by Structured Settlement Watchdog
Are members of the National Structured Settlement Trade Association in the factoring business or what? In response to my earlier postings concerning the now postponed DealFlow media webinar on Structured Settlements I received the following disturbing and revealing letter from its editor and publisher, Brett Goetschius. Please read the letter, particularly the highlighted portion.
"John,
Thank you for your coverage of our structured settlement programs. As you mentioned, we have postponed the structured settlements webinar planned for Nov. 29. We are in the process of expanding our programming to encompass a series of webinars on the structured settlements market as we prepare to launch DealFlow's latest alternative markets newsletter, The Structured Settlements Report, in January.
We will announce the December dates for the expanded webinar series shortly. Those interested in the programs can get more information at http://www.dealflowmedia.com/webinars/.
DealFlow's webinars, conferences and newsletters seek to address the issues in their respective markets in an independent and unbiased fashion. As you know, John, we have sought participation in these events from a broad spectrum of professionals with many differing interests and viewpoints, including yours as well as Mr. Hindert's.
I don't know if the new program formats we will be announcing shortly will address your concerns as to the appropriateness of the subject matter, or our description as introductory material. I would only remind you that our programs are aimed at professional investors and market practitioners, not the general public.. In that context, introductory" carries a different meaning.. (underlined for emphasis by this author)
Regards,
Brett Goetschius
Editor & Publisher
The Structured Settlements Report"
Comments:
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Based on conversations I've had with some other participants and proposed participants, there is a consensus that DealFlow Media has been less than forthcoming about the audience to whom the speakers were to address. There's a word for that. Brett Gottschius reminder was a CYA move.
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My sources tell me that after tort reform one of the major concerns of trial lawyers is factorability of structured settlements. The sooner that the majority of NSSTA and SSP members realize this the sooner the necrosis will stop.
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The DealFlow programs "are aimed at professional investors and market practitioners". "In that context", "Professional investors" can have no other meaning than people who invest in structured settlement factoring transactions. "Professional investors" cannot receive a structured settlement except on the off chance that they have a direct or derivative claim for a personal physical injury, wrongful death or workers compensation.
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The intellectual capital of NSSTA members would be better spent on companies that do not serve the factoring industry or its "professional investors". Why would an NSSTA member want to support the profits of a media company that is interested in promoting structured settlement factoring?
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Remember that the factoring industry's ability to harness traditional and digital media tools earlier than NSSTA members is what caused the initial interest confusion that still exists today. NSSTA members should remember how bad their space looked on the Internet in 2004-2005 and not make the same mistake again by supporting Deal Flow Media. (2005 was the height of the splogging problem, when the structured settlement industry's "shelf space" was being dominated by factoring company "apers" and other "do it yourself non experts" on structured settlements)
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Why would an NSSTA member, other than Patrick Hindert, want to promote structured settlement factoring transactions or support a vendor who effectively promotes them?
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Members of the NSSTA should email each and every member of the NSSTA board of directors with the question of whether NSSTA and NSSTA legal committee member, Patrick Hindert, has special dispensation from the NSSTA Board of directors to remain in the NSSTA while promoting and educating those who invest in structured settlement factoring transactions?. Why wait until it starts to affect your business? Guess what? It already IS!
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Every trial lawyer in America should ask why the National Structured Settlement Trade Association, whose mission it is to promote structured settlements, whose Board has been put on notice about one of its members, permits the said member to continually operate in a fashion that seems to be contrary to the mission statement, with impunity?
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In my opinion, the longer the NSSTA Board takes to ignore the problem the worse the perception of NSSTA becomes. 1 Patrick Hindert, 2 parts "structured settlement factoring vig" scandal is a recipe for the eventual destruction of the National Structured Settlement Trade Association.
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