Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. has an established reputation and is known as the first companies in the United States to be organized for the sole purpose of designing, underwriting and marketing legal expense plans. What is more amazing about them is that most these services are offered for a low monthly fee of around $26 or less. Pre-Paid Legal refers to their expense plans as memberships and each one provides the member access to variety of legal services. Some draw similarities to the existing medical reimbursement system and HMOs.

The Company currently provides legal services to over 1.5 million families across the U.S. and Canada. Plan benefits are delivered through a network of independent provider law firms. Members have direct, toll-free access to their provider law firm rather than having to comb through a yellow-page style directory for a referral. Provider firms are carefully selected and the quality of service is closely monitored to maintain the high standards of Pre-Paid Legal.

Our members are served by a provider law firm which has been carefully screened and selected by Pre-Paid Legal. Using the plan, members simply call their provider firm directly at the toll-free number on their membership card when they have a legal question or problem. It’s really that simple. Pre-Paid Legal does all the work; no searching for a qualified lawyer, no claim forms, no worries about being able to afford a lawyer – just peace of mind.

The company was founded by a man named Harland Stonecipher in the 1970s. The founder had encountered legal problems bases off of the court fees that accumulated after a danger auto accident. Though he had auto and health coverage, Stonecipher had not means to deal with the legal bills. Prior to Pre-Paid Legal, Stonecipher’s first attempt at offering legal reimbursement was The Sportsman’s Motor Club which he established in 1972. A few years, later he broadened the focus away from strictly automotive related cases to cover more and more issues. It was at this time that Pre-paid Legal Services was formed. Through the initial efforts of a handful of salesmen, the company attracted more and more members.

Pre-paid Legal went through many changes throughout the 1980s including the introduction of a network marketing concept by member John Hail that advances the company’s profits and membership for the rest of the decade. The business’ success eventually gets it listed on the NASDAQ National Market System and then on the American Stock Exchange. Despite lean times where the company had to restructure and cut a portion of its workforce, Pre-paid Legal Services survived and thrived.

The challenges continue throughout the 1990s, but the most dedicated within the company stand undaunted in order to keep the business alive. More cuts in the workforce as well as continuing restructuring of the company’s internal operations. By decade’s end, this persistence paid off. In 1999, Pre-Paid Legal makes the move to the New York Stock Exchange. Within fours of the move, they are listed as thirty-third fastest growing company on the NYSE.

Now, in the twenty-first century, Pre-paid Legal Services is still going strong. Notably, the company landed on Forbes magazine’s list of the 200 Best Small Companies in America, an honor it has held for five straight years. Harland Stonecipher’s company has over one million members currently active. There are no signs that the company’s growth and success will slow.