Why would an attorney sell legal plans? Two reasons. First, to help people who can’t afford your fees. Second, to earn extra income.
Every day, attorneys turn away people who need legal assistance. Instead of turning them away and wishing them good luck, many attorneys are signing up these people for a legal plan. The client gets some help and the attorney gets paid a commission. I’ve earned a lot of money selling legal plans to people who didn’t hire me.
It doesn’t take a lot of time to do this. You’re speaking with them anyway. All you have to do is send them to your legal plan web site to get information. If they sign up for a plan, you get paid.
There are several companies that offer legal plans, but only one I recommend. It’s called LegalShield, formerly Pre-Paid Legal Services, and they are the leader in the industry. I’ve had their membership for many years and I use it all the time.
I chose to affiliate with LegalShield instead of other companies for several reasons:
- They have a proven track record; they’ve been in the business over 40 years
- They offer plans for consumers, small businesses and specialty markets (Identity Theft, Commercial Drivers, etc.)
- All areas of the law are covered and all legal services are provided, either free or at a 25% discount
- Their plan covers the entire family for as little as $17/mo. A small business can get coverage for as little as $49/mo.
- They are the only company with a “closed system” (i.e., not referrals); this allows them to maintain quality control
- Nearly all of their provider law firms are AV-rated
Over the years, I’ve referred hundreds of people who have signed up for a LegalShield plan, including a lot of lawyers. It’s a great value. Even if you don’t want to sell the plans you should consider getting a plan to protect your family and law practice.
So how much money can you earn doing this? There’s actually a lot of money available. You can earn a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a month on a casual basis, or six-figures if you put some time and effort into it.
The best part is that commissions are residual–you get paid every year the client renews the plan.
Residual income allows you to build a retirement income. That’s something that really appealed to me. Although I earned a lot of money as an attorney, I knew I wasn’t putting away enough cash for retirement. My LegalShield business will provide my retirement income.
My first month as a marketing Associate with LegalShield I signed up a few people and earned an extra $300. No, not a lot of money, but by my fifth month, I was earning an extra $3000 a month on a part time basis. Within a few years I was earning more in my “little side business” than many attorneys earn in their full time job or practice.
I didn’t earn all that money myself, however. I signed up a lot of lawyers who heard what I was doing and wanted to do it, too. The company pays me a percentage of all the business they sign up (an override). The lawyers I signed up signed up other lawyers, as well as insurance agents and brokers, real estate and mortgage brokers, financial planners, business owners, their clients and personal friends, and as this network grew, so did my income.
You can do the same thing.
Some attorneys want to know if this represents a conflict of interest. My answer is two-fold. First, check with your bar association or legal society (you can do this in the US and Canada) regarding any ethical issues. I’ve signed up attorneys in over 45 states so the answer will probably be “no conflict” but you must check this for yourself.
The second part of my answer involves a de facto conflict of interest: if you sign people up for a legal plan, they may use the plan instead of hiring you. This may or may not be true.
Some attorneys only show the plan to people they otherwise are turning away. Some show it their clients after the initial engagement is completed. Other attorneys show it to everyone, trusting that their relationship with their clients, the personal touch (that no legal plan attorney can match) will result in the client staying with them for their primary practice area. Their clients use the plan for little things like writing a letter or providing a consultation, things the attorney doesn’t want to handle anyway.
The way I look at it, someone is going to sign them up for a plan. It might as well be me.
So there you have it. You can earn extra income signing up people who don’t hire you, or you can build a retirement income for yourself, like many attorneys and I have done. If you’re interested in getting some additional information, call or email me and let me know. I’ll get you some additional information, answer your questions, and if you want to get started and work with me, I’ll help you do that too.
You can contact me at
David M. Ward
david[at]attorneymarketing[dot]com
(949) 888-2800
