Real Estate Repeats as the Top PPD Legal Services Request for 2010

ADA, Okla., Feb. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- For the second year, Real Estate Issues is the leading Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. (NYSE: PPD) legal service request from among an estimated 2.1 million requests from PPD's members (customers) during 2010.

The 342,000 requests for the real estate-related legal service inquires, represents approximately 16.2 percent of the total estimated 2.1 million legal service requests for 2010.

Real Estate, Landlord/Tenant Issues and Foreclosure – The approximate 358,000 requests for legal services include residential and commercial real estate transactions, landlord and tenant issues and legal counsel related to foreclosure and short sales.

By category, the other top five legal service requests include:

Consumer Finance – Approximately 198,000 or 9.4 percent of total requests for legal services related to retail transactions for warranties, guarantees and other contracts;

Family Law – Approximately 188,000 or 8.9 percent of total requests for legal services related to divorce, child support, child custody and child visitation;

Traffic Issues – Approximately 187,000 or 8.9 percent of total requests for legal assistance related to moving violations, traffic tickets and auto accidents; and

Collections – Approximately 153,000 or 7.2 percent of total requests for legal services to support members against other parties and to defend members from third-party debt collectors.

Along with Real Estate Issues, Consumer Finance and Family Law held the same respective positions in the 2009 legal service ranking, while Traffic Issues rose to the fourth position in the 2010 ranking. Collections fell to the fifth position in the 2010 ranking compared its fourth position in the 2009 ranking.

The top five legal service requests, totaling an estimated 1,068,000 requests, account for approximately 50 percent of the total legal services requests for the year. In addition to the top five legal service requests for 2010, Pre-Paid Legal Services provider law firms provided legal counsel on other major legal service requests including: 6) Estate Planning (approximately 150,000 requests), 7) Employment (approximately 118,000 requests), 8) Criminal violations (approximately 100,000 requests), 9) Civil Litigation (approximately 92,000 requests) and Bankruptcy (approximately 72,000 requests). The remaining 2010 legal service requests, an estimated 500,000 requests, were for a variety of legal issues and legal consultation requests.

Charles Willinger, Jr., a founding member of Willinger, Willinger & Bucci, P.C. (http://www.wwblaw.com), the PPD provider law firm for Connecticut, says there is clear pattern within the ranking of top legal service requests for 2010.

"People lose a job, then they lose their house and then, sometimes, even their family," Willinger said. "It's like the proverbial house of cards. One problem leads to another and they all begin with the pocketbook," he said.

Willinger, Willinger & Bucci, P.C., based in Bridgeport, Connecticut, has been the PPD provider law firm for Connecticut since 1999.

Davis Miles, PLLC (http://www.davismiles.com) Partner and Co-Founder Charles E. Davis says PPD's national ranking of top legal service requests is consistent with the annual ranking of legal service requests at Davis Miles.

"This list reflects the legal service needs of average Americans, and while there may be some variation in the ranking from month to month or year to year, the legal issues remain consistent," Davis said. "The real difference, as I see it, is that the Pre-Paid Legal Service member has a means and an opportunity to deal with these issues before they become insurmountable problems."

Davis Miles, PLLC, based in Tempe, Arizona, has been the PPD provider law firm for Arizona since 2004 and the provider law firm for New Mexico since 2008.

Richard A. Campbell, a partner with Deming, Parker, Hoffman, Campbell & Daly, LLC (http://www.deminglaw.com), says it is no surprise that Consumer Finance, including issues related to warranties, guarantees and contracts, is among the top legal services requests for 2010.

"During the past year, we've seen more incidents where companies are denying claims to customers for questionable reasons," Campbell said. "This is particularly true with respect to insurance claims, and given the state of the economy, it's no surprise," he said.

Deming, Parker, Hoffman, Campbell & Daly, LLC, based in Atlanta, Georgia, has been PPD provider law firm for Georgia since 1990.

About PPD

We believe our products are one of a kind, life events legal service plans. Our plans provide for legal service benefits provided through a network of independent law firms across the U.S. and Canada, and include unlimited attorney consultation, will preparation, traffic violation defense, automobile-related criminal charges defense, letter writing, document preparation and review and a general trial defense benefit. We have an identity theft restoration product we think is also one of a kind due to the combination of our identity theft restoration partner and our provider law firms. More information about us and our products can be found at our homepage at http://www.prepaidlegal.com.

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SOURCE Pre-Paid Legal Services