Achilles Heel Tactical Teams Up With Attorneys On Retainer

Training for a defensive encounter usually focuses on what happens before and during the fight. You train to recognize problems, make good decisions, move, shoot, communicate, and provide medical care when necessary.

But surviving the encounter doesn’t necessarily mean the fight is over.

A defensive use of force can be over in seconds. The investigation, criminal proceedings, civil litigation, and financial consequences that follow can potentially continue for months or years.

That reality is behind a new collaboration between Achilles Heel Tactical (AHT) and Attorneys On Retainer (AOR), a self-defense legal program backed by Attorneys For Freedom Law Firm.

AHT has now teamed up with AOR to provide its community with access to the legal program while AOR clients will receive access to exclusive AHT training content and discounted in-person training opportunities.

For armed citizens who already invest significant time and money into preparing for the physical side of a defensive encounter, the collaboration raises an important question: how prepared are you for what happens afterward?

Attorneys On Retainer Isn’t Self-Defense Insurance

One of the biggest distinctions between AOR and many other programs marketed to armed citizens is its structure.

Attorneys On Retainer is not an insurance policy. The program is backed by Attorneys For Freedom, an Arizona law firm that focuses on self-defense cases and provides representation nationwide in conjunction with local counsel.

That means when an AOR member reports a defensive incident, they’re dealing with a law firm rather than filing a claim with an insurance company or third-party claims administrator.

It also establishes an attorney-client relationship from the beginning, with the associated confidentiality and privilege.

For someone who has just been involved in a defensive shooting or other use-of-force incident, that’s a meaningful distinction.

AOR Uses Three Primary Coverage Criteria

AOR has intentionally kept the basic criteria for receiving self-defense representation relatively straightforward.

Generally, three conditions must be met:

1. The member has been charged, or reasonably believes they may be charged, with a felony or misdemeanor.
2. The member can reasonably and in good faith assert that they acted in self-defense or defense of another person.
3. The underlying conduct occurred after the person became an AOR member.

The structure is intended to avoid many of the exclusions and circumstances that can complicate insurance-backed programs after an incident.

That becomes particularly important when a defensive encounter doesn’t fit neatly into the scenario people imagine when they think about self-defense.

Coverage Isn’t Limited to a Handgun

Defensive encounters don’t always involve a concealed handgun.

AOR’s program isn’t dependent upon the specific tool used during the incident. Coverage can extend to defensive incidents involving handguns, rifles, shotguns, knives, pepper spray, improvised weapons, or even empty-handed force, provided the underlying circumstances meet the program’s self-defense requirements.

There is also no requirement that the member first demonstrate that some lesser level of force was unavailable before defending themselves.

That matters because real defensive encounters rarely unfold according to a predetermined script.

What Happens After You Call?

AOR members receive an emergency hotline number intended to be called immediately following an incident.

According to AOR, members who identify the call as an emergency are typically connected with an attorney within seconds.

Behind that attorney is what the organization calls its “Strike Force,” which can begin coordinating the member’s legal response while the initial attorney provides guidance.

Members are also encouraged to complete an Emergency Information Form before an incident ever occurs.

The form gives the legal team information about the member’s background and circumstances that could become important if attorneys need to negotiate a release or begin building a defense immediately.

It’s essentially another form of preparation.

You don’t wait until an emergency to figure out where your tourniquet is. The same principle applies to information your attorney may need when you’re sitting in an interview room or jail cell.

Criminal and Civil Defense

When AOR coverage applies, the program provides for attorney fees, court costs, and necessary third-party expenses associated with both criminal and civil defense rather than providing a predetermined reimbursement amount.

The program also provides contributions toward expenses including bail, scene cleanup, firearm reimbursement, mental health services, and civil liability.

For felony criminal trials, AOR says members receive a four-attorney defense team.

Outside Arizona, that generally consists of local counsel licensed in the member’s state working alongside three Attorneys For Freedom attorneys. Arizona cases can be handled directly by four attorneys from the firm.

AOR also provides up to $15,000 toward qualifying Red Flag law defense, although those cases operate under separate criteria because a Red Flag proceeding isn’t itself a self-defense case.

Coverage is available across all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

What About Gun-Free Zones?

This is where the details of any legal protection program become particularly important.

Consider a person who lawfully acts in self-defense but was carrying a firearm somewhere state or local law prohibited possession.

Prosecutors might determine the use of force itself was justified while still pursuing a separate weapons charge.

AOR says its agreement specifically addresses that situation. If the weapons charge stems directly from the defensive incident, the program can still provide a defense for that charge even though “self-defense” isn’t technically a defense to the underlying possession violation.

It’s the kind of legal gray area worth understanding before deciding what protection you actually have.

Security Teams and Law Enforcement

Coverage can also extend to qualifying defensive incidents involving paid or unpaid security personnel and law enforcement.

That’s particularly relevant to volunteer church security teams and community organizations where armed members may be providing security without receiving compensation.

AHT has spent considerable time addressing the realities of team-based security and defensive training, making this one of the more natural areas of overlap between the two organizations.

The Plea Deal Question

Another issue that receives relatively little attention is what happens when a criminal case ends in a plea agreement.

Most criminal cases never reach a jury verdict. A plea agreement requires the defendant to admit guilt to an offense, which can create complications under programs containing exclusions based on criminal convictions or admissions of guilt.

AOR says accepting a plea agreement doesn’t trigger a requirement to repay money the program has already spent on the defense.

The organization also states that it can continue providing representation in a related civil matter following a plea.

That allows the decision about whether to accept a plea to remain a legal and personal calculation rather than becoming a decision driven by fear of losing financial support.

What AHT Members Get

As part of the collaboration, AOR is offering discounted enrollment fees to the Achilles Heel Tactical community.

Individual memberships receive $50 off the standard $100 signup fee, reducing it to $50.

Family plans receive $25 off the standard $75-per-person signup fee, also reducing enrollment to $50 per person.

Monthly memberships currently start at $37 for individuals and $29 per person for family and group plans.

AOR clients will also have access to exclusive Achilles Heel Tactical training content and discounted opportunities to attend AHT’s in-person courses around the country.

Preparing for the Second Fight

There is an enormous industry built around preparing people for the first few seconds of a violent encounter.

We buy reliable firearms. We test defensive ammunition. We attend training. We practice draws and reloads. We carry medical equipment. We spend hours discussing equipment, tactics, and preparedness.

All of those things matter.

But preparation shouldn’t necessarily stop when the shooting does.

Knowing who you’re going to call, what legal resources are available, and what your chosen program will and won’t do after a defensive incident deserves the same kind of scrutiny we apply to the equipment and training we depend on beforehand.

That’s ultimately what makes AHT teaming up with Attorneys On Retainer noteworthy.

Achilles Heel Tactical focuses on preparing people for the realities of the first fight. Attorneys On Retainer is built around helping its members navigate the one that may come afterward.

If you’re going to prepare for one, it’s worth thinking seriously about both.

To learn more about Achilles Heel Tactical and Attorneys On Retainer, visit the organizations directly.

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Disclosure: Achilles Heel Tactical is an affiliate of Attorneys On Retainer and may receive compensation when someone enrolls through its promotional program.

AOR Disclaimer: AOR is backed by Attorneys For Freedom, an independent Arizona law firm representing clients in self-defense cases and offering representation in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., in collaboration with local co-counsel.