User:JZindler/sandbox

Hi there! I have a COI: LegalShield is a client of my employer, Porter Novelli. Requesting some edits to this article, which I've broken out by section below. Since LegalShield is an older organization, lots of these sources are archival and not available freely online; happy to provide PDFs if helpful. My goal is to help this article provide a more complete reflection of the company's history/offerings as depicted in independent, reliable sources over the years.

Pre-Paid Legal Services

 * After, add:
 * The company partnered with TVC Marketing Associates to grow sales in 1983. Within a few years, sales doubled from $4 million to $8 million, and Pre-Paid Legal acquired TVC in 1985. Between 1982 and 1986, the company grew rapidly, doubling its business every year with sales ultimately increasing from $2.5 million to $42.2 million. By 1987, Pre-Paid was the biggest provider of individual enrollment legal insurance in the United States, covering nearly 500,000 subscribers in 22 states. During this time, much of the company’s efforts focused on "preventive law" – providing clients with legal counsel to help prevent a matter from needing to go to court in the future.


 * After, add:
 * From 1996 to 1999, the company's sales increased by almost 500%, to $155 million. From 1996 to 2001, the company quadrupled its customer base to 1.2 million people and repurchased $90 million of company stock without taking on debt.


 * After, add:
 * That same year, Equities magazine ranked Pre-Paid Legal as the #1 fastest-growing AMEX company in America. 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.


 * Before, add:
 * In 2003, the company moved into a new corporate headquarters in Ada, Oklahoma.


 * Add to end of section:
 * Stonecipher stepped down as president and CEO in 2010. Randy Harp and Mark Brown became co-CEOs, while Harp also became company president. Stonecipher continued to be the chairman of the company’s board.

LegalShield

 * Update
 * The venture was a failure, and was discontinued in February 2021.
 * to
 * The venture in the UK went into liquidation in May 2021.
 * Using the "Rose 2021" ref name already in use in the lead.


 * Add to end of section:
 * In 2020, the company began releasing market research insights. The LegalShield Law Index shares the company’s own analysis of indicators of the financial health of American households and small business. The company’s Housing Activity Index is part of the Law Index; the Real Estate Index is a similar but separate offering. Another research product, the Economic Stress Index, gauges consumers' most pressing financial and legal concerns.

IDShield
Add a new subsection of History to cover the history of this separate product offering:
 * In 2003, PPLSI introduced its Identity Theft Shield product (later rebranded as IDShield), initially provided in partnership with Kroll Inc. By January 2022, IDShield had more than one million members.

Controversies

 * Above, Pelagic proposed that this section be shifted to fall under the "Pre-Paid Legal Services" subsection of "History" and split into two parts: "Controversies" and "Changes to accounting practices" (covering the related stories from 2001 and 2004). Z1720 was aligned with the recommendation. Resurfacing this as a request, since all the content in this section pertains to that period of the company's history.
 * Add to end of first paragraph:
 * Throughout the process of updating its financial results per the SEC's direction, the company maintained that it stood by its accounting practices.

Services

 * Break into two subsections, for LegalShield and IDShield. Consider renaming section to "Products".
 * Add to LegalShield subsection:
 * LegalShield's family plans typically cover unlimited phone consultations with its network of independent provider firms, some calls or letters, review of personal legal documents, and creation or updates to wills. LegalShield also provides some representation during Internal Revenue Service audits and for civil cases, motor vehicle conflicts, and more. For services not covered by the plan, members receive a reduced rate at the provider firm.


 * Add to IDShield subsection:
 * The service connects customers with a licensed private investigator who interacts with creditors, financial institutions, and law enforcement on behalf of the customer. IDShield also offers a mobile app for communicating with the investigator and receiving status updates.


 * In December 2021, U.S. News & World Report gave IDShield a rating of four out of five stars. The publication praised the service’s private investigator offering and family plans but noted that IDShield does not provide credit simulation to play out the impacts of different financial scenarios.


 * Add a new subsection, "LegalShield card" (using "Martin" ref name already in use in article):
 * In late 1999 the company rolled out a new product, a "Legal Shield" card that offered 24-hour access to legal representation at an additional cost of $1 per month to members of Pre-Paid’s family plan. The company developed the product in response to growing reports of police profiling during the summer of 1999.  By September 2000, more than 100,000 customers had purchased the card. The card was meant to reduce harassment against "minorities and other motorists" during traffic stops and other interactions with police. It sold particularly well among people of color. By 2014, the card was included in all LegalShield policies.
 * N.B. This has been mentioned in previous edit requests; we're resurfacing here because we've found additional sources and detail.