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Settlement Consultants: "Buffalo Soldiers"?

by Structured Settlement Watchdog

A downstate settlement consulting firm apparently with aspirations to be "Buffalo Soldiers" recently "marched" on Buffalo New York with claims to bring you "true plaintiff-based settlement consultants".

This is a  marketplace where we've seen:

• plaintiff exclusive
• plantiff exclusive
• "mutually exclusive"  (nyuk nyuk-inside joke)
• plaintiff loyal
• plaintiff focused
• "hocus pocus" and now
• true plaintiff-based

While we can guess what these folks want it to mean, in an effort to increase the level of literacy in the profession, let's examine whether it is proper English?

What does "based" mean?

The Free Dictionary carries this definition of the adjective" based":

1. based - having a base; "firmly based ice"

supported - held up or having the weight borne especially from below; "supported joints in a railroad track have ties directly under the rail ends"

2.based - having a base of operations (often used as a combining form); "a locally based business"; "an Atlanta-based company"; "carrier-based planes"

settled - established in a desired position or place; not moving about; "nomads...absorbed among the settled people"; "settled areas"; "I don't feel entirely settled here"; "the advent of settled civilization"

So "lettuce" examine the logic:

• The makers of the statement advertise that they are practicing lawyers.
  
• Thus they are not plaintiffs.
• Upon information and belief they are not owned by plaintiffs
• Upon information and belief they do not house their law office (or settlement consulting practice) in a plaintiff's house or commune.
• Therefore they cannot logically be plaintiff-based or plaintiff based as the case may be

Purportedly the whole thing was " a bit Erie" as the logic of the advertising message drained to the chant of "Marley Marley Marley Marley life is but a dream"

The ESS-ence of "Attention to Detail"

Some say that New York water is the secret to making the best bagels in the world. I submit to you that those that drink it make for some structured settlement consultants with alarming "attention to detail"

• A few short years ago it was our "friends" at Buffalo based Forge Consulting who introduced the "plantiff" concept to a stunned audience of trial lawyers.
• Then late last year another New York structured settlement broker gave us "structered settlements" which go well "with some fava beans and a nice Chianti"
• The New York legal scion who promotes "quailed assignments"and NOW featuring on Broadway....
• Brian Schachter, "Le Shack" , of Esquire Settlement Services ("ESS") sent an email blast on Friday March 12, 2010 to what just might be thousands of the nation's trial lawyers featuring the headline

"Extrodinary Needs Require Extrodinary Solutions" *

The email blast includes a dead link intended to be affiliate Millennium Settlements which the search engine instead, due to lack of the ESS-ential running of spell check, amusingly suggests the alternative "Mill Ennui Um Settlements".  Loosely translated from French this means "1,000 Boredom... Um... settlements"

In "a case of first impression" it's a ROFLMAO.

"Notre ennui, nos moeurs fades sont le resultat du systeme politique"  from 1832 Honore de Balzac La Femme De Trente Ans Chapter 3

 

* a copy of the email is available

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clarification From LawCash Concerning Esquire Settlement Services

My friend Harvey Hirschfeld, President of LawCash, has graciously issued the following statement to clarify the relationship with Esquire Settlement Services which was covered in yesterday's post.

"Dear John

I hope you are well.

I wanted to address the contentions raised in your blog post of October 20, 2009 as well as clear up any potential confusion on behalf of you or your readers. 

 

As you accurately reported, a Limited Partnership formed by myself and others, did buy SSI  in September 2006.  LawCash however, has never had any ownership interest in SSI.  When SSI was initially acquired by this Limited Partnership, we did have a brief period of time when we were doing some cross-marketing between the companies, as it seemed logical to cross-market LawCash and SSI, two companies both providing financial products to plaintiffs.  As a remnant of this time that we were cross-marketing companies, there is mention of structure buy-outs on LawCash’s website as linked to in your blog.  I wanted to make sure you knew that we are now in the process of rapidly taking this reference off of LawCash’s web page to avoid even the appearance of impropriety or confusion.  I would expect to see this concluded before the end of the week. 

 

In addition, earlier this year, I, along with a few others, formed an LLP which took an ownership interest in Esquire Settlement Services.  Again, neither LawCash nor SSI has any ownership interest in ESS.  We recognized an opportunity existed  in working with Randy Levine and Brian Schachter as settlement consultants.  Since we knew Brian and Randy as well respected trial lawyers,  we felt that they had a unique entry point into the structured settlement business due to their network of peers and colleagues in the plaintiff’s bar.  We are very pleased with our association with them in Esquire Settlement Services.

 

To reiterate, please rest assured that LawCash has no ownership interest in either SSI or ESS, and that ESS and SSI have absolutely no contact or affiliation with each other.  We are very clear on this position.

 

I hope this clarifies any question that you had.  Please give me a call at any time to discuss this or just to say hello.  It has been a few months.

Best Regards

Harvey Hirschfeld

 

 

Harvey R. Hirschfeld

President  LawCash

T  718 875-0605

M 718 490-1777"

NOTE: In addition to Mr. Hirschfeld's letter  this author received an email today from Brian Schachter, which stated that his Millennium affiliated company neither refers business to factoring companies nor accepts finder fees from same.

 

             

Millennium Settlements' "Factoring Affiliation"?

For years, there have been rumors- is there now substance?

The following announcement was mass mailed October 19, 2009 to many of New York State's trial lawyers by Law Cash (a company that provides financing to plaintiffs and the bar AND, drum roll... says that it buys structured settlements from annuitants on its website. Law Cash owns a factoring company called Structured Settlements Investments, LP, which it acquired on or about September 6, 2006.)

"The country’s premier litigation funding team from LawCash, Esquire Capital and Allied Esquire Insurance Agency are proud to announce the formation of Esquire Settlement Services (ESS)……offering structured settlement solutions and a whole lot more!

As the only settlement consulting company owned and run by practicing trial attorneys, ESS brings you true plaintiff-based settlement consultants that are dedicated to serving the plaintiff’s bar and remaining on the cutting edge of settlement planning"

Esquire Settlement Services is affiliated with Tallahassee Florida based Millennium Settlements. Millennium's strategy appears to dominate the legal funding market with existing relationships with Plaintiff Support Services , Counsel Financial and now Law Cash (which recently purchased PSS). 

The affiliation of the entities manifests a scenario in which the legal financing company has the opportunity to pressure the law firm or individual to which it provides financing to use the structured settlement firm it has an affiliation or common ownership with.

On the factoring front, while a lot of lawyers huff and puff their disgust about structured settlement factoring, it remains to seen whether or not New York State's trial lawyers or any other trial lawyer associations in the LawCash footprint believe that there is any conflict of interest (or appearance thereof) here. Structured Settlement Investments, LP is on our list of "cash now" pushers.

Finally, I must address the implication, by Esquire Settlement Services, that a company owned and run by practicing trial attorneys is a point worth noting.

Settlement planning IS NOT a part time business. There ARE a number of successful structured settlement consultants whose career originated in trial law. Ask THEM why they gave up their trial law practice.

The corollary applies. If you are a plaintiff, do you want have an attorney represent you who is not dedicated to the practice of law on a full time basis? If you need to have a kidney removed, do you seek out a part time surgeon?