LegalShield

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.{{Cite web |last=McMillan |first=Charles |date=2022-10-15 |title=LegalShield vs Rocket Lawyer + Alternatives [2023] |url=https://standwithmainstreet.com/legalshield-vs-rocket-lawyer/ |access-date=2023-02-19 |website=Stand With Main Street - #1 Business Resource |language=en-US}} The company also markets IDShield, a privacy and reputation management service that also provides identity theft monitoring and restoration.{{cite news |last1=Nadel |first1=Brian |date=19 May 2020 |title=IDShield identity theft protection review |work=Tom's Guide |url=https://www.tomsguide.com/us/id-shield,review-2810.html |access-date=25 July 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Vigderman |first1=Aliza |last2=Turner |first2=Gabe |date=10 July 2020 |title=IDShield Review |work=Security.org |url=https://www.security.org/identity-theft/idshield/review/ |access-date=29 July 2020}} The company's membership plans are sold as employee benefits, through its multi-level marketing division, and direct to consumers.

File:LegalShield Building in Ada Oklahoma.jpg

LegalShield started as Sportsman's Motor Club in 1972 in Ada, Oklahoma.{{cite news|title=Pre-Paid Legal in $650 Million Buyout|url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/01/31/pre-paid-legal-in-650-million-buyout/|access-date=March 7, 2017|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|oclc=1645522|date=January 31, 2011}} Harland Stonecipher (1938–2014) was the company's founding president and chief executive officer (CEO).{{cite web|last1=Davis|first1=Melissa|title=Pre-Paid Weathers Guilty Verdict|url=https://www.thestreet.com/story/10209942/1/pre-paid-weathers-guilty-verdict.html|website=TheStreet.com|access-date=March 6, 2017|date=February 22, 2005}}{{cite web|title=U.S Chamber Reappoints Harland Stonecipher, CEO of Pre-Paid Legal Services, to Board of Directors|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061202050830/http://www.uschamber.com/press/releases/2005/june/05-109.htm|access-date=March 7, 2017|date=June 27, 2005|archive-date=December 2, 2006|url=http://www.uschamber.com/press/releases/2005/june/05-109.htm|publisher=United States Chamber of Commerce|url-status=dead}} 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.{{cite news|last1=Martin|first1=Douglas|title=Harland Stonecipher, Insurance Pioneer, Dies at 76|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/21/business/harland-stonecipher-pre-paid-legal-services-founder-dies-at-76.html|access-date=March 7, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=November 20, 2014}} 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.{{cite news|last1=Swanson|first1=Eric|title=LegalShield founder and community booster Harland Stonecipher dies at 76|url=http://www.theadanews.com/gallery/legalshield-founder-and-community-booster-harland-stonecipher-dies-at/article_abf84ab8-6936-11e4-a5ab-4fa73722e29e.html|access-date=March 9, 2017|work=Ada Evening News|date=November 11, 2014}}

The club changed its name and incorporated as Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. in 1976,{{cite web |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/311657/000120677411000352/prepaid_10k.htm |title=Form 10K Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc |date=December 31, 2010 |work=United States Securities Exchange Commission |access-date=June 26, 2017}} becoming the first company in the United States to provide pre-paid legal plans for individuals. 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.

Pre-Paid Legal went public in 1984.{{cite news |title=New firm to rebrand Pre-Paid Legal in Ada |author=Gene Lehmann |url=http://www.theadanews.com/news/local_news/new-firm-to-rebrand-pre-paid-legal-in-ada/article_1847df02-42ec-51bb-875b-d647a5ee426d.html |work=The Ada News |date=August 23, 2011 |access-date=26 June 2017}} Pre-Paid was first listed on the NASDAQ, then moved to the American Stock Exchange in 1986,{{cite book|title=The Big Book of Home Business Company Directory|date=June 21, 2016|publisher=Ouvrage Collectif|page=48|isbn=9786050462043|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EX-CDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA48|access-date=March 9, 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Adelson|first1=Andrea|title=Earning It; Getting Legal Advice, Without Billable Hours|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/26/business/earning-it-getting-legal-advice-without-billable-hours.html|access-date=March 9, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=May 26, 1996}} followed by the New York Stock Exchange in 1999, where it was listed as "PPD".{{cite news|last1=Duhigg|first1=Charles|title=Why Short Sellers Want to Crash the Tupperware Party|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/13/business/13short.html|access-date=March 7, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=November 13, 2006}}{{cite news|title=Hardland Stonecipher|url=http://legacy.newsok.com/obituaries/oklahoman/obituary.aspx?pid=173134326|access-date=March 9, 2017|work=The Oklahoman|date=November 12, 2014}}

In 1998 Pre-Paid acquired The People's Network, a marketing company based in Dallas.{{cite news|title=Pre-Paid Legal acquires satellite TV channel|url=http://journalrecord.com/1998/09/25/prepaid-legal-acquires-satellite-tv-channel/?dmcss=login|access-date=May 9, 2017|work=The Journal Record|date=September 25, 1998|location=Oklahoma City, Oklahoma}}{{cite news|last1=Hogan|first1=Gypsy|title=Pre-Paid Legal Plans Satellite Channel Buy|url=http://newsok.com/article/2627465|access-date=May 9, 2017|work=The Oklahoman|date=September 25, 1998}}

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.{{cite news |last1=Price |first1=Marie |title=Okla.-based Pre-Paid Legal Services celebrates 10 years in Canada |work=The Journal Record |date=2 July 2009}}{{cite encyclopedia |editor-last=Grant |editor-first=Tina |title=Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. |encyclopedia=International Directory of Company Histories |publisher=St. James Press |date=2011 |volume=120 |location=Detroit, MI}}

In 2000 Pre-Paid Legal was criticised by CBC Television's Marketplace for operating as a multi-level marketing model and encouraging sales associates to buy training material.{{Cite web |date=2000-04-11 |title=CBC Marketplace: Pre-paid Legal Services |url=https://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/pre-2007/files/money/prepaidlegal/ |access-date=2020-12-05 |website=www.cbc.ca}}

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

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

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.

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.{{cite web |url= http://attorneygeneral.state.wy.us/CPU1PR113001.pdf |title=Newell letter |access-date=October 23, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021015101344/http://attorneygeneral.state.wy.us/CPU1PR113001.pdf|archive-date=2002-10-15}}{{cite news |title=Pre-Paid settles Wyoming case |url=https://oklahoman.com/article/2764717/pre-paid-settles-wyoming-case |access-date=27 August 2020 |work=The Oklahoman |date=3 December 2001}} 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. 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).{{cite news|last1=Morgenson|first1=Gretchen|title=Exchange to Warn Investors on Companies|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/18/business/exchange-to-warn-investors-on-companies.html|access-date=March 7, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=April 18, 2003}} 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.{{cite journal|last1=Fletcher|first1=Amy|title=Prepaid legal is a cheaper way to get lawyer's services|journal=Denver Business Journal|date=September 15, 2002|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2002/09/16/story4.html|access-date=March 9, 2017}}

In 2004, approximately 250 plaintiffs filed about 30 lawsuits in Alabama against Pre-Paid, all of which were dismissed or settled by 2006. 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 and required them, in November 2005, to pay $9.9 million in punitive damages.{{cite web|last1=Davis|first1=Melissa|title=Verdict Hammers Pre-Paid|url=https://www.thestreet.com/story/10253221/1/verdict-hammers-pre-paid.html|website=TheStreet.com|date=16 November 2005 |access-date=March 7, 2017}} TheStreet.com reported that Pre-Paid faced additional lawsuits filed by 400 Mississippi plaintiffs which were ultimately settled. 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. The company and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which had Stonecipher on its board of directors, called the lawsuits "frivolous" and "abusive".{{cite web|title=Chamber Joins Miss. Case against Frivolous Lawsuits[;] Pre-Paid Legal Services Targeted Improperly|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120816103004/http://www.uschamber.com/press/releases/2004/november/chamber-joins-miss-case-against-frivolous-lawsuits-pre-paid-legal-servi|access-date=March 7, 2017|url=http://www.uschamber.com/press/releases/2004/november/chamber-joins-miss-case-against-frivolous-lawsuits-pre-paid-legal-servi|archive-date=August 16, 2012|publisher=United States Chamber of Commerce|date=November 24, 2004|url-status=dead}}

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. Two weeks later, Pre-Paid filed 2004 financial statements approved by its auditor, Grant Thornton.{{cite news |last1=Davis |first1=Melissa |title=Pre-Paid Gets Clean Bill From Auditor |url=https://www.thestreet.com/investing/stocks/pre-paid-gets-clean-bill-from-auditor-10211727 |access-date=28 August 2020 |work=The Street |date=4 March 2005}} 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.

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.{{Cite web |last=MECOY |first=DON |title=FTC ends investigation of Pre-Paid Legal |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/business/2010/07/27/ftc-ends-investigation-of-pre-paid-legal/61224259007/ |access-date=2023-02-19 |website=The Oklahoman |language=en-US}} Pre-Paid changed its marketing materials in 2009 after regulators found the company's claims about ADRS misleading.{{cite news|last1=Mecoy|first1=Don|title=FTC ends investigation of Pre-Paid Legal|url=http://newsok.com/ftc-ends-investigation-of-pre-paid-legal/article/3479952|access-date=March 7, 2017|work=The Oklahoman|date=July 27, 2010}} 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.

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.{{cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20081030/ai_n30951143 |title=Shurtleff's Fundraising Trounces Hill's | Deseret News (Salt Lake City) Newspaper | Find Articles at BNET |publisher=FindArticles.com |date=October 30, 2008 |access-date=October 23, 2009 |first=Bob |last=Bernick Jr. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091031144218/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20081030/ai_n30951143/ |archive-date=October 31, 2009 }}

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".MidOcean Partners, [https://web.archive.org/web/20170422162039/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/midocean-partners-completes-acquisition-of-pre-paid-legal-services-inc-124794689.html "MidOcean Partners Completes Acquisition of Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc."] PR Newswire, Jun 30, 2011. Retrieved 2020-01-30. The deal closed on June 30, 2011, and the company once again became privately held.{{cite news |first=Laurie |last=Winslow |url= http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=46&articleid=20110201_46_E1_PrePai192609 |title=Pre-Paid to Merge with MidOcean |work=Tulsa World |date=February 1, 2011}}. 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.{{cite press release |url= http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pre-paid-legal-services-becomes-legalshieldsm-129584673.html |title=Pre-Paid Legal Services Becomes LegalShield |publisher=Pre-Paid Legal Services |access-date=September 22, 2011}}

In July 2014, Jeff Bell replaced Mason as CEO, and Mason became chairman of the board.{{cite web|last1=PR Newswire|title=LegalShield Names Jeff Bell as Chief Executive Officer|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/06/tx-legalshield-ceo-idUSnPn7FBc1W+99+PRN20140806|website=www.reuters.com|publisher=Reuters|access-date=7 September 2014|archive-date=7 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907165526/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/06/tx-legalshield-ceo-idUSnPn7FBc1W+99+PRN20140806|url-status=dead}} He retired in 2022.{{Cite web |date=2022-05-20 |title=PPLSI CEO, Jeff Bell, Announces Retirement |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220520005075/en/PPLSI-CEO-Jeff-Bell-Announces-Retirement |access-date=2022-08-03 |website=www.businesswire.com |language=en}}

Stone Point Capital, another private equity firm, purchased a majority stake in LegalShield from MidOcean Partners in 2018.{{cite news |title=Stone Point to Buy Majority Stake in LegalShield From MidOcean Partners |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/stone-point-to-buy-majority-stake-in-legalshield-from-midocean-partners-1519766385 |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=27 February 2018 |url-access=subscription}} 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.{{cite news |last1=Oliver |first1=Gill |title='Lawyer in your pocket' app service ramps up mission to disrupt UK legal sector |url=https://oxford.techtribe.co/lawyer-in-your-pocket-app-service-ramps-up-mission-to-disrupt-uk-legal-sector/ |access-date=24 June 2020 |work=TechTribe Oxford |date=16 September 2019}} The venture in the UK went into liquidation in May 2021.

Former Dish Network and Sling TV executive Warren Schlichting became CEO in December 2022.{{cite news |last1=Martinson |first1=Sarah |title=Former Dish Exec To Be Next LegalShield CEO - Law360 Pulse |url=https://www.law360.com/pulse/articles/1555011/former-dish-exec-to-be-next-legalshield-ceo |access-date=19 September 2023 |work=Law360 |date=5 December 2022 |language=en}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{official website|http://www.legalshield.com}}
• [http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=46&articleid=20110201_46_E1_PrePai192609 Prepaid Legal to Merge with MidOcean Partners, Acquisition for $650 Million July 2011]
• [http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/pre-2007/files/money/prepaidlegal/ CBC News Report on PPL]
• [https://archive.today/20130204030212/http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/stocks/melissadavid/10209942.html?cm_ven=YAHOO&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA Pre-Paid Weathers Guilty Verdict]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110317043946/http://www.thestreet.com/story/10030240/pre-paid-legals-colorful-workforce.html Pre-Paid Legal's Colorful Workforce]
• [http://attorneygeneral.state.wy.us/CPU1PR113001.pdf Attorney General’s Office Nets Refunds From Multi-Level Marketer]

{{Multi-level marketing}}

Category:Companies based in Oklahoma

Category:Financial services companies established in 1972

Category:Criminal defense organizations

Category:Online legal services

Category:Multi-level marketing companies

Category:Insurance companies of the United States

Category:Privately held companies based in Oklahoma

Category:Ada, Oklahoma

Category:1972 establishments in Oklahoma