LegalShield is a subscription legal-services and identity-protection company with roots dating back to 1972, when Harland Stonecipher founded the Sportsmen's Motor Club in Ada, Oklahoma. The company incorporated as Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. in 1976 and later became known as LegalShield after its 2011 acquisition by MidOcean Partners for $650 million. The company's legal plans are designed to give individuals, families, small businesses, and employer groups access to provider law firms for a monthly membership fee rather than traditional hourly legal billing.
LegalShield's services include personal legal plans, small-business legal plans, employer-group legal benefits, and IDShield identity theft monitoring and restoration services. The company states that its provider-lawyer network serves members across the United States and parts of Canada, with lawyers averaging 22 years of experience. Current LegalShield materials report service to 4.5 million individuals and 140,000 businesses across North America.
LegalShield operates through several sales channels, including direct online sales, employer-group plans, and an independent associate program. Pre-Paid Legal's 2010 annual report described the company's principal individual-membership distribution method as a multilevel marketing program in which individuals sold memberships and could recruit and develop their own sales organizations. The company stated that commissions were paid when memberships were sold and not solely for recruitment.
The current PPLSI Independent Associate program continues to include personal sales, team sales, renewal commissions, and incentive bonuses. LegalShield's income disclosure says Associates can earn commissions from selling LegalShield and IDShield memberships, commissions on sales made by referred Associates, monthly renewal commissions on active memberships, and Performance Club bonuses for qualifying activity. In 2023, personal sales commissions ranged from 8.4% to 44.8% on plans costing $12.95 to $169, team-sales commissions ranged from 0.24% to 36.3%, and renewal commissions ranged from 10% to 20%.
LegalShield's 2023 income disclosure reported that active Associates earned an average of $2,647.89 and a median of $118.43 before expenses, while 31% of active Associates earned no compensation. The company's associate site lists a $99 one-time fee to become an Associate and promotes residual income, team building, training, marketing websites, CRM tools, and mobile business-management tools. LegalShield remains active through LegalShield.com, while MyLegalShield.com now functions as part of the company's account or login system rather than as a separate public company site.
Enrollment Options
The cost to sign up as a LegalShield associate is a one-time fee of $249. This includes sales aids and materials, field training, home office support, and online Associate services.
Compensation Plan
As is customary with most insurance companies, commissions are paid in yearly advances to associates. Commissions are paid daily as membership sales are made. Associates have the option to recruit new associates and earn override commissions when those associates make sales.