Litigation

The National Structured Settlement Trade Association has posted a web page about "Promoting the CSSC", a settlement industry professional certification program that it administers. The page came about after conversations between officials at the University of Notre Dame and the National Structured Settlement Trade Association following a letter (Download Letter to University of Notre Dame concerning CSSC) that this author sent to the University of Notre Dame (also see archive post 3 below) with a request for its position on the extensive credential puffery fomented by certain NSSTA members, including members of the NSSTA Board of Directors, and the NSSTA itself (in a June 2009 press release announcing 2 new Board of Directors).

The publication of the subject matter on the new NSSTA web page is a welcome positive development that should have been in place from the inception of the certification program over 15 years ago. This author encourages NSSTA to circulate communication to all of its members alerting them to this web page and reminding them about their ethical requirements, under the NSSTA Code of Ethics to promote the certification properly.

There is now no excuse for ANY NSSTA member, or other settlement professional ,to simply state that they earned their CSSC from Notre Dame , particularly an NSSTA Board member like industry veteran James E. Logan (who was even copied on the letter to University of Notre Dame in an email on July 14, 2009 sent 532pm) who should be setting an example, in my opinion.  His bio page  at 101pm September 13, 2009 reads "University of Notre Dame (Certified Structured Settlement Consultant - CSSC). Another NSSTA Board member referred to in a prior post has changed his profile on his company website to more accurately reflect his credentials. In this author's opinion NSSTA Board members must be held to the highest standard, without exception, even one as revered in the industry as Jim Logan. How about it Jim?

This author regrets having to begin naming individuals. One has to consider that

(1) fair notice has been given (posts below, emails to NSSTA)

(2) the information is ALREADY in the public domain 

(3) the information is of public interest and

(4) the fact that NSSTA has only recently posted a web page about promoting the CSSC (after 15 years) is irrelevant because nothing has changed in relation to what the program is (or has been) in relation to NSSTA and University of Notre Dame.

(5) the amount of labor to make the correction can be measured in minutes and cost to make the correction is minimal (not that cost should have any bearing on ethics for something that should have been right in the first place)  

All NSSTA members are encouraged to view their own profiles on the Internet, including social media, to assure that they are not misrepresenting the CSSC certification.

Archive of Articles This Author Has Written to Address the Problem

1. Notre Dame Responds to CSSC Promotion Concerns  July 15, 2009

2. Notre Dame asked for Position on CSSC Representations About Associations with School-2  July 14, 2009

3. Notre Dame asked for Position on CSSC Representations About Associations with School-1 July 14, 2009

4. Certified Structured Settlements Blowing Hot Air About Credentials  July 12, 2009

5. Florida Annuities Fraud law...A Sign of Things To Come Elsewhere February 13, 2009

6. Some Structured Settlement Consultants Shamelessly Puff Their Credentials January 17, 2009

7. Settlement Planner's Credential Hype Is Misleading April 26, 2008

8. Do You See Yourself As A Certified False Advertiser December 5, 2007

9. 4Days In the Vicinity of Touchdown Jesus Does Not Make You One of The Fighting Irish October 18, 2007

10. Structured Settlement Broker and Settlement Planner Credentials March 11, 2006

11. American Settlement Fund (JG Wentworth) Structured Settlement Advertising Wall of Shame December 2, 2005