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April 04, 2023

Strategic Capital Press Release about "TTLA-TING" Payment To Texas Trial Lawyers Association Raises Questions

by John Darer CLU ChFC MSSC CeFT RSP CLTC

A Canadian structured settlement factoring company claims in a press release to be "working alongside Texas Trial Lawyers to help Texas trial lawyers association news clients manage their settlements". Now the pay to brag scheme is taking a step further and Strategic Capital claims to officially be a Texas Trial Lawyers Association Sustaining Partner, which I've confirmed with the TTLA (this afternoon) to mean that Strategic Capital has agreed to pay TTLA a minimum of $27,000. Between $27,000 and $36,000 is a sustaining Partner according to the TTLA.

According to Send2Press Newswire, the March 28, 2023 press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Strategic Capital) who is solely responsibile for its accuracy

But what exactly does "working alongside Texas Trial Lawyers to help clients manage their settlements" mean?  What sort of license does Strategic Capital possess " to help TTLA members' clients "manage their settlements". What would the Texas financial regulators say about structured settlement factoring companies advertising that they have been working alongside trial lawyers "managing settlements" with solutions that amount to pennies on the dollar? Texas is a state that has taken a strong stance against public court records on structured settlement factoring deals. What does Strategic Capital's $27,000 to $36,000 buy in Texas?

Follow the "Habit Trail"

In March 2022, Strategic Capital issued what turned out to be a dubious press release regarding a "Groundbreaking" "Relationship" with a settlement planning organziation. See my report about it here Factoring Company Dubious Press Release About "Groundbreaking" AASC "Relationship" - Structured Settlements 4Real® Blog: Structured Settlements | Settlement Planning News and Commentary (typepad.com)

In my March 11 2021 post, I laid waste to Strategic Capital's Ric Perez' public claims about "no advertising"

Strategic Capital Caught "In Flagrante Pubblicita" with Word Nerds in a Case of Scrabbled Eggs - Structured Settlements 4Real® Blog: Structured Settlements | Settlement Planning News and Commentary (typepad.com).

From December 20, 2020

Strategic Capital Does Not Buy Structured Settlement Annuities, Even in Kentucky as Its Advertising Alludes - Structured Settlements 4Real® Blog: Structured Settlements | Settlement Planning News and Commentary (typepad.com)

where Kentucky Justice Association endorsement letter mischarcterized what Strategic Capital does.  Stratcap still posted the letter.

From June 29, 2018

Strategic Capital Employee Gave Company Customer LinkedIn Review One Month After He Was Hired - Structured Settlements 4Real® Blog: Structured Settlements | Settlement Planning News and Commentary (typepad.com)

Not a Good Look for Any Trial Lawyer Association Leadership and Membership

Beyond the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, Strategic Capital states it has relationships (let's face it, what are effectively "paid endorsements") with trial lawyer groups across the country, including the National Association of Trial Lawyer Executives (NATLE), the Kentucky Justice Association (KJA), the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC), the New Jersey Association for Justice (NJAJ), and the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association (the other TTLA). All of these are believed to be paid relationships  (see my March 11, 2021 post,  by following the link above)

  • While TLAs need fundraising money to further lobbying efforts, the extent of these financial contributions may not be fully known to clients of lawyers when unlicensed and uncredentialed vendors are recommended by the lawyers who make the audacious claim to be "managing lawyers' clients' settlements".
  • Even if a client, or fomer client of a TTLA lawyer is exploring raising cash, it is wise to  always shop around, every time The sales practices of structured settlement factoring companies is unregulated. With exception of North Carolina, which is the only state with a discount rate cap, the limit is what the presiding judge approves.

If members of TLAs are truly concerned about structured settlement factoring and are not shy about accepting large financial contributions from companies in that industry, how about making it more legitimate by lobbying for a licensing standard for every entity and individual in Texas engaging in factoring so that a regulator can fine, suspend or revoke authority from bad actors?

For example, this Texas case involving a Florida company

FL Company Preyed on Mentally Disabled Man's Structure and Caused Alleged Loss of Government Benefits - Structured Settlements 4Real® Blog: Structured Settlements | Settlement Planning News and Commentary (typepad.com)

They should be lobbying for it anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted at 11:08 PM in Abilene Structured Settlements, Amarillo Structured Settlements, Arlington Structured Settlements, Austin Structured Settlements, College Station Structured Settlements, Corpus Christi Structured Settlements, Dallas Fort Worth TX Structured Settlements, De Rio Structured Settlements, El Paso Structured Settlements, Fort Hood Structured Settlements, Fort Worth Structured Settlements, Galveston Structured Settlements, Harlingen Structrued Settlements, Harris County Structured Settlements, Houston Structured Settlements, Lubbock Structured Settlements, Nagadoches Structured Settlements, New Braunfels Structured Settlements, Nueces County Structured Settlements, Plano Structured Settlements, San Antonio Structured Settlements, Strategic Capital, Structured Settlement Factoring News, Structured Settlement Watchdog®, Tarrant County Structured Settlements, Texas Trial Lawyers Association, Waco Structured Settlements, Waxahatchie Structured Settlements |

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    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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    Ways You Can Structure Your Settlement Payments in 2024. 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 .
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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 the title for a link to 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, Allstate, Transamerica, AEGON, GE Capital, Liberty, CNA, Confederation Life), oran annuity issuer has changed its name and you're trying to track them down. Here you go! The list is regularly updated. Last updated May 20, 2024.
  • 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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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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Why Take a Structured Settlement?

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