In working with law firms across the country, we meet all types of trial lawyers with different types of practices. One of the most common things we hear is, “I wish I had cases that we could use you on” or “I don’t do high dollar cases” or “I think I have a large case that will need your services soon.” The thought seems to be that Synergy can only help on the big dollar case.
It is really a common misconception that all we work on are large catastrophic cases. While we do specialize in helping with complicated catastrophic settlements, Synergy is similar to a traditional law firm’s practice in that we handle a variety of cases of all different sizes. We want to help every client regardless of whether they are receiving $5,000 or $5,000,000. We treat them all with the same empathy and respect they deserve.
The numbers tell the story. We do work on large cases, but the majority of the files we handle in our settlement consulting group are under $100,000.00 in structured settlement premium. In 2016, one-third of our structured settlements placed were under $50,000.00. We worked on a substantial number of cases that locked in for under $15,000.00 in premium. In our pooled trust services group, the Settlement Solutions National Pooled Trust has accepted new beneficiaries with as little as $7,500.00. The bottom line is we help protect the recoveries for your clients regardless of the dollar amount.
There are a variety of reasons to utilize structured settlements and pooled trusts on your cases regardless of the size. The following are a couple of common uses for structured settlements/pooled trusts in smaller cases:
MSA Funding: A structured settlement will allow you to fully fund a MSA allocation in the lowest cost possible. The use of an annuity is almost always cheaper than funding with cash.
Minor/Incompetent Cases: A structured settlement is a low cost, tax free fixed investment option. It is typically returns 1 to 2% higher than other traditional fixed interest products.
Combination with Trusts: A structured settlement can be used in combination with a pooled settlement trust. This will allows for a portion of the settlement to be invested in a tax-free fixed asset that can’t be sold, greater upside potential for the non-structured assets and often time results in lower overall trust fees.
Preservation Public Benefits: A pooled special needs trust may be an option for your client to maintain their income/asset sensitive public benefits. Our trust will work with expert attorneys in that area to determine if the trust will help them.
Synergy has built a business helping trial lawyers and their clients. Do not hesitate to contact us and hire us on any case, regardless of the net settlement amount. All our business lines operate in the same way, we work on cases, regardless of size, to assist with structured settlements, lien resolution, public benefit preservation and Medicare compliance.
