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August 05, 2009

The Pitfalls of Using of Absolute Superlatives In Structured Settlement Marketing

I'm not a big fan of using absolute superlatives in marketing. Too easy to get burned.

The classic example is In early 2007 where we showed showed how the principals of one firm in the structured settlement industry made preposterous claims "in seriata" of being the only plaintiff exclusive broker in the country, as well as the only one in a particular state, while 3 of its principals in 2005 and 1 in 2006 made the mutually exclusive attestation under penalty of perjury that they had done substantial defense work in each of the preceding 3 years so they/he could get on the List of Annuity Brokers for the United States Department of Justice. As pathetic as it was at the time the fulcrum of the ethical see saw Dino_trish_rock_balance_lg_clr between false advertising or perjury was seemingly weighted to balance by the massive amount of cash the company promised to give to a number of the nation's trial lawyer associations. 

Far less toxic but eyebrow raising nonetheless, my pals at Creative Capital claim to be "THE ONLY TRIAL LAWYER OWNED" structured settlement company in its Internet based listing with the New York Trial Lawyer Association Partnership for Justice.

A company called Structured Settlement Solutions out of Oregon, Illinois calls itself a "structured settlement company" and promotes the tag line "structured settlement prepared by plaintiff lawyers" in addition to including the following on its website:

Lead structure consultant and personal injury attorney William P. Fearer, III has successfully litigated and settled hundreds of injury cases. Throughout his career he has structured and continues to structure settlements and attorney’s fees. He is a member of the American Association for Justice, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Illinois Bar Association and Texas Bar Association. Mr. Fearer's unmatched level of Plaintiff's litigation experience in the structured settlement field ensures that the needs of injury victims and their attorneys will be fully met and that Structured Settlement Solutions will remain a leader in Plaintiffs structured settlement consultations. Everything about that companies advertising suggests that it too is a "trial lawyer owned structured settlement company"
I do not know much however about Mr. Fearer as he is not listed as an active member of the Society of Settlement Planners or National Structured Settlement Trade Association.

Furthermore, the CV of one of the owners of Delta Settlements states he "practiced as a Medical Malpractice and Workers’ Compensation attorney in Orlando".

There is a reason why the "busting of horns" is relevant. The absolute superlative statement was apparently made by CCI to achieve a competitive advantage over those who are not trial lawyers. In otherwords it was apparently not enough to simply let the credentials speak for themselves.

In order for the "ONLY" statement to be qualified and fair however, should one consider the following questions?

  1. When we talk only "trial lawyer owned", are we talking only active trial lawyer owned, or only former trial lawyer owned?
  2. Are we talking completely trial lawyer owned or are we talking a trial lawyer is one of several principals in the company?
  3. Define structured settlement company? Are we talking "general agency" or does any legal entity owned by an active or former trial lawyer that places and advises attorneys and their clients on structured settlements qualify? If the latter is assumed, then couldn't one opine that another trial lawyer owned "structured settlement company" exists within the NYSTLA Partnership for Justice? The framework of many structured settlement marketing organizations involve their affiliates setting up separate legal entities. Those entities may be owned wholly or fractionally by former or active trial lawyers.

This author respects the advertiser's qualties and legal experience but in his opinion there is plenty of visble evidence that trial law experience IS NOT the exclusive recipe for success in the structured settlement business. This author further opines that the advertiser's qualities stand on their own WITHOUT the absolute superlative.  This author hopes the advertiser corrects its "oversight".

Posted at 03:17 AM in Albany New York Structured Settlements, Bronx New York Structured Settlements, Brooklyn New York Structured Settlements, Buffalo New York Structured Settlements, Long Island NY Structured Settlements, New York City Structured Settlements, New York State Trial Lawyers Association, New York Structured Settlements, Newburgh Structured Settlements, Structured Settlement Advertising, Structured Settlements in Illinois, Structured Settlements in Nassau County, NY, Things That Make You Go Hmm, Westchester Structured Settlements |

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Guide to Structured Settlements 2022

  • What is a Structured Settlement? What You Need to Know
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  • How Do Structured Settlements Work? How Structured Settlements Work | Structured Settlement Diagram
    How structured settlements work, including 4structures.com LLC's super helpful structured settlement flow chart/diagram showing how structured settlements fit in with other settlement planning solutions.
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  • Structured Settlement Annuity Companies 2022
    Which life insurance companies issue structured settlement annuities going into 2022? A list of current structured annuity issuers, the location of their home offices and their financial ratings from A.M. Best, Moodys, Fitch, Standard & Poors and/or other Tier1 NAIC ratings, with links to their websites and other useful information.
  • Treasury Funded Structured Settlements
    Treasury Funded Structured Settlements are a settlement option for the most conservative using the OTHER permissible qualified funding asset under IRC 130(d), United States Treasury Bonds in addition to, or instead of, structured settlement annuities. Treasury Funded Structured Settlements can also be used to fund installment sales, also known as structured sales and other non qualified structured settlements.
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    Use the Taxable Equivalent Yield chart to help compare the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of a structured settlement to other alternative or complementary investments. Need help with the chart? Call 4structures.com® LLC at 888-325-8640
  • Structured Settlement Payments | Types of Structured Settlements
    Ways You Can Structure Your Settlement Payments. With a structured settlement you can have more than one type of payment in a single contract. Different types of structured settlement payments can be customized and combined to meet your needs on a stand-alone basis, or in conjunction with other financial products. Diversify your structured settlement, if you wish, by funding with more than one annuity issuer, with treasury funded structured settlements, index linked structured settlement payments and market based structured .
  • Structured Attorney Fees for Tax Deferral for Contingency Fees
    Structured attorney fees is a financial strategy that offers a unique way to defer taxes for lawyers and law firms. Lawyers CAN structure their legal fees even if the plaintiff doesn't structure their settlement. There are multiple ways to structure your attorney fees, such as the an index linked structured settlement where payments are adjusted based on upside changes in the S&P 500 with no downside and a cap of 5%. Trial Lawyers may also use a special deferred pay/deferred compensation arrangement, if market based returns returns are desired with no cap. Plan NOW for year end! Put structured attorney fee expert John Darer® on your settlement planning team.
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    Receiving structured settlement payments from your own structured settlement or inherited structured settlement? You'll like this huge time saver. Click for a comprehensive list of customer service telephone numbers that includes both current AND former structured settlement annuity issuers and reinsurers. If you have simple bank or beneficiary changes, or if the insurance company that issued the structured annuity has merged, sold or spun off its block of structured annuity business (e.g. Aviva, Transamerica, AEGON, GE Capital, Liberty, CNA) or changed its name and you're trying to track them down, here you go! The list is regularly updated. Last updated July 13, 2022.
  • Structured Settlement Quote Lock-Ins | What You Need To Know
    What does a Structured Settlement Lock-In Mean? How do plaintiffs, defendants and insurers benefit from a structured settlement quote lock in when finalizing a settlement? How does the defendant/insurer/court benefit from using a structured settlement lock-in? Where to be careful when using structured settlement lock ins.
  • What Are Structured Settlement Annuities?
    Structured settlement annuities are annuities that can provide one or more customized annuity payment streams in a single contract. Read about structured settlement annuities here.
  • History of Structured Settlements
    Tracing the roots of structured settlements history from 1918, when Congress exempted damages for personal injury or sickness from income tax, to the establishment of structured settlements as a core personal injury settlement planning tool to the present day.
  • What Are Market Based Structured Settlements?
    Market based structured settlements are an alternative or supplementary structured settlement solution for the plaintiff, attorney or law firm that: 1. Can afford to take some market risk 2. Have discretionary settlement dollars. Claimants and attorneys alike may find that market-based structured settlements provide the opportunity to receive tax-free income, or tax-deferred income, while enjoying growth potential.
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    iStructure is an innovative game changing fixed index structured settlement annuity for plaintiffs or attorneys. with an intermediate to long term horizon

Qualified Settlement Funds

  • What is a Qualified Settlement Fund?
    Qualified Settlement Funds | What You Need to Know
  • Firmwide Qualified Settlement Funds Debunked
    Firmwide qualified settlement funds have been heavily promoted to trial lawyers, but have been debunked in a detailed analysis in a July 2022 legal opinion a tax partner at the law firm of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath, LLP. Trial lawyers and firms who have established Firmwide QSFs or coinsidering establishing a Firmwide QSF should read the analysis as part of their evaluation.

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  • STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS 4REAL® Blog Is a Popular Source of Structured Settlement News and Information, Settlement Planning News, Tax Deferral and Deferred Income Planning Solutions,
    with a stable readership that seeks credible structured settlement information and/or opinion about topical issues related to settlement planning, targeted to lawyers, injured persons and their family members, guardians, survivors, judges, magistrates, special masters, mediators, administrators, trust companies, insurance company executives and adjusters, financial advisers settlement professionals, financial professionals, insurance regulators, government leaders, federal and state law enforcement, buyers and sellers of structured settlement payment rights, the news media and other interested parties. 4structures.com LLC established the structured settlement blog in 2005 and for over 16 years it has been a leading source for critical commentary. The John Darer authored blog has been among the most prolific, regularly providing fresh structured settlement, settlement planning and litigation recovery management content and commentary. John Darer®, CLU ChFC MSSC CeFT® RSP CLTC, President of Stamford, CT based 4structures.com, LLC, is an experienced New York City area structured settlement expert, structured settlement broker, Certified Financial Transitionist, and Registered Settlement Planner. In his capacity as a journalist, and professionally, Darer passionately believes that exposing a business practice is both healthy and newsworthy. It is in the best interest of tort victims, their families and their legal advisers, that the settlement planning discussion involve those that are properly trained in the topic, properly informed on the topic and, with respect to structured settlements, properly licensed and/or appointed). It has significant instructional and deterrent value to other practitioners and firms as well as those who may be caught in the cross hairs. WHAT YOU GET here is the straight stuff with a touch of irreverence and humor. We hope you enjoy and find the content to be helpful. Subscribe to the structured settlement blog feed, or a specific category feed through your blog reader, or through the Feedburner icon on this page. Followers of JDDarer™ on Twitter may also receive select content. If you would like to speak with John he can be reached at (888)325-8640 Thank you for reading!

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Structured Settlement Best Practices Corner

  • New York Insurance Advertising law requires the full name of the Insurer to be listed along with the city and state of the principal office. Stating that you represent these fine companies using Insurance company logos without the preceding information are also illegal
  • When it comes to settlement documents it is the ultimate responsibility of the lawyers or claims adjusters who receive input concerning the structured settlement aspects of the documents to actually read the entire document, exercise independent thought and advise their clients properly
  • Be aware that financial advisors use of testimonials is prohibited or restricted
  • Most states require that Testimonials represent the CURRENT opinion of the person who made the testimonial. Be prepared to back it up.
  • Number of States That Prohibit Payment of QSF expenses by licensed agents and brokers
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