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
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.
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 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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