Beyond Structured Settlements

S2P2J Release 45

Release 45 of "Structured Settlements and Periodic Payment Judgments" (S2P2J) is now available from publisher Incisive Media. Incisive Media purchased ALM (American Lawyer Media) in 2008 including publishing rights to S2P2J.

Co-authored by Daniel W. Hindert, Joseph J. Dehner and Patrick J. Hindert, S2P2J was first published in 1986 with 45 semi-annual updates. NSSTA and SSP both utilize S2P2J in their certification programs.

New S2P2J chapters since 2001:

• Chapter 15: "Government Benefits and Structured Settlements"
• Chapter 16: "Transfers of Structured Settlement Payment Rights"

Recently expanded S2P2J sections:

• Section 3.06A: "Non-Qualified Assignments"
• Section 3.07A: "Settlement Trusts"
• Section 6.02: "Structured Settlement Consultants"

S2P2J Release 45 features a new and expanded Section 3.08B discussion of Section 468B settlement funds. This up-to-date analysis includes:

• A practical explanation of Section 468B settlement funds;
• When and how to use them;
• Statutory and regulatory background for designated settlement funds (DSFs) and qualified settlement funds (QSFs);
• Discussion of the Tenth Circuit decision in United States v. Brown validating the settlement QSF regulations;
• Mechanics of settling up, operating and winding down Section 468B settlement funds;
• Summary of how Section 468B settlement funds are taxed under federal and state income tax laws;
• Sample terms of fund administration;
• Recommendations when evaluating the proposed terms of settlement fund administration;
• Practice pointers for courts, litigators, and fund administrators as they define their 468B duties and responsibilities.

Concurrent with the recent publication of Robert W. Wood's legal treatise, "Qualified Settlement Funds and Section 468B", S2P2J Release 45 underscores how important 468B funds are for structured settlements and settlement planning. Both professional communities need more and improved education about 468B funds. So do judges, trial attorneys, mediators, trustees and guardians.

Robert Wood's book and S2P2J Release 45 substantially upgrade the available learning resources.

S2KM's review of Robert Wood's 468B book: "Robert Wood and 468B Funds".

Robert Wood's commentary about 468B funds:"Robert Wood QSF Interview".

2008 NAELA Symposium - 2

This blog post looks at the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and elder law certification (CELA) from the perspective of knowledge management (KM) and web 2.0. S2KM's prior blog post (2008 NAELA Symposium-1) featured S2KM's "Web 2.0 for Lawyers" wiki  plus a NAELA-specific podcast interview by Scott Drake for the Legal Broadcast Network (LBN) with Patrick Hindert, S2KM's Managing Director and blog author.

Knowledge Management (KM) means organizing knowledge to achieve productive work, competitive advantage and business value. KM provides a professional discipline to personalize advancing Internet technologies and to help knowledge workers understand and manage personal, organizational and industry knowledge.

Here are some recommended KM learning resources for NAELA members:

• Wikipedia definitions for
  • Knowledge management
  • Elder law
• Google searches for
  • Knowledge management
  • Elder law
  • Elder law wikis
  • Elder law blogs
  • Elder law podcasts
• Denham Grey's
  • KM wiki
  • Knowledge Sharing and Social Software
• Web 2.0 for Lawyers Concept Map - Dr. Barbara Bowen
• Selected blogs featuring KM and law
  • Lessig 2.0 - Lawrence Lessig
  • DennisKennedy.com - Dennis Kennedy
  • Law X.0 - Ian Best
• S2KM blog posts
  • Web 2.0 for Lawyers
  • Concept Maps
  • Introduction to Podcasting
  • KM and Law
  • KM and Structured Settlements

From a traditional (pre-web 2.0) KM perspective, NAELA represents an "advanced" and knowledge-intensive community of practice. NAELA's community knowledge is displayed on the NAELA website as well as the website of the National Elder Law Foundation (NELF) which sponsors and manages the Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) program.

In addition to the CELA program and the several hardcopy elder law textbooks CELA recommends as learning resources, NAELA captures and distributes knowledge in many formats including:

• NAELA's website - an excellent example of a web 1.0 website;
  
• NAELA conferences - including hardcopy handouts, CD Roms, and audio tapes;
• NAELA Journal - an academic journal featuring articles by leading elder law attorneys and professors;
• NAELA News - a magazine featuring additional articles by leading elder law attorneys and professors;
• NAELA Listserv - an online tool for NAELA members to communicate about substantive legal issues.  

Question: what is striking about NAELA's "advanced" knowledge-intensive community of practice?

Answer: NAELA currently does not offer its 4400 members any:

• Web 2.0 resources; or
  
• Web 2.0 applications; or
• Web 2.0 learning strategies.  

NAELA's web 2.0 shortcomings are shared by almost every other professional trade association S2KM follows. AAPD, featuring two association blogs, represents the singular exception that proves the rule. Because of NAELA's strong knowledge foundation and orientation, however, this author predicts NAELA and its professional members will become successful adapters of web 2.0 tools and technologies.  It is time for NAELA to begin this transition.

Social Network Technologies

Denham Grey, a leading Knowledge Management (KM) thinker and practioner, takes on the KM lions in their own den when he moderates an online presentation this week for the "Star Series" sponsored by the Association of Knowledgework (AOK).

Entitled "Knowledge Sharing and Social Software", Denham's presentation includes a valuable and related wiki.  Among other resources, the wiki features a concept map of podcasting created by Barbara Bowen for S2KM Limited.

For additional background information about social network technologies, see Denham Grey's weblog, "Knowledge-at-work" as well as the following wikipedia entries:

• Community of practice

• Concept map

• Knowledge management

• Podcasting

• RSS

• Social bookmarking

• Social network

• Weblog

• Wiki

Plus additional information about:

• Podcasting
• Knowledge management and structured settlements.
• Membership in AOK.

Congratulations Kalamazoo!

The Kalamazoo Promise  represents an exciting and entrepreneurial investment in learning and community development.  Congratulations to Kalamazoo and the Kalamazoo Public Schools.

From one graduate of Kalamazoo's public schools , thanks to everyone associated with the Kalamazoo Promise - including anonymous donors as well as persons who have contributed, and continue to contribute, to make Kalamazoo a special community.