Structured Settlements 4Real®Blog 2026

Structured settlements expert John Darer reviews the latest structured settlements and settlement planning information and news, and provides expert opinion and highly regarded commentary. that is spicy, Informative, irreverent and effective for over 20 years.

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The STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS 4REAL® Blog is a highly regarded source for structured settlement news, information, and commentary, led by structured settlement and settlement planning subect mater expert John Darer CLU ChFC MSSC CeFT RSP CLTC. With two decades of operation, the blog and 4structures.com are recognized as comprehensive resources, offering detailed guides and specialized insights. Established in 2005, the blog caters to a broad audience, including legal professionals, injured individuals, families, and various stakeholders, providing reviews and opinions on settlement planning. John Darer, President of 4structures.com LLC, is a seasoned structured settlement expert with over 40 years of financial services experience and 31 years specializing in structured settlements. Based in Stamford, CT, he is a Certified Financial Transitionist and Registered Settlement Planner, holding insurance licenses in 45 states and the District of Columbia. John Darer is dedicated to transparency and advocacy, he emphasizes the importance of engaging trained and licensed professionals for settlement planning, offering valuable insights through his investigative journalism and professional commentary.

Category: Personal Injury Lawyer Ethics

  • Ethics of Lawyers Buying Structured Settlements Explored

    Ethics of Lawyers Buying Structured Settlements Explored

    Personal injury lawyer in a position of superior knowledge and trust, takes financial advantage of a personal injury client by entering into a structured settlement factoring transaction using an offshore company controlled by the TX/LA lawyer, shafting the client for in excess of a $1 million spread, Gross!

  • Ethical Obligations for Lawyers in Factoring Cases

    Ethical Obligations for Lawyers in Factoring Cases

    Factoring companies depend on a steady supply of structured settlements to survive. Factoring companies acquired by hedge funds and other entities have bloated cash reserves to tempt the wills of settlement brokers and settlement planners, lower their acquisition costs and satisfy their investors.

  • Legal “Oak Ridge Boys” Hustling Both Sides of Fence?

    Here’s a great example of how to ruin the public trust in your law firm through poor strategic thinking. First I receive a solicitation from a Tennessee law firm I’ve never heard of, Buxton law Firm in Oak Ridge, TN.Download buxton_law_firm_factoring_solicitation.pdf The Buxton Law firm website clearly states "Buxton Law Firm is a civil litigation…

  • Any One in Tulsa Got a Shrug For Scruggs?

    Trickie “Dickie” saved the tax payers a whole lot a money by “copping a plea” for judicial bribery. Does he have more or less grace than Bill Lerach,  Robert Risk?If you’re going to put it out there you’ve got to make some sense in the first place.

  • Understanding Compensation in Structured Settlement Factoring

    Understanding Compensation in Structured Settlement Factoring

    Settlement Capital’s The Factoring Channel podcast discusses the importance of full disclosure in structured settlement factoring compensation for brokers. Mark Wahlstrom and General Counsel Matt Bracy highlight that while brokers add value, their compensation can impact the tort victim’s finances. Transparency is crucial, as many overlook the ethical implications in this largely unregulated industry.

  • The Great Tort Victim Snow Job of 2007 Part 2-AAJ Are You Paying Attention?

    Any money paid in commissions to structured settlement firms, settlement planners, personal injury lawyers, bankruptcy lawyers and financial planners comes right out of the tort victim’s bottom line.

  • The Great Tort Victim Snow Job of 2007

    These firms are known to pay commissions and/or fees on referrals for structured settlement factoring transactions. This post is about those who take these fees and don’t make an upfront disclosure of such fees and how it impacts the bottom line of tort victims on these transactions

  • Personal Injury Lawyers | Ethical Concerns Of PIaintiff Lawyers Representing Settlement Purchasers?

    Personal injury lawyers are representing both personal injury victims and structured settlement buyers such as JG Wentworth. Ethical concerns of claiming to “fiercely represent the best interests of plaintiffs”ultimate working to serve profit margins borne from “cents on the dollar”

  • Still Fawning Over The “Grace” of Bill Lerach | The Okie Pokey

    Fawning over the “grace” of Bill Lerach still lead story at the “Super Settlement Planning”, pulpit of Robert Risk, a Tulsa structured settlement broker and “tough issues tackler”. What of Bill Lerach’s “plea copping” arouses Risk where “copped pleas” of Dickie Scruggs and Melvyn Weiss do not?