Good points srothstein. You are correct about the contract, but their advertising says,"...if you ever use your gun anywhere in the State of Texas, we will defend your freedom for no additional attorneys' fees." So, I would not sign that contract unless it was clarified.srothstein wrote:Obviously, IANAL and may be missing something in the contract, but it really doesn't look THAT bad to me. I am most troubled by the lack of a price specified in the contract, even by reference to an appendix or advertising price. The conflict of interest termination could be better explained (like how they decide which side of the conflict to terminate, or do they drop both sides), but by law they have to terminate if there is a conflict anyway, so I am surprised it is in there at all. I did take the crime clause to be referring to a crime other than the use of the firearm, such as a robbery or something. I was not even surprised by the fact that it covers the lawyer only, and not the expert witnesses or investigators.
If you want a bigger problem with the CHL contract, it clearly only covers your CONCEALED HANDGUN. If you are at home, or out hunting, and use a rifle or shotgun, it doesn't cover you at all. You might need both contracts they offer to get the proper coverage you think you have.
As a marketing tip, they might want to expand their coverage a little bit. It is currently restricted to only Texas CHL holders, and would not cover a person in Texas with an out of state CHL, say a tourist, a military person, or even a Texas resident who decided to get Utah's license instead. And I would also look at covering the investigator's time and some of the support stuff. It would require a raise in rates, but even double the fee, if that was added, would make me look more into it.
Since the terms of the contract are posted, I would strongly recommend anyone considering it to take the contract to their own lawyer and see what they have to say about it. Most of what we are objecting to might be straight contractual boilerplate in lawyer contracts. A good lawyer could tell you whether or not it is worth the money.
I attended a gun show here today in Ft. Worth. [Pre-paid legal service] had a booth, and one of the firm's 3 partner's (attorneys) was there. I had an extensive conversation with him, and found out that all the partners in the firm are CHLs. At least this makes me believe that they are very understanding of the Texas gun and associated laws. Their contract covers the "use" of a handgun in any way, both for criminal and civil trials. The CHL contract does not cover infractions of the law other than "use." I believe he also said, if the infraction does not involve "use" they would refer you to a lawyer in your area. Don't hold me to this, as my main objective at the show was guns, not lawyers. That said, I have read here, many times, CHLs wanting to know the name of a good local lawyer to call "in case." Personally, I have no one right now to call. He was emphatic that you should NEVER say anything to the police without a lawyer present! Well that goes without saying.
So I guess it boils down to a gamble if you want to take their service seriously and sign up, or look for reasons that it's a scam. If, in the event, you use your firearm you are going to need a lawyer. Just depends if you want to wait until then to find one. If this service is legit, and I certainly want to ask more questions, then I may sign up. Worst case is I'm out the price a of a few Starbucks every month. But, as you said, I would want to ensure that the service covered me in my home or car as well. I am in no way affiliated with this firm and IANAL. Just relating what I learned today at their booth.