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PORAC Legal Defense Fund

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Legal Defense Fund

  • The PORAC Legal Defense Fund is the nation’s largest and most successful Legal Defense Fund; run by and for peace officers.
  • The Fund is a non-profit ERISA Trust that provides legal service benefits for public safety personnel.
  • The Fund has been in existence since 1974 and currenly has more than 117,000 law enforcement participants.
  • The LDF prides itself on a long history of providing unlimited access to attorneys, experts and investigators when reasonably needed, to protect its members. The LDF only engages highly experienced and well-qualified attorneys, with a history of representing peace officers.
  • Many plans will only cover one employee in a multi-employee incident. With the Legal Defense Fund, everybody gets representation.

The Legal Defense Fund offers three specific areas of coverage:

  • Administrative Discipline:
    Representation is administraitve disciplary actions (e.g. demotion, suspension, termination). The plan covers all aspecs of the administraive appeal process beginning at the onset of the investigation; however, for acts not within scope of employment, administrative coverage is provided only through the initial administrative hearing.
  • Criminal:
    Representation by an experienced criminal attorney from the first indication of potential criminal exposure (e.g. shooting, death in custody, use of force resulting in serious physical injury) arising from an act committed within the scope of employment. This benefit is available regardless of which agency performs the criminal investigation; (e.g. Federal, State or Local). Represenation begins at the onset of investigation and continues through trial.
  • Civil:
    Representation by an experienced civil attorney when a peace officer is sued for an act within the scope of employment, but the employing agency refuses to defend the officer. When the officer’s employing agency defends, but fails to fully indemnify that officer, the Plan will provide an experienced attorney to monitor the case. The civil case monitor will ensure the officer receives adequate representation by the employer, ensures the representation remains free from any conflicts of interest, and is available to answer any questions the participants may have about the case or address any concerns the participant may develop regarding the representation by the employer.

The Legal Defense Fund also offers the following Customary and Usual Services:

  • Investigators
  • Expert Witnesses
  • Polygraph examiners
  • Court Reports
  • Conflict Coverage (separate counsel when needed)

COST:

PLAN I: Begins at $17 per member, per month. (Subject to adjustment base upon usage.)
Coverage Includes:

  • Administrative Discipline
  • Criminal
  • Civil

PLAN II: $4.50 per member, per month. Coverage is only for acts or omissions within the scope of employment.
Coverage Includes:

  • Criminal
  • Civil

PLAN III: Begins at $9 per member, per month. (subject to increase/decrase based upon usage). Coverage is only for acts or omissions within the scope of employment.
Coverage Includes:

  • The discharge of a weapon is involved; or
  • Serious injury or death ocurs; or
  • The Participant has been given formal written notice of proposed administrative discipline in the form of a suspension of more than forty hours.

NO CAP ON BENEFITS
The PORAC Legal Defense Fund prides itself on a long history of providing unlimited access to attorneys, experts, and investigators when reasonably needed to protects its memberss.

EXPANSIVE LIST OF EXPERIENCED PANEL ATTORNEYS
The PORAC Legal Defense Fund only engages highly experienced and well-qualified attorneys, with a history of representing peace officers.

NON-PROFIT
Unlike an insurance company, PORAC Legal Defense Fnd does oth ave any underlying “profit motiviation”, as it is a non-profit trust. The Fund exists and functions solely to provide legal represenation to officers in needed.

24-HOUR COVERAGE
The PORAC Legal Defense Fund has attorneys available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to handle emergency or critical incidents.

P.O. Box 693130
Stockton, CA 95269
Phone: 888-556-5631
Website: www. Poracldf.org
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