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Why Plaintiff Attorneys Haven’t Heard About Deferred Compensation Plans

Published: July 19, 2024Last Modified: August 17, 2026
Published: July 19, 2024Last Modified: August 17, 2026

Key Takeaways

  • Many plaintiff attorneys are unaware of deferred compensation plans due to industry-specific marketing gaps.
  • Traditional financial advisors often lack expertise in contingent-fee tax planning.
  • Deferred compensation is commonly viewed as a corporate executive benefit, not a legal tool.
  • Education reveals deferred compensation as a powerful income and tax planning strategy for plaintiff attorneys.

Meet the Author

Greg Maxwell, Esq. CFP®

Greg Maxwell is an attorney, Certified Financial Planner, and settlement planner. He specializes in settlement tax planning, government benefits planning, and financial planning for plaintiffs and plaintiff attorneys.

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Introduction

In the past several months, we have spoken with hundreds of personal injury attorneys and contingency fee-based attorneys from all over the country about the attorney deferred compensation plan option. One of the most common questions that we get is: “Why haven’t I heard about the deferred compensation plan option before?” Usually, this is followed by: “I wish I’d have known about this five or ten or fifteen years ago.” 

Structured Settlement Annuity Brokers and Fee Deferral Programs

Most plaintiff attorneys have heard about structured settlement annuity deferrals for their fees because plaintiff attorneys are marketed to heavily by structured settlement annuity brokers.

However, in order to offer participation in a deferred compensation plan to attorneys, you generally have to access to a registered investment advisory firm, and you have to have a relationship with the deferred compensation plan administrators that offer these types of programs. 

Most structured settlement brokers are not Certified Financial Planners™, and very few structured settlement brokers are affiliated or connected with a registered investment advisory firm. Because they do not have access to a registered investment advisory firm, talking about the deferred compensation plan option is not in their own financial interest to recommend.

Why Amicus Settlement Planners Is the Top Choice for Attorney Fee Deferrals

That may be one reason why plaintiff attorneys have not heard about deferred compensation plans. We feel it is our responsibility to educate the plaintiffs’ bar about this information.

This is why we do the education that we do: to help the plaintiffs’ bar and trial attorneys across the country understand the pros and cons of each of the attorney fee deferral options available to them.

We love talking to attorneys about their deferred attorney fee options, and we love helping plaintiff attorneys explore if these strategies might help them save money on income taxes and grow their wealth. So, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us.

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