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The Price of Admission! Or Is It a Lack of "The Willingness to Discern"?

What goes on in those "smoke filled rooms"?

This email  (Download NYSTLA List Serve-Forge) entitled "[Plaintiffs only ]structuring attorney fees" was circulated on September 25, 2009 using a NYSTLA forum/ list serve (copied to a dedicated email address at the New York State Trial Lawyers Association  "NYSTLA") to many others:

Attorney Robert J. Greenstein of Greenstein & Milbauer, LLP states:

"Below is a link to a very informative article written by tax attorney, Robert Wood, regarding structuring attorney fees.  If you’re interested in fee deferral, please contact (name of settlement firm) they are a partner...and we should support them – they contribute 60K+/yr to NYSTLA"  

Can one help but wondering how often an email tying the size of a insurance agency's financial contribution to the solicitation of insurance on behalf of a licensed agent or licensed agency with NYSTLA occurs? Bear in mind that both the consumers in the structured attorney fee insurance sale AND the beneficiaries of the insurance agency's financial contribution are the association's members.

NYSTLA's own published guidelines state that its membership forums are provided as a service to its  members to ask for feedback and advice. NYSTLA publicly claims to have never permitted any advertising for cases by its members. It publicly states that no one is barred from seeking the services of another firm or attorney, but the solicitation of cases is not permitted. It publicly states that any user posting advertising or solicitation will be immediately removed from all forums. As a reader of English could anyone REALLY construe the aforementioned email as "asking for feedback and advice"?

Readers should note that as a practical matter the only lawyers who can structure attorney fees are lawyers representing plaintiffs, whether or not they can characterize their practice as plaintiff only. For example the lawyer who does a little defense work in addition to plaintiff work, or a predominantly defense lawyer who has the odd plaintiff case BOTH have the opportunity to structure their legal fees on the plaintiff cases for which they are engaged.

The above email begs the question of whether there is a "willingness to discern" by certain trial lawyers in choosing vendors as well as a question of the perceived commoditization of structured settlement services by those who choose to pay the premium. There is nothing more to say really except to suggest one be mindful of this:

"However, where, as here, an agent or broker advertises that the agent or broker makes contributions to a not-for-profit organization of concern and interest to potential purchasers of insurance or annuities, such conduct constitutes an illegal inducement to purchase insurance that runs afoul of Insurance Law § 4224. Nor may an agent or broker evade the prohibition set forth in the Insurance Law by enlisting the aid of the not-for-profit organization to do what the agent or broker cannot do lawfully".

From the Office of General Counsel of The New York State Insurance Department in a September 24, 2007 published opinion

Upon information and belief the same or similar scenario is playing out in more than one state. 

Plaintiffs should be forewarned of the potential biases!

NSSTA Corporate Partnership Program

The National Structured Settlement Trade Association (NSSTA) has established a corporate partnership program offering marketing opportunities to vendors wanting access to an upscale demographic and financial product distribution network of over 600. Partnership levels range in price from $3,000-$10,000 and each offers considerable benefits including mailing lists of NSSTA members.

The partnership opportunities appear to be open to anyone, without restrictions. All that seems to be required is to complete the application, mail in your check and wait for it to be processed. This is exactly the type of "strategic thinking" that snookered the SSP when, in the absence of any other membership qualifications, factoring executive Deborah Benaim (then of cash now pusher Peachtree Settlement Funding) sent in an application along with a $10,000 check in May 2005, the SSP Board muddled over it but was "intimidated" into accepting it by Peachtree's attorneys Greenberg Traurig.

This author has written to members of the NSSTA Board and marketing committee asking whether NSSTA intends to accept money from factoring companies like JG Wentworth or factoring brokers like Bentzen Funding Solutions (the President of which, less than a year ago admitted to paying kickbacks to 90% of its structured settlement industry clientele. Such kickbacks mean the tort victim gets less). If NSSTA intends to accept money in any form from "financial crack" dealers then it ought to be disclosing that to its members so they can have the opportunity to individually determine whether or not being a member of an association that accepts such sponsorships is in their best interest.

NSSTA members should be mindful that according to the NSSTA Corporate Partnership application form the sponsorship fee permits the sponsor to advertise "official NSSTA partner"

Whether the NSSTA Board permits the 2009 Winter Regional and 2009 Annual NSSTA meetings to channel the 2005 SSP annual meeting in which it seemed every other attendee was a factoring company representative remains to be seen.

Let's hope common sense prevails.

Post Script

848am October 6, 2008

Joe Ricci NSSTA Executive Director made the following emphatic statement " WE HAVE NO INTENTION OF PURSUING OR ACCEPTING MONEY FROM FACTORING COMPANIES!". This statement allows NSSTA absolutely no wiggle room.

"NSSTA is governed by Bylaws and Policies and Procedures that specifically outline recourse for handling sponsorships and use of the NSSTA brand and logo that require Board review and approval over any potential corporate partnership". 

This author understands that the NSSTA Corporate Sponsorship form will be amended to include disclaimers about sponsors and use of NSSTA brand and logo requiring Board review and approval.

It is appropriate to opine that bylaws and standards of conduct that are for show, but not enforced, are essentially meaningless. Permitting someone like Patrick HIndert to be  an NSSTA member, who so openly promotes the factoring industry, while repeatedly stabbing the NSSTA with a rusty jagged blade sends the wrong message about the NSSTA bylaws to the NSSTA membership and the legal community.

NATLE endorsed factoring company, Strategic Capital Added to "Cash Now Pushers" List

It has to be said...The factoring company that has been endorsed by the National Association of Trial Lawyer Executives (NATLE), Strategic Capital, is on the "cash now pusher" list. What an embarassment!

Click here for the link to the NATLE web site which highlights this.

Here is  one web page Download strategic_capital_corporation_cash_now_question_592008.pdf  which ironically appears next to a tab entitled "consumer protection".

Here is another Download strategic_capital_corporation_cash_now_question_592008_no_2.pdf

Click here for the link to the webpage where NATLE represents to its members that the program was very thoroughly investigated by the NATLE Affinity Commitee. NATLE now looks foolish for this quote "When this happens, rather than have the plaintiff call one of those “1-800-Get-Your-Money-Now” companies seen on TV, they and their attorney can be assured that they are using a reputable company". That's a direct quote from the NATLE web site.

Let's face it, "cash now" is essentially a fraud on consumers. Companies like Stategic Capital, Peachtree Settlement Funding and advertise that they deliver cash now (Peachtree says "all your money now" which is even worse) but the reality is that if an AUDIT were conducted  of every transaction since they started advertising "cash now" that they do not really pay "cash now". For those of you who on any given day may be seen to "plotz" over the subtleties of "may" versus "shall" why are you lowering your standards by the de facto endorsement of "cash now"?

I ask you how NATLE can, in good concience, endorse a company that is (among others) perpetuating this misleading advertising to consumers that NATLE and its members are trying to serve? What credibility do YOU, as a NATLE member have if this endorsement of Strategic Capital is a paid endorsement, which it appears to be as an affinity program?

Why does the fine Haggard Law Firm in Coral Gables, Florida appear to endorse this company on both the Strategic Capital website and its own?

http://www.strategiccapital.com/strat_whychoose.asp

http://www.haggardparks.com/legal_links.asp

The next question is which members of the structured settlement industry are currently endorsing Strategic Capital by sending business their way? Who is taking structured settlement factoring vig from Strategic Capital?