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Bellissimo at Bellagio! NSSTA Makes Continuing Ed. Simple Again

The National Structured Settlements Trade Association held its Fall Educational Meeting in Las Vegas November 10-12, 2010.  I'm usually not a fan of holding professional meetings in Las Vegas due to the obvious distractions that reduce networking opportunities, but the Bellagio is the Bellagio and a $22 room service omelet (it was delicious) and $3 for a tube of chapstick is an "experience" one must have once in one's lifetime.

The continuing education program was an improvement on the offerings at recent NSSTA meetings, the cost was reasonable, and the hospitality suite over looking the Bellagio fountains was a treat only to be exceeded, in my opinion, by the Fall 2006 meeting where the balcony at the hospitality suite at The Breakers in Palm Beach, overlooked the ocean a spit's distance from the water glimmering with the light of a rising full moon.

It is worth making a statement about the new streamlined process of earning continuing education credits which is a vast improvement on SmithBucklin. SmithBucklin of Chicago which bills itself as "the world's leading association management company" and was NSSTA's management company from late 2007-June 2010, was notoriously sloppy in managing continuing education credits, to the detriment of  a number of NSSTA members.

 

SmithBucklin and NSSTA: The Story Continues to Bear Fruit, Raises Questions

by Structured Settlement Watchdog®

Diane Swenson, a former Executive Vice President of, with 13 years of service to . the American Tort Reform Association, WAS listed on as the TREASURER of the National Structured Settlements Trade Association Political Action Committee (NSSTAPAC), according to the official filing with the Federal Election Commission ("FEC") dated January 25, 2008. Download NSSTA PAC 2008 FEC Form 1 Diane Swenson SmithBucklin

On January 31, 2008, SmithBucklin released a press release which announced that Diane Swenson would be the Executive Director of two associations it manages, one of them being the National Structured Settlements Trade Association(NSSTA).

That release was followed by a February 8, 2008 post reiterating the same on DealFlow Media's now defunct Structured Settlements Wire

Having an Executive Director associated with tort reform was a disaster for an association that is meant to represent all of its members in an impartial way and their efforts to market to trial lawyers.

On February 15, 2008, following an announcement by then NSSTA President Henry Strong, this author published NSSTA President Clarifies Story Concerning Executive Director Search

On February 15, 2008, NSSTAPAC filed an amended FEC Form 1 listing Russell Snyder as Treasurer. Snyder is Senior VP Client Management at Smith Bucklin.

On March 1, 2008 this author published Serious Questions For All NSSTA Members to Ask NSSTA Board and NSSTA Board Accountability , in which serious questions were raised in the build up to the 2008 NSSTA Annual Meeting. Among those questions:

"Hiring of NSSTA Executive Director Debacle

1. Was the issue of Diane Swenson 's hiring actually voted on by the NSSTA Board?

2. If answer to number 1 is yes, which Board members voted for her?

3. If answer to number 1 is yes, was there an instruction or go ahead given to Smith Bucklin Management to make an announcement?

4. If the answer to number 3 is no, then why hasn't NSSTA commenced legal action against Smith Bucklin management for damages that NSSTA and its members have already suffered and will continue to suffer as a result of the January 31, 2008 press release which was believed to have been circulated throughout key members of the trial lawyer community?

5. Why did it take NSSTA two weeks to address the "premature" Smith Bucklin press release?

6. Was there an NSSTA spokesman who spoke to DealFlow Media coinciding with its "Hello Goodbye" story of February 28?  If so who?"

Item #4 is especially important at the present when the competence of SmithBucklin in serving NSSTA and its members is again in question. NSSTA terminated its relationship with SmuithBucklin effective June 30, 2010.

On April 3, 2008 Diane Swenson resigned from the "other association" that Smith Bucklin manages The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association, 3 months after her appointment, with Russ Snyder taking over just like NSSTA.

Comments

• This author can't help asking why didn't NSSTA leadership just can SmithBuckllin in 2008?
• The FEC Form 1 lists the banking relationship of NSSTAPAC as SunTrust Bank. How ironic is it that the Political Action Committee of the National Structured Settlements Trade Association shares a banking relationship with The Halpern Group and Peachtree Settlement Funding?
• According to its December 15, 2006 FEC Form 1, the sole banking relationship for NSSTAPAC was Chevy Chase Bank
• This author' "Serious Questions" letter questioned an apparent September 2006 NSSTA effort to discredit the late Richard Halpern, through materials provided by NSSTA counsel to a now retired New York Supreme Court judge Paul Victor, mentioning Halpern's 130X trust product in the same breath as that of convicted felon James Gibson and SBU Download NYJudicialInstitutePretendertrusts. Such materials ended up in written materials presented to New York judges which certain NSSTA members then used in marketing efforts against Halpern. While Halpern passed away in December 2009, NSSTA members may not be aware of the exposure that such actions brought to NSSTA and its members.
• According to its November 9, 2007 FEC Form 1 filed bv Russ Snyder of SmithBucklin  and only months after  NSSTA discredited Halpern, the NSSTAPAC first used SunTrust Bank as its banking relationship. SunTrust is the one of the primary corporate trustees used by The Halpern Group for the tens of thousands of trusts it has placed for tort victims.
• SunTrust Bank was listed as the sole banking relationship for NSSTAPAC on its filed FEC Form 1 statements of:

January 25, 2008 (the one made by Diane Swenson, then of SmithBucklin)

February 15, 2008 (filed by Russell Snyder of SmithBucklin)

June 22, 2009 (filed by Joseph Ricci, of SmithBucklin)

March 8, 2010 (filed by Scott Lynch of SmithBucklin)

Under FEC Regulations, the Statement of Organizations (FEC Form 1) must be filed electronically if the campaign raises or spends more than $50,000 in any calendar year, or has a reason to expect to do so.

Smith Bucklin Management: NSSTA Leadership Must Show Some Resolve!

by Structured Settlement Watchdog

The end of the tenure of Smith Bucklin as the association management company for the National Structured Settlement Trade Association is nigh and it couldn't come soon enough, in the opinion of this author.

Smith Bucklin's "reign" began in late January 2008 with the ill advised announcement of the appointment of Diane Swenson as Executive Director. For an organization that draws its membership from both the plaintiff and defense communities the announcement of the appointment of a former Executive Vice President of the American Tort Reform Association could best be described as a bumbling "how do you do?".

Now after two years of a "rudderless ship" NSSTA appears to be back on positive course. Yet information has begun to emerge that should be very disturbing to all members. Those members should be putting pressure on NSSTA to clean out its cobwebs and do something that will save the member's money, rather than cost them

We have recently learned that among other things:

1) SmithBucklin failed to renew NSSTA's website domain with Network Solutions.  This URL was transferred to SmithBucklin's control at the specific request of Mr. Vernon Drummond of SmithBucklin in December 2007.  This problem came to light not from SmithBucklin but from a NSSTA member, who brought it to our attention.

 

2) SmithBucklin failed to renew NSSTA's corporate status, a fact that NSSTA's outside counsel recently discovered while preparing the application to trademark NSSTA's new logo.

 

3) Even after more than two years, there continue to be ongoing problems with the accuracy of NSSTA's membership database.  Especially serious was SmithBucklin's summary decision last December to remove from NSSTA's website membership list all members from two of the largest companies in the association for supposed non-payment of dues.  In fact, we understand that the error was with Smith Bucklin's invoicing procedure, which had not been changed despite more than two years of mistakes.

 

4) SmithBucklin was solely responsible for hotel arrangements for NSSTA's 2010 Annual meeting. The program schedule that Smith Bucklin gave to meeting attendees said that NSSTA's popular Hospitality Suite would be in Room 183.  This was not true.  It was Room 118.  As a result, many attendees never made it to the actual suite, a fact that severely upset not only members but also the Suite's corporate sponsor (and NSSTA member), New York Life.

 

5) Despite assurances from Smith Bucklin's PAC counsel, NSSTA's review of the first quarter of 2010 FEC Report showed significant differences between the bank account records and the FEC Report filing.  NSSTA also discovered several PAC checks not cleared from more than two years ago and an unexplained deposit of $5,100 from March 2010 that is not reflected in the FEC Report.

 

While there is potential for NSSTA Board members seated during the two plus year Smith Bucklin era to feel some responsibility (and they should) to sweep this under the rug, the structured settlement watchdog is not going to let them. Nor should any other NSSTA member. Now that every NSSTA member has voting rights they must take an active role in questioning leadership and making sure that those that are elected are accountable for serving the interests of membership above their own personal interests.  Questioning leadership means that you care. 

 

At the present time membership should consider putting pressure on the NSSTA Board of Directors, with a deserved turning of the screws a little more tightly on "those who were there", to immediately seek redress and resolve the issues involving Smith Bucklin. A follow up report should be provided to all members.

 

Current NSSTA Leadership

 

Michael Kelly, Structured Financial Associates, President

Dan Durbin, CSSC Allstate Life, Immediate Past President 

 

Directors
Joseph Barnet, CSSC, Prudential Insurance Company of America
Len Blonder, EPS Settlements Group
Randy Dyer, CSSC, Ringler Associates
James Ebel, Selective Settlements International
Dan Finn, CSSC, Finn Financial Group, LLC
Betty Gregware, CSSC, John Hancock
James E. Logan, CSSC, James E. Logan & Associates 
John Machir, Ringler Associates
Larry Niemi, CSSC, Niemi & Associates

 

Criticism is something we can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing”  Aristotle

Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfills the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.” Winston Churchill

“He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help.”  Abraham Lincoln

“Many a golfer prefers a golf cart to a caddy because the cart cannot count, criticize or laugh”

Serious Questions For All NSSTA Members and NSSTA Board Accountability

The upcoming NSSTA Annual Meeting in 6 weeks at Torrey Pines should be an interesting one.

A number of things have surfaced in the last year that ARE affecting, or have the potential to affect the businesses of NSSTA members. I have the feeling however, that the majority of NSSTA members are neither aware of the issues, nor are they aware of how their businesses are being affected or how there businesses will be affected.

I hate to be the one to stir up "the hornet's nest" but serious questions must be raised. So here goes...

Issue: Hiring of NSSTA Executive Director Debacle

1. Was the issue of Diane Swenson 's hiring actually voted on by the NSSTA Board?

2. If answer to number 1 is yes, which Board members voted for her?

3. If answer to number 1 is yes, was there an instruction or go ahead given to Smith Bucklin Management to make an announcement?

4. If the answer to number 3 is no, then why hasn't NSSTA commenced legal action against Smith Bucklin management for damages that NSSTA and its members have already suffered and will continue to suffer as a result of the January 31, 2008 press release which was believed to have been circulated throughout key members of the trial lawyer community?

5. Why did it take NSSTA two weeks to address the "premature" Smith Bucklin press release?

6. Was there an NSSTA spokesman who spoke to DealFlow Media coinciding with its "Hello Goodbye" story of February 28?  If so who?

Issue:   Information Provided by NSSTA , via NSSTA Counsel, to New York Judge Paul A. Victor for the New York Judicial Institute Debacle

In a presentation to the New York Judicial Institute made in the Fall of 2006 New York Supreme Court Judge Paul A. Victor stated that  he asked NSSTA for comment on The Halpern Group's 130X Trust. The New York Judicial Institute materials include a letter from NSSTA Counsel and other materials (including confidential NSSTA internal documents) which attempt to draw a parallel between the Halpern 130X trust and the James GIbson/SBU debacle, a point which Judge Victor drew attention to in institute materials. The parallel was bogus.

The backlash to the NYJI materials, including the NSSTA Counsel letter and other materials including the tie in to NSSTA and the "bogus parallel" was utter outrage and overwhelming support. Subsequently more than 50 signatures were obtained in support of Halpern's product including distinguished law professors, top attorneys,  a leading consumer advocate and a senior officer of the top 10 national bank which acts as trustee, and circulated to attorneys nationwide.

It is believed that several NSSTA members, perhaps because of their inability or lack of skill to compete with Halpern, have resorted to questionnable tactics involving the use of such New York Judicial Institute Materials, including the tie in to NSSTA and the "bogus parallel". Because the forseeable consequences of the letter and supplied materials to NSSTA and its members are obvious, at least to this author...

1. Was the sitting NSSTA Board of Directors in September 2006 aware of the letter being sent to Judge Victor, or did NSSTA counsel act on its own?

2. Did the sitting NSSTA Board of Directors in September 2006, which had a non delegable duty to represent the best interest of ALL NSSTA members, review and approve the part of the content in which NSSTA counsel made the Gibson/SBU inference?

3. If the answer to number 2 is yes, was a legal analysis requested and was one performed by by NSSTA counsel to analyze the potential legal exposure to NSSTA and its members as a result of the statements which included the "bogus parallel"?

4. Did the sitting NSSTA Board of Directors in September 2006 contemplate that NSSTA members would use the NYJI materials, including those portions supplied by NSSTA with the bogus parallel, to compete with The Halpern Group?

5. The explanation to this author's inquiry about this material was basically to "pin the tail on the judge". If so, what steps did NSSTA take to protect the interests of NSSTA members, to correct the judge's published materials once it became known that certain NSSTA members were using the NYJI materials, including those portions supplied by NSSTA with the bogus parallel, to compete with The Halpern Group?

6 If number 4 is true, what timely steps did NSSTA officially take to reach out and mend the fence with Halpern?

Issue:  Factoring Problem

I was there. Every single new Board member who was voted in at the NSSTA Annual Meeting in Toronto ran on an "I'm going to do something about factoring problem" platform.

1. What has the NSSTA Board of Directors, in particular those newly elected Board members, done as Board or independently, to live up to those "campaign promises"?

2. What has NSSTA done to educate judges? JG Wentworth has had executives sitting on the Board with the National Associaton of Women Judges!

3. What are NSSTA's plans to push for reform of factoring business practices related to advertising to structured settlement annuitants?

DealFlow Media Misplaces Credit on NSSTA Director... Gets It Wrong Again!

by Structured Settlement Watchdog®

In a slow week for it that was punctuated with its two stories about a "pillow fight" and the scandal concerning its staff reporter's credibility after this author discovered the "pin up" of the model's video on Alex Horvath's personal blog, DealFlow Media has tried to spin the story about NSSTA's Executive director search and is sensationally claiming a role in the decision not to hire Diane Swenson.

It has been claimed that the NSSTA's trade association management firm, Smith Bucklin, made a premature announcement concerning the purported hiring of Diane Swenson. According to DealFlow Media,  "after reviewing the item that appeared on Deal Flow Media's The Structured Settlements Wire, association officials looked further into her background, which included years of advocacy for tort reform. Swenson was then pulled from the NSSTA position, they say according to the spokesperson". 

Upon learning that Swenson was to be hired from the January 31, 2008 premature news release and, after discovering material on the Internet concerning Ms. Swenson's tort reform activities, this author contacted and confronted two NSSTA board members, including President Henry L. Strong to discuss Ms. Swenson and to express his concerns about Ms. Swenson's background. In addition he made a very specific inquiry if the purported "decision to hire" Swenson was vetted. Mr. Strong related to his author that Smith Bucklin's announcement on a PR newswire had been premature and that the Board was discussing the concerns, which he indicated were also raised by others.  The DealFlow story appeared well after the PR newswire and after those conversations. This author understands that other NSSTA members were outraged and expressed concerned upon learning of Ms. Swenson being associated with NSSTA.

The damage in the perception of NSSTA (and its members) with the trial lawyer community, as a direct result of Smith Bucklin's actions with the premature news release on the one hand together with the time that elapsed before NSSTA's official announcement (that that she would not be hired) on the other hand, is yet to be known.

NSSTA is a diverse group comprised of individuals and companies with different business models, whose clients include ALL TYPES of participants in litigation. While it is no doubt a challenge, Boards of Directors of trade associations, like NSSTA, have the non delegable duty to make decisions that represent the best interests of ALL of their members. Members of trade associations, such as NSSTA, have a duty to stay on top of the issues at the association level which could affect their businesses, to speak up and very importantly, to hold the Board of Directors responsible for their decisions.

The search IS still underway for a new executive director of NSSTA.