Maximizing Net Recovery in Employment Claim Settlements

Jeremy Babener | Structured Legal

Jeremy is a nationally recognized tax expert. He counsels plaintiffs and plaintiff-side law firms on settlement planning, helping to maximize recovery outcomes. He also reviews and structures settlement transactions for trust companies, insurance companies, and other financial institutions. Jeremy has worked across a broad spectrum of cases and settlement sizes, including individual claims, mass torts, and class actions. His role often includes drafting and refining settlement terms, proposing tax-efficient and financial strategies, and negotiating their adoption with defense teams. He frequently speaks on settlement taxation and ethics at law schools such as NYU School of Law and the University of Chicago, contributes articles to Forbes, Bloomberg, and the ABA, and shares his insights on CNN, Fox News, and CNBC.

• Education & Credentials

Jeremy is a nationally recognized tax expert with extensive experience advising on the tax and financial aspects of legal settlements. Earlier in his career, he served as a Fellow in the Office of Tax Policy at the U.S. Treasury Department, where he gained insight into federal tax policy. His background provides a strong foundation for advising attorneys and clients on complex settlement-related tax issues.

• Recognition & Leadership

Jeremy is widely recognized for his expertise in settlement taxation and planning. He chairs the Legal Committee of the Society of Settlement Planners and is known for helping shape discussions around ethical and tax considerations in settlement practice. His leadership roles reflect his influence in advancing best practices within the settlement planning community.

• Professional Involvement

He is actively involved in several prominent legal organizations, including the American Association for Justice (AAJ) Public Education Committee and the American Bar Association’s TIPS Plaintiffs’ Practice Committee. Through these roles, Jeremy contributes to professional education and policy discussions affecting plaintiff-side practitioners.

• Experience

Jeremy has worked on a wide range of cases, including individual claims, mass torts, and class actions of varying settlement sizes. His work often involves structuring settlement transactions, developing tax-efficient financial strategies, and negotiating settlement terms with defense teams.

Kent Hansen | Structured Legal

Kent Hansen is a settlement planner and attorney based in Logan, Utah, who focuses on advising plaintiffs and plaintiff attorneys on the tax treatment of settlements and strategies to maximize settlement value. Through his work at Structured Legal, he provides guidance on structuring outcomes to achieve optimal financial results. In addition to his legal practice, he serves as a consultant for Structured Consulting, where he assists settlement planners in identifying key issues and implementing value-driven arrangements.

• Education & Credentials

Kent Hansen holds a law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law, along with a master’s degree in Personal Financial Planning from Texas Tech University. He also earned a bachelor’s degree in History from Utah State University and is licensed to practice law in Utah.

• Recognition & Leadership

He currently serves as a board member of the Estate Planning Council of Northern Utah and previously held a board position with the Society of Settlement Planners, reflecting his leadership and involvement within professional organizations related to his field.

• Professional Involvement

Kent is actively engaged in the settlement planning community through his roles with Structured Legal and Structured Consulting, where he collaborates with attorneys and other professionals to address settlement-related financial and tax considerations and to enhance planning strategies.

• Experience

His experience centers on settlement planning, where he advises on tax implications and develops strategies to maximize settlement outcomes for plaintiffs. Additionally, his consulting work involves supporting settlement planners in issue-spotting and structuring arrangements designed to create greater value in settlement scenarios.

SESSION 1 – Reducing Tax Liabilities Through Strategic Planning | Jeremy Babener & Kent Hansen | 2:30pm – 2:50pm

This session teaches plaintiff-side attorneys how to reduce the tax liabilities their clients face on employment and discrimination settlements through strategic planning, covering the tax exposure these settlements often carry, the effective ways to reduce or defer those taxes, and the role of structured settlements in spreading out and reducing tax burdens. Attorneys can be equipped to evaluate a client’s tax exposure before settlement terms are set and propose tax-efficient and financial strategies that help maximize recovery outcomes. This session also addresses the steps needed to put these planning strategies into effect.

SESSION 2 – Drafting Settlement Language to Support Tax Outcomes | Jeremy Babener & Kent Hansen | 2:50pm – 3:10pm

This session teaches plaintiff-side attorneys how to draft settlement language that supports their clients’ intended tax outcomes, covering how strategic settlement language can exclude certain amounts from taxation and the drafting and refining of settlement terms in employment and discrimination cases. Attorneys will leave able to review proposed settlement terms with tax outcomes in mind and craft language that supports, rather than undermines, the plaintiff’s net recovery. This session also addresses the implementation steps needed to carry that language into the final agreement..

SESSION 3 – Communicating with Defense Counsel on Sensitive Tax Issues | Jeremy Babener & Kent Hansen | 3:10pm – 3:30pm

This session teaches plaintiff-side attorneys how to communicate with defense counsel on sensitive tax issues in employment and discrimination settlements, covering when and how to raise tax considerations during settlement discussions and how to present proposed tax-efficient strategies to the other side. Attorneys will leave able to negotiate the adoption of tax-efficient settlement terms with defense teams while keeping the focus on resolving the claim. This session also addresses the ethical considerations that can arise in settlement practice when tax issues are on the table.