Thursday, June 25, 2009

ABCs of Senior Settlements

I get quite worried when I hear about things such as senior settlements. It is such a shame that people have to do this, many people want to have life assurance so that when they die, their children or other loved ones will have some money to help them out. It must be really nice knowing that you can take care of your loved ones even after you have died. In these tough times, more and more people are finding that they need the money that they have saved up in their insurance policy to live off.
It is such a shame, but with prices going up and interest rates going down and shares not doing too well, many older people who are relying on pensions or interest to live on are really struggling. There is no way of knowing how long the recession is going to last and often for retired people, borrowing is not an option or not something that they want to consider doing. It is always a shame to see people who have worked hard all of their life and saved up towards their retirement, struggling with money. They must feel real sad themselves that they have to consider taking life insurance settlements rather than having the money for their children. Many people like to be able to die knowing that their children, grandchildren and loved ones are well cared for and that is why they take out these sorts of policy without a thought that they might need to take life settlements. It could be even harder if they have already promised the money to family members of friends and then have to stop them having it because they need it instead.
It could be even more scary, if they have an illness policy where it pays out if they get unwell to help towards their health cover and they have to forego that to live off. They then have a constant worry about whether they will be able to cover their medical expenses if they need to. This stress is not good for anyone and retirement is supposed to be the time of your life when you can relax and enjoy yourself, having all of those holidays that you didn't have the time to do when you were working or that you couldn't afford to take when you had children at home.

Cash Your Life Settlements for Retirement

If you have a life policy and are struggling with money then you may be able to get some help. Your life insurance is of course meant to pay out when you die and you leave it to your loved ones, it is a great way to make sure that you loved ones are well looked after. However, these tough times mean that many people are struggling for money. Quite a lot of prices have gone up recently and with interest rates so low it means that people who are relying on an income from their investments may be suffering a lot.
There is also the problem with the stock market not being that good so dividends and income from that may not be good either. There are ways to get your hands on some extra money though. If you do have a life insurance policy you may be able to look into life settlements. There are a selection of companies, who can help you to get a lump sum of money if you cash in your insurance policy. This is unlikely to be what it is worth and may not even be the equivalent to what you paid into it, but it is a way of getting your hands on some extra money. Think about what you could do with the money. It may just be a good way of helping you to make ends meet but it may be able to pay for the holiday that you now cannot afford, for some white goods or house repairs or maybe you want to give it to your loved ones early so that they can enjoy the money while you are still around to see them enjoying it. Taking a senior settlements plan could be the answer to making sure that you are well provided for in these hard times as well as being able to help out others or just have lots of fun yourself. It is well worth searching around for a really good life settlement company which can give you the best settlement possible for your policy.
It is a good idea to get in touch with quite a lot of companies to see if they can help you and what they can give you for your policy before you agree to one. Talk to them on the phone or face to face and explain your situation to them, make sure that you get some accurate estimations of how much money you might get and then you can decide which will be the best for you.

Business Lawsuits and protecting your business under Canadian Law

Unfortunately, lawsuits are a part of doing business. During the life of a company, they will most likely be sued for something. To limit exposure, a business should take proactive measures to quell the chance of litigation. One of the most harped upon tactics for limiting liability is to incorporate. This helps ensure that when a business is sued for whatever reason that the owner's personal assets are less likely to be at stake. Incorporating is not cheap and is not for everyone, but can ultimately be worth it in the end. Getting coverage. Insurance is another thing to consider. A solid policy is a necessary expense that will pay off down the road should you end up in court. Defense coverage can cover a part of or all legal expenses and settlements and is well worth the investment. It's prudent to discuss different plans available with an agent. Find out what the deductable is, what the coverage entails and so on. Is your merchandise dangerous? Take precautions with potentially hazardous merchandise. Encasing items that could inadvertently harm incautious patrons is a good idea. Require store personnel to assist customers with certain items. Training for employees is essential. Some businesses rely on videos demonstrating the correct course of action or qualities they expect from their employees should a situation arise. Meetings to discuss issues like sexual harassment or general procedures help stave off potential lawsuits as well. Communication is key. The more detailed a picture a business owner can paint of what's expected for her staff the better. Retain a lawyer. Although there is no need for one right now, there will be. Having legal representation there for counsel shields business owners from others as well as themselves. In the book, Protecting Yourself from Business Lawsuits, Schweich states problems arise when a business owner preemptively sues someone in haste. "More often than not, the defendant becomes so infuriated at having been sued that it immediately escalates the matter… respond[ing] to the suit with a volley of costly and disruptive actions such as multiple pretrial motions, onerous requests for documents, lengthy interrogatories, and notices of deposition reaching all the way up to your CEO." Taking a moment to discuss matters with an lawyer can help owners avoid such a legal morass. There is no magic formula for 100% protection against lawsuits. Just last year, a securities broker sued a New York strip club, because he sustained "serious injuries" during a lap dance. Maybe he did and maybe he didn't, but ultimately the owner of Hot Lap Dance Club ended up being sued. Illustrating again how no one is immune from litigation- not even strip clubs.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Good Lawyer Marketing Is Complex

Lawyers sometimes come to my office to pick my brain about marketing. Typically, I'll bring them in and show them all of the things I do to get a client. I'll take out a blank sheet of paper and draw the flow chart of what occurs to get a client to raise their hand and say "I'm interested" and then all of the things that happen to them once they do. I'll show them the steps I force clients to take before they can meet with me.
Most of my visitors leave disappointed. They were looking for the magic bullet--the ONE thing they could do to get more clients. The easy thing. The tweak in their yellow page ad that would make the phone ring or the quick tips for Internet marketing that would help them dominate Google in their market area. They can't believe that I don't meet with every client who wants a free consultation and that my marketing material dissuades certain clients from even calling for an appointment.
Getting clients is a complex problem. There's a ton of competition in your market niche; consumers don't know how to tell a good lawyer from a bad one; ethical rules appear designed to make all lawyer marketing look the same; and your marketing messages compete with 3,000-5,000 other daily marketing messages.
Most lawyers look for the simple solution to this complex problem. They add color to their yellow page ad, buy "double truck" right next to the six other lawyers who use that "solution" and they let web designers create the prettiest web sites that brag about the law firm and its years of "combined experience" but end up looking like everyone else's web site.
There are no simple solutions for complex problems. There are only complex solutions for complex problems.
A multi-step, multi-media marketing system that is complex can serve to:
(1) differentiate you from the lawyers who rely on the old two-step marketing approach which consists of buying an ad and offering a free consultation;
(2) establish you as the wise man/woman at the top of the mountain without you having to say so;
(3) ward off those "C" and "D" clients who you hate by forcing them to qualify for your representation;
(4) increase the transaction value to you of each client, thus reducing your case load in order allow more time for family and other things you really like doing while you make more money.
Still interested? Think this is too "outside the box" or that lawyers shouldn't think about things like "transaction value" or "representing only those clients with whom you want to work?"
You do have a choice. If you are perfectly satisfied with your life and your practice, then no need to read further. But if you believe there is a better way to go about the business of practicing law in order to lead the life you (and your family) want you to lead, keep reading.
I suggest that lawyers start thinking about marketing in an entirely different way. Shed the belief system that says that you must market to "all-comers," meet with everyone and accept every case that walks in the door. Get over the fear that if you start rejecting clients through complex marketing that you won't have any more clients. This has not been my experience nor the experience of hundreds of lawyers across the United States and Canada who have said "no" to traditional two-step lawyer marketing.
Here's how you do it:
(1) Start with a different message. Begin by studying the marketing messages of your competition. If you are a personal injury lawyer, you'll likely find that most personal injury advertising tries to lure in the client with a not-very-unique offer of a free consultation with ads that have non-interesting headlines like "Injured?" "We Care for You" or "25 Years Combined Experience." Consider, instead, a message such as "Injured? Before Talking to the Adjuster, Hiring a Lawyer or Signing Any Forms, read the new free book about [name your state] personal injury claims written by attorney Jim Smith."
(2) Become an author. That's right, write a book. It takes some time, often as long as 90 days, to go from book idea to finished product but it is well worth it. A book is the greatest business card ever invented. Have you ever noticed how book authors are respected as experts? Do you think people like Robert Kiyosaki ("Rich Dad, Poor Dad") or Jack Canfield ("Chicken Soup For the Soul" series) waited around for someone to ask them or appoint them to write a book? What do you think happens when a client asks you for your business card and you tell them you don't have one but you can give them an autographed copy of the book you have written in your practice niche?
(3) Make an audio CD and/or a DVD of information about your practice niche. Answer questions that you know are running through your prospect's head. It's easy to create these products. You can either "go solo" or have someone interview you. Some people learn by reading, others by watching and still others by listening. (Make sure to post clips of your DVD and audio CD on your web site!)
(4) Teach the prospect how to shop for a lawyer. They are shopping. They are researching, yet 99% of them don't know what they are looking for. Write a book or free report that explains what the various things lawyers say about themselves really mean (i.e. "I'm a member of XYZ Trial Lawyer Association" or "I'm a former prosecutor") because consumers really don't know. If you fail to educate a consumer as to how to find the right lawyer for their case, they may well choose the lawyer with the most TV ads or the most yellow page ads.
(5) Prepare a brag book. Yes, go ahead. Do it. If you have verdicts and settlements, testimonials, newspaper articles about you or articles you have written that have appeared in publications, use them. If you think your state does not allow the use of testimonials in advertising, read the rules again. In just about every state any such prohibition is limited to public advertising, i.e. the stuff you run in the yellow pages or put on your web site. I'm talking about having a nice thick brag book available that you are prepared to mail or hand to people who request more information about your law firm (because you showed them that an effective way to shop for a lawyer is to ask for the book of testimonials, verdicts, newspaper articles and publications.) The brag book works because it's not you talking but others talking for you.
(6) Prepare as many other special reports or booklets as you can think to do. You already know the topics because you have been meeting with clients every day. You know the questions they have. For example, reports for personal injury clients might include: How to Deal with Your Doctor, Why a Referral from a Lawyer to a Doctor May be the Kiss of Death to Your Case, Why Your Health Insurance Company May Want ALL of Your Recovery, How to Settle Your Property Damage Case On Your Own, Why a Local Judge Called a Chiropractor a Scam Artist, How to Buy Car Insurance in [your state.]
(7) Design a multi-step, multi-media response to anyone who, following your directions, reads your public advertising and begins the process of requesting free information from your law firm. In my case there are 11 steps that go into action when someone contacts my law firm and the steps DO NOT BEGIN WITH "Come on in for a free consultation." The steps include several mailings (real mail, delivered by the mailman) of large packages packed with information, CDs and DVDs, and emails which include electronic versions of some of the free reports and books that are being mailed to them. Then an outbound call to the client is made to verify they have been in an accident, to check to see that the mailings are being delivered and to see if there are any questions. Then, AND ONLY THEN, is the offer of a free consultation made.

Some Facts About Selling Settlements

Before you decide to begin a search for companies that buy structured settlements you should consider what is involved in the process. Often, insurance companies offer a structured settlement rather than an immediate pay out of cash. Under a structured insurance settlement, the insurer promises to pay money in regular installments over a period of time. Typically selling your future structured settlement payments will require a legal process.
The insurance company is ordered by a court to pay you or your family over a period of time. Insurance companies typically fund these awards by purchasing annuities. The annuity therefore belongs to that insurance company and not to you, meaning you cannot sell the annuity. You can however sell the rights to receive future payments You can sell this asset on terms that you negotiate with a third-party buyer, or companies that buy structured settlements.
In most cases selling a settlement will require a court review. Simply put a court ordered the payments and therefore a court will have to rule in favor of selling future payments.
The court's legal review examines the person's financial circumstances, and the arguments in favor of selling future annuity payments. You would have to show that your interests would be better served by an immediate lump sum of cash, compared to the inflexible terms of the existing annuity.
The process will seem impossible throughout and it is advised to find a settlement specialist to help through the process. There are benefits to a lump sum payout and there are advantages to extended payments. The individual should decided what is the best approach to take. Laws may vary state by state so proper research is needed before you make a hasty decision.
Life can throw unexpected surprises at you everyday and your needs may have changed since you were awarded the settlement. The court generally had your best interest in mind when the award was made. You would do well to consider all factors before proceeding with your settlement sale