs filed about 30 lawsuits in Alabama against Pre-Paid, all of which were dismissed or settled by 2006. [25] Pre-Paid faced two lawsuits in Mississippi, one in October 2004, and the other in February 2005. A jury ruled in favor of the company in the first suit. In the second, a jury found Pre-Paid and Stonecipher guilty of deceptive advertising and fraud [18] and required them, in November 2005, to pay $9.9 million in punitive damages. [36] TheStreet.com reported that Pre-Paid faced additional lawsuits filed by 400 Mississippi plaintiffs which were ultimately settled. [25] TheStreet.com also noted that the company had had some success in court, including the overturning of a fraud verdict and the defeat of a class action lawsuit alleging the company was a pyramid scheme. [36] The company and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which had Stonecipher on its board of directors, [19] called the lawsuits "frivolous" and "abusive". [37]

Pre-Paid's independent auditor was unable to approve the company's 2004 financial statements because of "material weaknesses" related to the processing of commissions. [18] Two weeks later, Pre-Paid filed 2004 financial statements approved by its auditor, Grant Thornton. [38] New rules proposed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) required Pre-Paid to disclose to potential associates that less than 25 percent of its sales representatives sold multiple insurance plans in 2005, which the company confirmed in an SEC filing. [25]

In 2007, the FTC began investigating Pre-Paid's marketing of its identity theft service and Affirmative Defense Response System (ADRS), which the company developed to increase group sales. [39] Pre-Paid changed its marketing materials in 2009 after regulators found the company's claims about ADRS misleading. [40] According to an SEC filing, the FTC and Pre-Paid "[reached] a mutually agreeable solution", and in 2010 the agency ended its three-year investigation without any action. [39]

PrePaid was the top corporate donor to the 2008 re-election campaign for Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who has defended the operation of multi-level marketing firms in that state. [41]

LegalShield

In January 2011, Pre-Paid Legal agreed to be bought out for $650 million USD with entities formed by MidOcean Partners, a New York private equity firm that describes itself as "focused on the middle market". [42] The deal closed on June 30, 2011, and the company once again became privately held. [43] In July 2011, Rip Mason began serving as LegalShield's CEO. In late 2011, the company changed its name to LegalShield as part of an overall re-branding initiative. [44]

In July 2014, Jeff Bell replaced Mason as CEO, and Mason became chairman of the board. [45] He retired in 2022. [46]

Stone Point Capital, another private equity firm, purchased a majority stake in LegalShield from MidOcean Partners in 2018. [47] In 2019, the company expanded into the UK with offices in Oxford and an arrangement with Slater & Gordon UK providing legal advice via the LegalDefence app. [10] [48] The venture in the UK went into liquidation in May 2021. [11]

Former Dish Network and Sling TV executive Warren Schlichting became CEO in December 2022. [49]

Related Research Articles

Herbalife Nutrition Ltd., also called Herbalife International, Inc. or simply Herbalife, is a global multi-level marketing (MLM) corporation that develops and sells dietary supplements. The company was founded by Mark R. Hughes in 1980, and it employs an estimated 9,900 people worldwide. The business is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, with its corporate headquarters located in Los Angeles, California. The company operates in 95 countries through a network of approximately 4.5 million independent distributors and members. In October 2022, previous CEO Michael O. Johnson was appointed as Chairman and interim Chief Executive Officer following the departure of John Agwunobi.

Vector Marketing is a direct selling subsidiary company and the domestic sales arm of Cutco Corporation, an Olean, New York–based cutlery manufacturer. The company was founded in 1981 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation is an American exploration and production company, headquartered in Oklahoma City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Central University</span> Public university in Ada, Oklahoma

East Central University is a public university in Ada, Oklahoma. It is part of Oklahoma's Regional University System. Beyond its flagship campus in Ada, the university has courses available in McAlester, Shawnee, and Durant, as well as online courses. Founded as East Central State Normal School in 1909, its present name was adopted in 1985. Some of its more prominent alumni include former Microsoft COO B. Kevin Turner, Modernist painter Leon Polk Smith, former NFL player Mark Gastineau, past governors Robert S. Kerr and George Nigh, former U.S. Representative Lyle Boren, Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Tom Colbert, and U.S. Army General James D. Thurman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Williams Companies</span> American energy company

The Williams Companies, Inc., is an American energy company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Its core business is natural gas processing and transportation, with additional petroleum and electricity generation assets. A Fortune 500 company, its common stock is a component of the S&P 500.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nu Skin Enterprises</span> American multi-level marketing company

Feed the Children, established in 1979 and headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a non-profit organization focused on alleviating childhood hunger. Its mission is "providing hope and resources for those without life's essentials." The organization provides food, essentials, education supplies and disaster relief to those in need across the United States and in 8 countries around the world. Domestically, Feed the Children operates five distribution centers located in Oklahoma, Indiana, California, Tennessee and Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Anoatubby</span>

Billy Joe Anoatubby is the Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, a position he has held since 1987. From 1979 to 1987, Anoatubby served two terms as Lieutenant Governor of the Chickasaw Nation in the administration of Governor Overton James, after being popularly elected to office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BurnLounge</span> American multi-level marketing company

BurnLounge, Inc. was a multi-level marketing online music store founded in 2004 and based in New York City. By 2006, the company reported 30,000 members using the site to sell music through its network. In 2007, the company was sued by the Federal Trade Commission for being an illegal pyramid scheme. The company lost the suit in 2012, and lost appeal in June 2014. In June 2015, the FTC began returning $1.9 million to people who had lost money in the scheme. The company is dormant pending additional appeals.

MidOcean Partners is a New York-based alternative asset management firm that specializes in mid-sized private equity and alternative leveraged investments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MyLife</span> Online information broker

MyLife is an American information brokerage scam. The firm was founded by Jeffrey Tinsley in 2002 as Reunion.com and changed names following the 2008 merger with Wink.com.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael J. Hunter</span> American politician

Michael J. Hunter is an American politician from the state of Oklahoma. Hunter served as the Secretary of State of Oklahoma from 1999 to 2002, having been appointed by Governor of Oklahoma Frank Keating. On November 1, 2016, he was appointed to the same post by Governor Mary Fallin. He also served as Special Counsel to the Governor. On February 20, 2017, Hunter was appointed Attorney General of Oklahoma to replace Scott Pruitt who resigned to become the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. On November 8, 2018, Hunter won election as Attorney General.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AdvoCare</span> American dietary supplement company

News America Marketing, often referred to as just News America, was a marketing business previously owned by News Corp. It publishes SmartSource Magazine, a weekly consumer-branded newspaper insert offering advertising and coupon promotions, delivered in over 1,600 newspapers in the U.S. and is one of three companies in the United States that control almost all the in-store ads and grocery coupons in the United States.

FanDuel Group is an American gambling company that offers sportsbook, daily fantasy sports, horse racing, and online casino. The company operates sportsbooks in a number of states including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana and West Virginia, as well as an online horse race betting platform, and a daily fantasy sports service.

Ackerman McQueen, also called "Ack-Mac", is an advertising agency based in Oklahoma City. Founded in 1939, it has expanded to include offices in Alexandria, Virginia; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Dallas, Texas; and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Ackerman McQueen has about 225 employees.

Chad Richison is an American entrepreneur who has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Paycom since its founding. A native Oklahoman, Richison began his career in sales with ADP, a global payroll provider, before moving to Colorado to work for a smaller, regional payroll provider. In 1998, Richison returned his family to Oklahoma and founded Paycom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Bell (executive)</span> American chief executive

Jeff Bell is an American executive. He is the CEO of PPLSI, an Ada, Oklahoma-based corporation that markets legal and privacy management services in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. He also serves as chairman of the board of DOMedia LLC and as a venture partner of NCT Ventures LLC.

Match Group is an American internet and technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It owns and operates the largest global portfolio of popular online dating services including Tinder, Match.com, Meetic, OkCupid, Hinge, Plenty of Fish, OurTime, and other dating global brands. The company was owned by IAC until July 2020 when Match Group was spun off as a separate, public company. As of 2019, the company had 9.3 million subscribers, of which 4.6 million were in North America. Japan is the company's second largest market, after the United States.

Arbonne International, LLC, known as Arbonne, is an international multi-level marketing company founded in 1980 in the United States by Norwegian entrepreneur Petter Mørck. Its product lines include vegan skincare, cosmetics, and nutrition. Arbonne's CEO is Tyler Whitehead, who succeeded Jean-David Schwartz in April 2021. Arbonne is headquartered in Irvine, California, US, with US offices in Chatsworth, California, Greenwood, Indiana, Addison, Texas, and international offices in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Poland, and the United Kingdom.

References

  1. 1 2 Silcox, Beth Douglass (March 2, 2015). "Company Spotlight Equal Access, Equal Adaptability: LegalShield's Moral Imperative to Grow". Direct Selling News. Plano, Texas: VideoPlus. ISSN   1554-6470 . Retrieved March 8, 2017.
  2. "Company Information: Leadership". LegalShield. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
  3. "LegalShield Executive Team". LegalShield USA. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  4. Udland, Tyler (27 February 2018). "Stone Point to Buy Majority Stake in LegalShield From MidOcean Partners". S&P Global. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  5. Udland, Tyler (10 September 2020). "LegalShield accelerates deadline for $135M add-on TLB to Sept. 11". S&P Global. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  6. "Further Global Capital Management and Stone Point Capital Acquires LegalShield". Mergr. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  7. "Companies". Further Global Capital Management. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  8. 1 2 Burkes, Paula (September 7, 2014). "Executive Q&A: LegalShield chief comes home to Oklahoma roots". The Oklahoman . Oklahoma City: The Oklahoman Media Company. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  9. 1 2 Weiss, Debra Cassens (7 April 2016). "Insurer offers legal insurance directly to consumers for $16.25 a month". ABA Journal. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  10. 1 2 Rose, Neil (29 November 2018). "Slater & Gordon backs app offering legal advice for £24 a month". Legal Futures. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  11. 1 2 Rose, Neil (20 May 2021). "Exclusive: Pioneering legal services advice app shut down". Legal Futures. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  12. "LegalShield Income Disclosure".
  13. McMillan, Charles (2022-10-15). "LegalShield vs Rocket Lawyer + Alternatives [2023]". Stand With Main Street - #1 Business Resource. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  14. Nadel, Brian (19 May 2020). "IDShield identity theft protection review". Tom's Guide. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  15. Vigderman, Aliza; Turner, Gabe (10 July 2020). "IDShield Review". Security.org. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  16. 1 2 Swanson, Eric (November 11, 2014). "LegalShield founder and community booster Harland Stonecipher dies at 76". Ada Evening News. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  17. "Pre-Paid Legal in $650 Million Buyout". The New York Times . January 31, 2011. ISSN   0362-4331. OCLC   1645522 . Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Davis, Melissa (February 22, 2005). "Pre-Paid Weathers Guilty Verdict". TheStreet.com . Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  19. 1 2 3 "U.S Chamber Reappoints Harland Stonecipher, CEO of Pre-Paid Legal Services, to Board of Directors". United States Chamber of Commerce. June 27, 2005. Archived from the original on December 2, 2006. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Martin, Douglas (November 20, 2014). "Harland Stonecipher, Insurance Pioneer, Dies at 76". The New York Times. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  21. "Form 10K Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc". United States Securities Exchange Commission. December 31, 2010. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  22. Gene Lehmann (August 23, 2011). "New firm to rebrand Pre-Paid Legal in Ada". The Ada News. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  23. The Big Book of Home Business Company Directory. Ouvrage Collectif. June 21, 2016. p. 48. ISBN   9786050462043 . Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  24. Adelson, Andrea (May 26, 1996). "Earning It; Getting Legal Advice, Without Billable Hours". The New York Times. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 Duhigg, Charles (November 13, 2006). "Why Short Sellers Want to Crash the Tupperware Party". The New York Times. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  26. "Hardland Stonecipher". The Oklahoman. November 12, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  27. "Pre-Paid Legal acquires satellite TV channel". The Journal Record . Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. September 25, 1998. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  28. Hogan, Gypsy (September 25, 1998). "Pre-Paid Legal Plans Satellite Channel Buy". The Oklahoman. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  29. Price, Marie (2 July 2009). "Okla.-based Pre-Paid Legal Services celebrates 10 years in Canada". The Journal Record.
  30. 1 2 3 Grant, Tina, ed. (2011). "Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.". International Directory of Company Histories. Vol. 120. Detroit, MI: St. James Press.
  31. "CBC Marketplace: Pre-paid Legal Services". www.cbc.ca. 2000-04-11. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
  32. "Newell letter" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2002-10-15. Retrieved October 23, 2009.
  33. "Pre-Paid settles Wyoming case". The Oklahoman. 3 December 2001. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  34. Morgenson, Gretchen (April 18, 2003). "Exchange to Warn Investors on Companies". The New York Times. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  35. Fletcher, Amy (September 15, 2002). "Prepaid legal is a cheaper way to get lawyer's services". Denver Business Journal. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  36. 1 2 Davis, Melissa (16 November 2005). "Verdict Hammers Pre-Paid". TheStreet.com. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  37. "Chamber Joins Miss. Case against Frivolous Lawsuits[;] Pre-Paid Legal Services Targeted Improperly". United States Chamber of Commerce. November 24, 2004. Archived from the original on August 16, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  38. Davis, Melissa (4 March 2005). "Pre-Paid Gets Clean Bill From Auditor". The Street. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  39. 1 2 MECOY, BY DON. "FTC ends investigation of Pre-Paid Legal". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  40. Mecoy, Don (July 27, 2010). "FTC ends investigation of Pre-Paid Legal". The Oklahoman. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  41. Bernick Jr., Bob (October 30, 2008). "Shurtleff's Fundraising Trounces Hill's | Deseret News (Salt Lake City) Newspaper | Find Articles at BNET". FindArticles.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2009. Retrieved October 23, 2009.
  42. MidOcean Partners, "MidOcean Partners Completes Acquisition of Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc." PR Newswire, Jun 30, 2011. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  43. Winslow, Laurie (February 1, 2011). "Pre-Paid to Merge with MidOcean". Tulsa World..
  44. "Pre-Paid Legal Services Becomes LegalShield" (Press release). Pre-Paid Legal Services. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  45. PR Newswire. "LegalShield Names Jeff Bell as Chief Executive Officer". www.reuters.com. Reuters. Archived from the original on 7 September 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  46. "PPLSI CEO, Jeff Bell, Announces Retirement". www.businesswire.com. 2022-05-20. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  47. "Stone Point to Buy Majority Stake in LegalShield From MidOcean Partners" . The Wall Street Journal. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  48. Oliver, Gill (16 September 2019). "'Lawyer in your pocket' app service ramps up mission to disrupt UK legal sector". TechTribe Oxford. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  49. Martinson, Sarah (5 December 2022). "Former Dish Exec To Be Next LegalShield CEO - Law360 Pulse". Law360. Retrieved 19 September 2023.