Litigation

Both of the following terms have their origins in the Middle English of the 12th-13th century but have distinctly different meanings.

Council

1: an assembly or meeting for consultation, advice, or discussion2: a group elected or appointed as an advisory or legislative body3 a: a usually administrative body b: an executive body whose members are equal in power and authority c: a governing body of delegates from local units of a federation4: deliberation in a council5 a: a federation of or a central body uniting a group of organizations b: a local chapter of an organization   Source: Merriam-Webster

Counsel

1 a: advice given especially as a result of consultation b: a policy or plan of action or behavior2: deliberation, consultation aarchaic : purpose: guarded thoughts or intentions4 aplural counsel (1): a lawyer engaged in the trial or management of a case in court (2): a lawyer appointed to advise and represent in legal matters an individual client or a corporate and especially a public body b: consultant 2  Source: Merriam -Webster

The subtlety seems to have been lost on one of our "distinguished industry colleagues".

Reminds me of that famous scene from the Zucker Abrahams Zucker classic "Airplane"

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In a form for a client or potential client to request a structured settlement quote, the "distinguished industry colleague" requests information about "opposing council". Now I know some readers think it petty to pointing out a spelling mistake, but the same firm also makes the written claim that it provides settlement documents to last a lifetime. Is it possible that an error in settlement documents might not actually last a lifetime?

The same firm has "distinguished" itself with a mandatory requirement that the client submit confidential medical information ostensibly to receive a structured settlement quote, despite the appearance that the quote form is not secure (i.e. no lock symbol or https in browser) and there is no published privacy policy on the page.

Download Structuredsettlements.com quote form

Best Practices

If a person elects to submit confidential medical information online it is not advisable to submit confidential medical information to any website that is not clearly recognized as secure.

Check for security seals like Verisign, Thawte, Commodo and McAfee as well as Privacy seals like TrustE.

If your are an insurance company or law firm hires a structured settlement expert is possible that you will have significant exposure if you submit confidential information to an insecure website. Unless the structured settlement expert has cyberliability insurance you will be left holding the bag.