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 Consultation & Referral Your free consultation benefit covers up to thirty (30) minutes in the Plan Attorney's office, over the phone or online with the Plan Attorney. The number of consultations is unlimited, except that each one must be on a different legal matter. Consultations are provided by the local Plan Attorney who is determined to be the best match for your needs by your Personal Access Specialist (PAS).Your PAS may ask a number of background questions to determine your needs. Next, your PAS will get in contact with one or more Plan Attorneys in the area to confirm availability, check for conflicts and be sure the matter falls within their practice area. This sometimes causes a slight delay in a referral, but you can be sure that when you call the Plan Law Firm you will not be informed that the attorney is out of town for three weeks, does not handle your type of matter or is the attorney for the "other side." Because we are very selective in choosing attorneys for our Plan, we do not have "hundreds" of attorneys in any given city. The Plan Attorney you will be referred to will be within 23 miles, with an occasional exception for rural areas. While this may seem far, it is likely that you will not have to go into the attorney's office more than two or three times for a lengthy case, usually only once for a simple case and most matters (92%) can be handled over the phone. All matters that go beyond the free consultation will be billed by the Plan Attorney at a discounted rate of 25% less than their normal hourly rate. Because flat fees already represent a discounted rate, there is no additional discount on services customarily billed by the attorney on a flat fee basis. Document Review This benefit is available up to three times each year and can be used for documents that total six pages or less. This can be handled in person with the Plan Attorney, online with the Plan Attorney, or by comparing the document to those in the online document library. If you wish to utilize this benefit you MUST request it when calling our Customer Service Center for the initial referral. This benefit must be authorized prior to calling the Plan Attorney. If you decide after you have already received a referral that you need to utilize this benefit, you must call our Customer Service Center first. Plan Attorneys may not provide this service without authorization. Dispute Resolution Calls & Letters If you and your attorney agree that such resolution will likely resolve your matter, you are entitled to have a phone call or a letter made by your Plan Attorney. This benefit is available up to three times each year. If you wish to utilize this benefit you MUST request it when calling our Customer Service Center for the initial referral. This benefit must be authorized prior to calling the Plan Attorney. If you decide after you have already received a referral that you need to utilize this benefit, you must call our Customer Service Center first. Plan Attorneys may not provide this service without authorization. Simple Will What constitutes a Simple Will varies by state, so it is difficult to give parameters into which your will must fall in order to be covered. This benefit is provided by completing a Will questionnaire which will be reviewed by a local Plan Attorney. You will have the option to include additional information with your basic Will questionnaire and have the Plan Attorney review your situation and make recommendations for other documents that may be helpful. From the time we receive your Will kit there is typically a four to six week turnaround time for your Will to be completed. Your benefits also cover an annual update of your will each year enrolled. Living Will If you have a simple will, your benefits also cover a living will for you and your spouse. Small Claims Court Preparation Consultation This benefit is available at no additional charge by phone with the Plan Attorney. Each problem can also be accessed in person with the Plan Attorney or online with the Plan Attorney at a discounted hourly rate. There is a complete library available online to help plan members understand legal issues and legal disputes involving legal issues in small claims court cases, including credit, issues, injuries, emergencies, your liability and related issues. Guaranteed Plan Rate Your benefits include a special plan discount of 25% off of the attorneys' normal hourly rates for all covered services that do not have a special rate or any cost attached to them. Guaranteed Discounted Contingency Fees Contingency rate discounts apply in those cases where attorneys customarily take a case on a contingency fee [an agreed upon portion of any recovery to you], depending upon what happens when the case ends. In some cases, contingency fee maximums are set by state law. In these matters, your fee will be the lower of either 10% less than the maximum fee set by state law or the attorney’s usual fee. For example, if your state has a fee maximum of 30%, you would pay the lower of either 27% or the attorney’s usual fee. If the attorney would normally charge 25%, you would pay this percentage because it is the lower rate. When state laws do not set contingency fee maximums, your guaranteed discounted rate will not exceed:
Guaranteed Special Low Rates (These have specific definitions and your plan booklet defines each service*)
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