LegalShield Review 2025
- Wide range of legal services
- Affordable and flexible pricing for SMBs
- Access to a professional network of lawyers
- No free trial
- No money-back guarantee
Overview
LegalShield is a subscription-based service that offers affordable legal services to small businesses. It works with dedicated independent law firms and has more than 900 lawyers in its network across the United States and Canada.
Their lawyers help businesses with a wide range of legal matters such as debt collection, document review, legal consultation, etc. They’re also accessible 24/7, 365. This review is focused on LegalShield’s legal services product and not on their LLC and incorporation service (which to the best of our knowledge is not part of their product offering anymore).
LegalShield review: Ease of use
LegalShield has a user-friendly site. However, the interface is not a major concern as businesses don’t need to access it when using their services. Businesses will only interact with the site when they’re subscribing to the service. They can then get directly in touch with their lawyers.
The subscription process is also straightforward. You start by looking over their plans and selecting one that fits your needs best. Then, you’re asked to submit your application and make the payment. Once your form is submitted, it takes LegalShield between 12 to 24 business hours to review it. You can start working with your lawyers once the review of your application is complete.
The customer support team connects you with an independent lawyer who specializes in your specific legal issue. There’s also the option to check their law firm directory so you can find local lawyers that cater to your needs.
LegalShield review: Pricing
LegalShield offers three levels of legal protection that fit the needs of different-sized small businesses.
Essentials plan
The Essentials Plan is LegalShield’s most affordable plan at $49 per month. It includes:
- Advice, consultation, and research
Designated consultations
A 25% member discount
Member perks
2 designated users
10 letters or phone calls per year (maximum 3 per month)
10 document reviews per year (up to 15 pages, maximum 3 per month)
5 debt collection letters per month
Plus plan
The Plus Plan costs $99 per month and includes all the features of the Essentials Plan plus added perks like additional coverage for select offerings. You get:
- 20 letters or phone calls per year (maximum 5 per month)
20 document reviews per year (up to 20 pages, maximum 5 per month)
10 debt collection letters per month
IRS audit legal services
The IRS audit service of the Plus plan includes 25 hours of assistance wherein 2.5 hours are for representation or negotiation and 21.5 hours are dedicated to trial time.
This plan also comes with added interstate legal services which include half of all legal advice and consultations, letters and phone calls, document reviews, designated consultations, and collection letters.
You also have the option to add the Trial Defense for Business Supplement for an added fee of $14.95 per month.
Pro plan
Priced at $169 per month, the Pro Plan is a premium offering from LegalShield that includes features from the Plus plan along with:
- 40 letters or phone calls per year (maximum 10 per month)
40 document reviews per year (up to 25 pages, maximum 10 per month)
15 debt collection letters per month
IRS audit legal services
The IRS audit legal services of this plan include 50 hours of total help time where 5 hours are for representation or negotiation and 44 hours are for trial time.
This plan covers interstate services too. You get the same number of document reviews, letters and phone calls, advice and consultations, designated consultations, and collection letters as the Pro plan for both states.
If you decide to get the Trial Defense for Business Supplement with this plan, your total plan will go up to $183.95 per month.
Document review pricing
Whether you need to draft, sign, or enforce contracts for your business, LegalShield’s affiliated law firms will review them for you.
You can also get your lawyer to draft a contract from scratch. Your pre- and post-draft consultations are covered by your plan benefits, but you need to pay their hourly drafting fees. However, being a member will get you a 25% discount.
As a Legal Shield Plus or Pro member, having a contract drafted costs $250 which is good for up to 250 pages. But how does this compare to other online services? It’s difficult to come up with a direct comparison for Legal Shield’s top competitors, Legal Zoom and Rocket Lawyer, because they package their services differently.
Instead of relying completely on lawyers to draft contracts, Legal Zoom and Rocket Lawyer encourage their users to utilize contract templates. Users can customize the documents with the help of detailed guidelines from both platforms. Based on this business model, business managers can draft countless contracts on their own without needing a lawyer. All they need to do is pay for the template or the monthly subscription fee.
LegalShield Vs RocketLawyer
But let’s say you want a legal read for peace of mind. With Rocket Lawyer, you can ask their lawyers questions for $39.99 or for free if you subscribe to their monthly plans. Under Legal Zoom, document reviews are part of their $39 to $43 monthly subscriptions, however, it’s only good for up to 10 pages. If you’re a subscriber with an extra lengthy document, you’ll have to pay your lawyer’s hourly rate minus a 25% discount courtesy of Legal Zoom.
LegalShield Vs LegalZoom
If you’re comfortable drafting your own contracts, Legal Zoom and Rocket Lawyer may offer better value. However, if you’d rather outsource the entire operation to a legal professional, Legal Shield’s $250 fee is well worth the fee, especially if it’s a long and complex contract.
LegalShield review: Features
LegalShield’s list of legal products is limited but the legal matters covered under them are plenty. Here are the main offerings of its Small Business Legal Plans and what they cover.
Consultation and research
LegalShield’s membership gives businesses access to professional legal consultation on an unlimited number of issues, even pre-existing legal matters. You can get in touch with a lawyer for advice on intellectual property protection, tax issues, business licenses and permits, securities, immigration, etc. Their network of lawyers will also help with additional legal research that your business may need and assist in submitting permit applications.
If your situation isn’t covered under your plan benefits, you can still get legal help. And although you’ll be charged your lawyers’ regular hourly rate, you can get a 25% discount as a LegalShield member.
Debt collection assistance and letters
Debt collection is not a common product you’ll see among LegalShield’s competitors. It helps you get the services of a legal expert regarding debt collection matters. You also have the option to hire a lawyer to handle debt collection letters and calls for you, or work on them yourself with their assistance.
Letters or phone calls
Every plan includes a set of letters and phone calls. This allows businesses to get LegalShield’s lawyers to make legal-related phone calls or letters on their behalf.
Trial defense for business supplement
The Trial Defense for Business Supplement is an optional add-on feature that can be added to Plus and Pro plans for an added fee. It’s a unique service that isn’t offered by competitors and allows you to seek professional help if your business is taken to court.
You get 100 hours of trial defense services where 25 hours are dedicated to pretrial prep and 75 hours are dedicated to trial. If you want to settle the case out of court, your lawyer can help you with that too.
If your trial defense time goes beyond the 100-hour limit, you can continue to seek legal support. You’ll have to pay the lawyer’s hourly fee but you get a 25% discount.
LegalShield review: Customer support
With LegalShield, you can get responsive customer support through chat, email, and phone. Their chat service is accessible anytime and their email support typically responds within 24 hours. The phone service is available from Monday to Friday between 7 am and 7 pm CT.
There’s also a helpful FAQ page on LegalShield’s website with more information on its pricing, plans, and features.
Is LegalShield legit?
Founded in 1972, LegalShield is based in Oklahoma, United States. Its investors include Further Global Capital Management and Saratoga Partners.
LegalShield is a BBB-accredited business with an A+ rating and 172 reviews. It has an average rating of 4.6 stars on Trustpilot with 4,643 reviews. The reviews for LegalShield include equal amounts of positive and negative comments.
To date, LegalShield has worked with over 140,000 businesses. All of its lawyers come with at least 22 years of work experience.
LegalShield review: Verdict
We find LegalShield to be a reasonably-priced product for businesses that don’t have complex legal requirements. However, its services and the issues it covers are more general and do not apply to complex legal issues related to employees, import/export, etc.
In most cases, consultation, letter, phone call, and document review services are essentially all that small businesses need for running their day-to-day operations.
Of course, their main services are debt collection, trial defense, and basic business transactions.
While most are included in its plans, trial defense comes at an added cost and can only be accessed by Plus and Pro subscribers.
Overall, LegalShield is a good deal for small businesses with simple structures and no complex legal needs.
