When Lewis Rice made the rare decision to launch a subsidiary law firm last September, it took aim at a statistic that shocked Thomas Erb, the firm's chairman. Less than half of Americans have a will or trust.

TuckerAllen, a lower-cost subsidiary of St. Louis-based regional firm Lewis Rice, offers free consultations and two all-inclusive estate plan packages: Wills are priced at $550 and trusts cost $950 for individuals. Those price points are hard to achieve within the traditional law firm model.

Ten months in, the experiment is showing signs of success. TuckerAllen, which launched with 10 lawyers and 13 staff, said it has so far served more than 1,000 clients. TuckerAllen has also opened two more locations since its September launch, bringing its number of offices to six around the St. Louis area.