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• AOR's Critique of USCCA Law!

AOR’s Critique of USCCA Law!

October 19, 2026

USCCA has announced USCCA Law, described on its website as a national law firm dedicated exclusively to self-defense cases for USCCA members. Attorneys Andrew Marcantel and Marc J. Victor of The Attorneys For Freedom Law Firm read the announcement, the membership agreement, and the underlying insurance policy. In their opinion, the structure behind the program has not meaningfully changed. An insurance company still decides whether a case is covered, and accepting a plea deal can still end that coverage.

Disclaimer: Everything below is opinion, formed by reading USCCA’s own publicly available contracts and marketing materials. We put those documents on screen in the video so you can read them yourself and reach your own conclusions. If you believe anything stated is incorrect or have concerns about the analysis, please email Review@attorneysforfreedom.com.

What is USCCA Law?

USCCA announced that it has formed a law firm called USCCA Law to serve its members exclusively. USCCA claims that this is actually a law firm with eight attorneys, but Marc and Andy pointed out that they have been unable to find any information about an actual law firm called USCCA Law. Instead, they said they found that all eight of the attorneys still work for their own law firms and are still taking new cases at their own firms.

Marc and Andy questioned how this really works. They pointed out, for instance, that USCCA Law’s supposed address is the same as Delta Defense, the insurance broker. They asked if this is really an actual, operating law firm at that address. Clients of The Attorneys For Freedom Law Firm are welcome to visit our offices and see the real attorneys, paralegals, and staff working hard in our actual office every day. Can clients of USCCA Law visit an actual law firm office and see the same thing?

Do USCCA Law Attorneys Handle Only Self-Defense Cases?

USCCA seems to be claiming that there is something exclusive about these eight attorneys, but Marc and Andy explained that if there is an actual law firm called USCCA Law, these eight lawyers do not work there exclusively. After calls were made to the publicly listed phone numbers for each of them, their own offices confirmed that all eight of them still work for their own law firms, and all eight of them are still taking new cases that are not USCCA cases.

Their practice areas were not limited to self-defense, or even to criminal defense. Andy lists divorce, tax, personal injury, and intellectual property among what the team found.

“To form up a law firm that says all we do is self-defense and then staff it with lawyers who have their own practices, their own gigs, that’s their main thing where they’re doing all manner of other cases, and then say you have a self-defense law firm, in my opinion, is just a flat fraud.”

— President and Managing Partner Marc J. Victor

Both attorneys are emphatic on one point. Nothing here is a criticism of the individual attorneys listed. From what they can tell, these are experienced, competent lawyers who represent clients well. The objection is to how this whole thing was presented to the market.

Does Attorney-Client Privilege Really Begin on the First Phone Call?

Andy and Marc are skeptical, and they note the claim contains a significant admission about everything that came before it.

“For all of our USCCA members up until this point, all of those calls you’ve had, those emergency calls where you’re calling after the self-defense incident…all of those have been completely discoverable.”

— Partner and Managing Criminal Defense Attorney Andrew Marcantel

For privilege to attach, the person answering generally has to be an employee or agent of the law firm. When the team called the number listed for USCCA Law to ask more about USCCA Law, the person who answered said he was an employee of Delta Defense, the insurance broker. Marc and Andy were skeptical that privilege extends to calls with the insurance broker.

What Are Some Things To Consider About USCCA's Program?

Andy and Marc flag these provisions:

• All coverage is subject to the terms, conditions, and exclusions of the actual policy, and USCCA does not guarantee the accuracy of statements on its own website.
• The USCCA policy contains a criminal acts exclusion.
• The member must authorize the insurance company to obtain all legal papers and cooperate with its investigation.
• The insurance company assigns the network attorney, who must agree to reporting and billing guidelines that are not published. A member who uses an attorney outside those guidelines is capped at $100,000, covering fees and expenses combined.
• You can’t join USCCA if you live in New Jersey, New York, or Washington state. That is a rule about where you live, not a rule about where an incident happens.

“$100,000 is not going to get you very far in a serious case. Say you’re charged with a serious, aggravated assault case that goes to trial. That’s not even going to cover that.”

— President and Managing Partner Marc J. Victor

How Does Attorneys On Retainer Compare?

Two of the main differences are the attorney-client relationship and who makes the coverage decision. Attorneys On Retainer is 100% run by a law firm, The Attorneys For Freedom Law Firm. Joining AOR includes becoming a client of AFF, and attorney-client privilege starts at signup. Clients of AOR have exclusive benefits without the exclusions and restrictions of a typical self-defense insurance program.

• You become a client at signup. Privilege attaches at enrollment, not at the moment of an emergency, which means the emergency contact form covering community ties, work history, and prior criminal history is protected before anything happens.

• Every attorney at the firm handles self-defense cases only. No side practices. Marc J. Victor, Elizabeth Mullins, Joey Hamby, and Howard Snader are Certified Criminal Law Specialists, making The Attorneys For Freedom Law Firm the only firm in Arizona with four.

• Coverage decisions are made in-house by Attorneys For Freedom attorneys. No privileged information is shared with anyone outside the attorney-client privileged relationship.

• A civil defense attorney is involved from the first call, because the civil suit is a separate fight from the criminal case.

• The Attorneys For Freedom Legal Services Agreement is signed when you join AOR, making you a client of AFF. AFF commits up to four attorneys in the courtroom for every criminal self-defense felony trial. That level of legal representation is typically only affordable by the very wealthy. All of this is included for clients of AOR.

• Emergency calls are covered 24/7 by the full strike force team. We have never missed a call. Our law firm has been in business since 1997 and brings decades of experience to these crucial first minutes after an incident happens.

What Should You Ask Before Choosing a Self-Defense Program?

Ask these of us and ask them of everyone else you are considering:

1. Who decides whether my case is covered, and who is accountable if that decision is wrong?
2. When does attorney-client privilege attach?
3. What happens to my coverage if my attorney recommends a plea?
4. Can I read the full contract before I join?

Compare the Two For Yourself

Read USCCA’s membership agreement and insurance policy. Then read ours. We send the full contract to every member, and we are happy to have it compared to anything else on the market.

Key Takeaways

1. Andy and Marc question if USCCA Law is even a law firm at all, and if it is, these attorneys are not exclusively working for it, and they do not exclusively work on self-defense cases.
2. On the attorneys’ reading of the policy, coverage decisions still rest with Universal Fire and Casualty Insurance Company, which retains a criminal acts exclusion.
3. The revised plea deal coverage carries a crime of violence exception that, in the attorneys’ opinion, covers essentially every charge a self-defense client could plead to.
4. Attorneys On Retainer is a self-defense program backed by a law firm. Clients contract directly with The Attorneys For Freedom Law Firm, and coverage decisions are made in-house by the attorneys who defend the case.

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