The
Society of Settlement Planners (SSP) continued its assault on the structured settlement status quo during its fourth annual meeting last week in Washington, D.C. The activities included a Board of Directors meeting followed by a two
day educational program. Portions of
the educational program were broadcast over the Legal Broadcast Network.
The SSP, according to newly elected President Paul Lesti, “is a national nonprofit educational and public policy association of professional structured settlement producers and others who assist injured claimants in the settlement process". The 80 participants at the SSP meeting included federal and state regulators as well as law professors, lobbyists, product providers, attorneys, consultants and legal authors.
The SSP educational program was among the best in the 28 plus year history of the structured settlement industry. Topic highlights included: business standards and ethics, compensation disclosure, single claimant 468B Funds, Medicare and Medicaid, plaintiff attorney fees and settlement planner responsibilities. Immediate past president Michele Whitmore and educational program director Richard Risk deserve congratulations for their selection of speakers and topics.
John
Morrison, the Insurance and Securities Commissioner for the state of Montana,
and Sherman L. Cohn, Professor of Law at Georgetown University, were featured
participants in multiple discussions about ethics, business conduct and
compensation disclosure. Their analysis encompassed the NAIC’s Model Unfair Trade
Practices Act, the NAIC Model Compensation Disclosure Amendment, the
American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct and Macomber v. Travelers.
Jan Schlichtmann and Mark Wahlstrom each hosted and broadcast separate discussions about single claimant 468B funds over the Legal Broadcast Network. Schlichtmann enlivened a high-powered panel that discussed SSP’s request for guidance from the US Treasury Department. The panel consisted of: Jody Brewster of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom; Helen Hubbard, Tax Legislative Counsel for the US Department of Treasury; Judy Miller, attorney for the US Senate Finance Committee; and Richard Risk, program chairperson. Wahlstrom hosted an excellent practical analysis of single claimant 468B funds featuring economist Robert Johnson and legal tax expert Robert W. Wood.
All of the speakers were first rate. They included: Michele Whitmore, Joe Toombs, Paul Lesti, Tony Alfieri, Andrew Hillman, Jack Meligan, John Darer, Chuck Derenne, Bruno Mazzotta, Viren Patel, Ward Zimmerman, Rick Bishop, Dan Cohen, Marjorie Suisman, Tim Nay and Patrick Hindert. As a featured dinner speaker, Schlichtmann told his own version of his life story as portrayed by John Travolta in the movie “A Civil Action”.
During its Board of Director meeting, the SSP endorsed efforts in California to enact pro-claimant structured settlement legislation. Rick Bishop reported on recently introduced California Senate Bill 410 stating that the current bill is being vetted to comply with federal and state tax requirements.
See also SSP 2005 Annual Meeting - 1.
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