Rob:  Well sometimes the greatest entrepreneurial ideas are spawned by adversity; and it’s that very concept that drove Ada resident, Harland Stonecipher, to start a company that provides everyday people with affordable access to quality legal services.
Rob:  Now approaching its fortieth anniversary, Pre-Paid Legal Services has become one of the top legal firms in the nation, boasting nearly 700 employees, annual revenues well over 300 million, and even a spot on the New York Stock Exchange.  Our Russ Jowell takes us inside this one-of-a-kind company.
Russ:  Just like many small towns in our state, kids walk to school, there’s football games on Friday, and skyscrapers line the cityscape.  That’s right, a skyscraper in Ada, one that houses a company that’s making as big an impact in business as its home is making on the Ada skyline.  It’s Pre-Paid Legal Services, and it’s one of the best examples of an entrepreneurial success story you’re likely to find in Oklahoma.
Harland Stonecipher:  Well it came about through a personal experience.  You know, I’ve always said that out of every adversity, there’s an opportunity.
Russ:  Harland Stonecipher is the company’s founder and CEO, and says he founded Pre-Paid Legal Services after a series of very unfortunate events.
Harland:  I was involved in an automobile accident back in 1969, right out west of Ada, right out west of where our home offices are; and the accident wasn’t my fault.  The lady made a right turn in front of me and hit me head on.  But, a few days later, a few weeks later, she sued me.  At that point in my life, I didn’t know a lawyer, I just was not financially prepared, I wasn’t emotionally prepared for the problems of a lawsuit.
Russ:  A dilemma that Stonecipher wanted no one else to experience.
Harland:  We’re the same thing to attorney’s fees that medical insurance would be to doctor bills.  It simply gives people a way to have access to a lawyer at a cost that they can afford.  I think as we all know today that lawyers are expensive and really, the only people that can actually afford the services of lawyers is the very wealthy.  What we have done is, we have developed a program through which they can pre-pay their legal needs, just like you would through medical insurance, but at a much less expensive, much less cost than medical insurance is today.
Russ:  And in return, clients get open access to a nationwide network of top-rated attorneys; something the firm takes very seriously.
Harland:  If someone called in California at this minute wanting to talk to a lawyer, that call actually will come through here, and we will know how many times that phone rings before they pick it up.  And if it rings more than three times, that’s too many.  Because, and most times when you call a conventional law firm, what’s going to happen to you, it may ring several times, you may wonder if there’s anyone there, and then at the same time, they may say, “Law firm, please hold.”  Well, that’s not going to happen to you when you call a Pre-Paid provider lawyer, they’re going to have an adequate number of people there to take care of you, to take your call and to make sure that you get the adequate service that you deserve and that you need.
Female Voice:  Now I have control.  I have money.  I have time, which I didn’t have before, so I have the whole package.
Russ:  The company attributes part of its success to the fact that its service is actually sold by the very people who use it, creating a unique business opportunity for those willing to take the chance.  One of those people was Mark Brown, who is now the company’s chief marketing officer.
Mark Brown:  That’s my passion, is getting the word out to a lot of people that, you know if you, number one our product is extremely reasonable in price.  You know, really, just a few cents a day covers the entire family.  And if I, you know, if they will make a call, it will change their life, emotionally and financially.  To me when you can kind of marry something that really does well in the marketplace with a passion, and also, you know, it’s been my living now for almost 15 years.
Harland:  It is a excellent opportunity, and we have a lot of people that are doing well out there, all across North America.
Russ:  Creating a big business opportunity for small town Oklahoma.