Benefits Proudly Offered to Empathia Employees

Members Can Feel Prepared and Confident

 with the Legal Plan

Product Administered By: Legal Access Plans

Legal Access Plans works with Empathia counselors and team members to provide our members with excellent service and assitance with legal help. 

How Does it Work?

If and when a legal issue arises for a Legal Plan Member, Legal Access Plans takes immediate action to match the right attorney for the member's specific legal matter. Legal Access Plans has implemented a process and the technology to greatly reduce the high costs and lost time when a legal matter arises. Legal matters can be stressful and Legal Access Plans is there to help every step of the way. Watch the video below to find out more about the Legal Plan with Legal Access.

• Initial 30-minute consultations by phone or in person with Plan Attorney.
• Simple Will or Living Will prepared for eligible family members, one per plan year.
• Document Review for many types of legal documents, up to 6 pages in length.
• Dispute Resolution to attempt to resolve simple legal disputes, such as a simple contractor dispute.
• Guaranteed Reduced Rates – Plan Members receive a 25% discount on Plan Attorney’s hourly rates when legal representation is needed.

• Employer Related Matters: We do not offer hourly rate discounts if the member is wanting to take action against their employer. Ex. Wrongful termination, discrimination, contract negotiation
• Government Entities
• Taking Action Against Empathia
• International Matters: Such as wanting to buy a French Chateau is an example of an excluded benefit.

• Appellate Court Proceedings

• Class Action Lawsuits

• Interventions

• Malpractice Proceedings

• Actions in which punitive damages are being sought

• Derivative actions and amicus curiae filings

• The preparation and filing of individual, partnership or estate tax returns, appellate or administrative proceedings related to tax returns, litigation before the U.S. Tax Court, U.S. Court of Claims or any other federal, state or other courts with respect to tax matters. 

• Legal services that are fully paid for or provided at no cost by any governmental agency, organization or insurance company. 

• Matters that the attorney deems frivolous, spurious, harassing, or unethical or otherwise prohibited by the Model Rules of Professional Conduct of the state in which the attorney is licensed. 

• Costs associated with covered legal services, including but not limited to, all fines, court costs, penalties, sanctions, expert witness fees, bonds, bail bonds, attorney fees awarded as part of a judgment, exhibits, deposition costs, filing fees, transcripts, postage, telephone, photocopying, recording fees, messengers, judgments, jury fees, court reporter fees, investigative costs, mediator or arbitrator fees, and all other incidental and out-of-pocket legal and litigation costs. 

• Any services on behalf of a Covered Family Member against the interests of the Member. 

• Any dispute or proceeding against the following persons or entities, their officers, directors, employees, or agents: any person or entity involved in the sale, marketing, administration or other processes related to the Policy; Legal Plan Administrator or its subsidiaries; Claims Administrator or its subsidiaries; Policyholder; Member’s employer; Virginia Surety Company, Inc. and it’s parents, subsidiaries or any affiliated or successor company, plan underwriter or reinsurer; Plan Sponsor; or any Participating and/or Non-Participating Attorney, if the dispute or proceeding pertains to services provided under the Policy. 

• Matters relating to: securities, trademark or patent matters; business or commercial interests, including, but not limited to, professional, partnership and/or corporate matters; matters arising out of a Member/Covered Family Member’s role as an officer or director of an organization;

• Matters involving the law or laws of jurisdictions other than the United States and its territories, except as specifically described under Covered Services;

• Any matters involving a government (domestic or foreign) entity or agency except as specifically described under Covered Services;

• Farm Related Issues

• Matters involving commercial or rental property transactions, including the purchase, sale or lease of investment or income-producing property. A multi-family residence, whether or not used by the Member/Covered Family Member as his or her primary residence, is deemed an investment or income producing property.

• Any Employment-Related Matter. This includes, but is not limited to, any dispute involving the Member’s employer or its affiliates, their officers or directors, the Member’s employee benefit plans, credit unions, programs or arrangements sponsored by an employer, or cases involving workers’ compensation, unemployment compensation, sex harassment, and age discrimination.

• Pre-Existing Matters. Except for consultation, the Policy will not provide benefits in connection with pre-existing matters, which includes any matter where the Member/Covered Family Member is on notice as to a pending legal dispute or has previously contacted an attorney.

MEMBER JOURNEY

• INTAKE
  • The intake is the first step in our processes, and to an Empathia counselor this is the “warm transfer” to an LAP member specialist.
  • Once you connect the member to the LAP specialist and release the call, the LAP specialist will chat with the member and seek to understand what type of legal assistance the member is looking for. Our member specialist team is specifically trained to actively listen to the root of the case to best understand the type of legal matter we will be pursuing. We will also inquire about preferences that the member may not have considered previously, such as attorney demeanor / approach, gender, language speakers, and more.
  • When I started with LegalEASE I was very impressed by the separation of attorney demeanors in our matching systems, because it truly reflects the deep understanding and knowledge of our attorney network, outside of just a list of names within a geographic range.
  • The member specialist will use LAP’s proprietary Case Management System, which as they get information from the member regarding the specifics of their case, becomes more legal-matter specific throughout the call. For example, we do not ask the same questions of members wanting to put together a Will as we ask of members pursuing child custody: the same information is simply not relevant to those two matters.
  • The member services team is very service driven and will strive to connect with and build trust and rapport with the member from the very start. This is essential to building the trust and confidence in the attorney referral that we will be providing down the road and opens the door up so that the member feels free to keep us in the loop throughout their legal journey so that we can step in and assist as needed.
  • We set member expectations during this intake call as well, letting them know that the attorney matching process typically takes between 1-2 business days.
• STATUS UPDATE
  • As we set the expectation that the average matching turnaround time is 1-2 business days, of course there are cases where location, specific requests or other factors may cause a slight delay in providing the attorney referral to our members within this quoted time frame. This is where our status update calls come in. In the circumstances where the member referral is not ready within the quoted time frame, our member specialist team will proactively reach out to the member to let them know that we are still diligently working on matching their case, and when possible, will discuss the roadblocks causing the time delay to see if we are able to expand our search. For example, a member may originally state that they prefer a male attorney, however if in their area we have more female attorneys available, the member may open up the option to be matched with a female attorney at this time. We will touch base with the members daily until their attorney referral is ready.
  • The matching process typically take between 1-2 business days
  • A status update call will be made when our member specialist team expects delays in the matching process

MATCHING AND GIVING THE REFERRAL

• OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH ATTORNEYS
  • Our relationship with attorneys dictates the success in matching member’s to our in network provider’s. The LAP associates who are responsible for connecting with attorney’s and matching the members requests and preferences to in-network providers are internally referred to as Provider Specialists.
  • Attorneys expect a flow of referrals from our Provider specialists who work to maintain relationships with them. We focus in on our attorney relationships by maintaining a team of Provider Specialists who have specific geographic areas of ownership to maintain close ties to specific attorney offices. We work to build strong relationships based on trust and a mutual goal of servicing the members.
• Our relationship with attorneys dictates the success in matching member’s to our in network provider’s.
• The LAP associates who are responsible for connecting with attorney’s and matching to in-network providers are referred to as Provider Specialists.
• Attorneys expect a flow of referrals from our Provider specialists who work to maintain relationships with them.
• We focus in on our attorney relationships by maintaining a team of Provider Specialists who have specific geographic areas.
• We work to build strong relationships based on trust and a mutual goal of servicing the members.

CONSULTATION

• One of the most utilized benefits that LAP offers to employees is the FREE 30 minute consultation. This is the first step that the member will take after receiving the attorney referral. Whenever possible, LAP will offer to warm transfer the member directly into the attorney offices to provide an introduction and warm handoff. This is when the member will schedule the consultation appointment to meet directly with their attorney. During this meeting between the referred attorney and the member, the attorney will collect more detailed information on the legal matter to determine if they are equipped to assist the member.  On the other hand, the member will get a feel for how the attorney operates and determine if they would like to move forward and retain the attorney services. It is very common that with more basic legal matters (where the member may just have a question, etc) the attorney is often able to directly assist the member during the consultation appointment.
• This is the first step that the member will take after receiving the attorney referral.
• Whenever possible, LAP will offer to warm transfer the member directly into the attorney offices.
• This is when the member will schedule the consultation appointment to meet directly with their attorney.
• During this meeting the attorney will collect more detailed information on the legal matter to determine if they are equipped to assist the member. 
• The member will get a feel for how the attorney operates and determine if they would like to move forward and retain the attorney services.

FOLLOW UP

• Now that we have discussed the intake process, status updates and referral process, we will review what is typically the final step in the LAP / member journey: our follow ups.
• Once we have connected the member with their plan attorney, we contact the member throughout the life of the legal matter, until we have confirmation that the case is closed. We schedule our follow ups based on the needs of the member, ensuring that we are communicating with them at important milestones in their case (court dates, appointments with attorneys, deadlines, etc). These discussions are typically very conversational as our member services team gets a read on the members overall satisfaction as the case proceeds. We typically review if the attorney has been professional, responsive, and ensure that the member knows that we are here to help if there is any assistance that may be needed. Depending on the type of legal matter, follow ups may be conducted for a month, or up to multiple years for more complex legal cases.
• Once we have connected the member with their plan attorney, we contact the member throughout the life of the legal matter.
• We schedule our follow ups based on the needs of the member, ensuring that we are communicating with them at important milestones in their case.
• These discussions are typically conversational as our member services team gets a read on the members overall satisfaction as the case.

ESCALATIONS

• You may have noticed I mentioned that the follow ups are typically the final step in the LAP / member journey. However, in the instances where our follow up systems uncover an issue, or if a member reports dissatisfaction at any time during the legalEASE experience, we have a dedicated Quality Assurance team to deep dive into these higher-touch matters.
• In addition to stepping in when issues are reported, the Quality Assurance team also becomes involved with highly sensitive cases, such as child endangerment, assault matters, and otherwise unique cases that may require more time and attention directed to the member in a 1 to 1, slower paced conversation.
• If a member reports dissatisfaction at any time during their experience, we have a dedicated Quality Assurance team to deep dive into these higher-touch matters.
• The Quality Assurance team also becomes involved with highly sensitive cases, that may require more time and attention directed to the member.

COMMON ESCALATIONS

• Common reasons that a case may become escalated include attorney responsiveness, member benefit awareness, or that after consultation an attorney determining that with the further details gathered that they are unable to move forward with assisting the member.
• Common reasons that a case may become escalated include attorney responsiveness and member benefit awareness.

HOW ARE THEY HANDLED

• The escalations team tracks and deep dives into each individual escalated matter to ensure that the appropriate steps are taken to best service the member and attorney. If we receive an escalation directly from the members, we reach out and inform the Empathia leadership team so that we are all aware of the situation.
• These investigations often include conversations with the referred attorney, the member, and the evaluation of internal processes and procedures when necessary.
• Our team tracks each individual escalated matter to ensure that the appropriate steps are taken to best service the member and attorney. 

• Experience in the Legal Matter Needed
• Quality Time Spent in Consultations
• Years of Legal Training and Experience
• Up-to-date Legal Training Each Year
• Lawyers Who are Service-Oriented
• Lawyers Who Have a Solid Local Reputation in their Communities
• Exceptional Backgrounds
• Years of Courtroom and Trial Experience

• To comply at all times with the Rules of Civil Procedure and Criminal Procedure and the Rules of Professional Conduct applicable to the jurisdiction.
• To return member's calls promptly, within one business day, and communicate with members such that a member and the member's family do not voice substantiated concerns over promptness or frequency of your or your firm's communication.
• To not enter continuances, adjournments, or the like without the member's comfort and consent.
• To not arrange for substitutions or stand-ins unless the member has been previously advised and that the member understands that you remain responsible for the case and to contact you if there is any concern or if proceedings do not go as planned.
• To always respect a member, their needs and family.
• To maintain a professional office, in staffing and appearance.
• To fully explain yourself such that a member has an understanding for the reasons behind your recommendations and suggestions, even if a member may not hire your firm.
• To not complete any additional work that will result in a fee to the member, where not covered by the member's plan, until a fee arrangement is fully understood by the member and there is a written agreement.
• To help each member individually and ensure that everything you do is in the interest of the member.
• To notify Legal Access Plans if there is or may be the possibility of a conflict of interest or violation of ethical codes.
• To notify Legal Access Plans if there may be a misunderstanding or potential service issue where there may be a complaint without breaking any client confidences.
• To direct any grievances or concerns, such as process procedure or billing, to Legal Access and not a member.
• To not refer any member to another attorney without the knowledge and consent of Legal Access if you cannot assist.
• To take responsibility and uphold the highest standards of customer service delivered by any and all firm staff or employees that have interaction with members.
• To communicate and cooperate with Legal Access Plans on any concern, inquiry or issue and return any communication from Legal Access within one business day.