Plan Participation
Mr. Long is a plan attorney in the following legal plans. We welcome their members, along with traditional
clients.
Please be aware that we NO LONGER PARTICIPATE in the following plans:
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I know if my plan covers your services?
- Generally, we prefer that clients take responsibility for their plan.
- We are happy to assist in confirming coverage at the outset of a new project, but our contract for legal
services states that if coverage is absent at any time for whatever reason -- fees are billed hourly.
- What Happens When (If) My Legal Plan Does Not Cover Legal Services?
- A query from a client:
You told me yesterday that my legal plan will pay for all the expenses and there won't be any fees or
charges incurred by me. [...] [Y]our proposed agreement is open-ended and it indicates that I may be
opening a can of worms that has no end in [sic] site. I don't feel comfortable signing it.
- Dear Client:
Not exactly. I said that for covered legal matters, your legal plan pays the attorney fees.
For all matters, you are responsible for expenses, such as Court filing fees, messenger service
if needed, process service if needed. Your plan does not cover these items and your plan does state that
you are responsible for them.
For matters not covered by your legal plan (because coverage lapsed, the legal service was not
among services included in your plan, etc.), you are responsible for my fees. I and my staff attempt to
confirm coverage before we begin service, but that is ultimately your responsibility, as are the fees
incurred for services for which you are not covered.
In other words, I do not personally guarantee that a particular legal matter is covered by your plan, or
stays covered. If there is no coverage for whatever reason, I still expect to be paid for my time.
Think of the alternative! Each month my staff would need to contact your legal plan to verify coverage
was still in effect, not just for you but for every legal plan client!
Doctors don't guarantee a patient has continuing medical insurance. Likewise, I cannot guarantee that
client remains covered by a legal plan?
The administrative overhead would be enormous, to say nothing of lost revenue from clients who claimed
to have plan coverage but didn't for whatever reason.
ODL
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