Tax-Smart Settlement Strategies: Minimizing Taxes for Plaintiffs and Plaintiff Attorneys (2026 Edition)

Greg Maxwell
Greg Maxwell
Amicus Settlement Planners

Greg Maxwell is an attorney, Certified Financial Planner, and settlement planner with Amicus Settlement Planners, LLC. He is also a partner in the law firm Amicus Law Firm and co-founded Amicus Settlement Planners in 2006. His practice specializes in special-needs planning, government benefits planning, financial planning for settling plaintiffs, and income tax planning for attorneys.

Bryce Maxwell
Bryce Maxwell
Amicus Settlement Planners

Bryce is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) located in Amicus’ Farmington, Utah office. He specializes in tax-saving strategies for plaintiffs. His expertise with strategies such as structured settlement annuities and Plaintiff Recovery Trusts helps plaintiffs significantly reduce their tax liabilities.

Live Video-Broadcast: December 15, 2025

2 hour CLE

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Program Summary

This practical presentation equips plaintiff attorneys with essential insights into the complex landscape of legal settlement taxation. Attendees will gain clarity on differentiating taxable from non-taxable damages and explore specific tax complexities surrounding punitive damages and interest. We’ll also address significant impacts from recent legislation, including the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, highlighting the ongoing challenge of “double taxation” resulting from disallowed deductions for legal fees in many case types. Through real-world case examples, we’ll illustrate how innovative strategies like the Plaintiff Recovery Trust and Structured Settlement Annuities effectively reduce settlement taxes. Additionally, attorneys will discover methods for strategically timing their tax obligations on contingent fees and transforming taxable legal fees into tax-deferred or even effectively tax-free income, allowing them to maximize the long-term value of their settlements.

Key topics to be discussed:

  • Understanding settlement taxation
  • Tax pitfalls of punitive damages and pre- and post-judgment interest
  • The double tax problem due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
  • Reducing plaintiff tax burdens with trusts and structured settlement annuities
  • Tax timing control for plaintiff attorneys
  • Attorney options for converting taxable legal fees into tax-free or tax-deferred income

This course is co-sponsored with myLawCLE.

Date / Time: December 15, 2025

  • 1:00 pm – 3:10 pm Eastern
  • 12:00 pm – 2:10 pm Central
  • 11:00 am – 1:10 pm Mountain
  • 10:00 am – 12:10 pm Pacific

Closed-captioning available

Speakers

Greg Maxwell | Amicus Settlement Planners

Greg Maxwell is an attorney, Certified Financial Planner, and settlement planner with Amicus Settlement Planners, LLC. He is also a partner in the law firm Amicus Law Firm and co-founded Amicus Settlement Planners in 2006. His practice specializes in special-needs planning, government benefits planning, financial planning for settling plaintiffs, and income tax planning for attorneys.

He is a past president and board member of the Society of Settlement Planners, a national organization advocating for plaintiff’s rights in the settlement planning process.

Greg is a member of the American Association for Justice, the Utah Association for Justice, the Financial Planning Association, and the American Bar Association. Greg is a 2003 graduate of the Texas Tech University School of Law.

Greg is a frequent speaker to local, state, and national trial lawyer organizations regarding settlement planning related topics.

 

Bryce Maxwell | Amicus Settlement Planners

Bryce is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) located in Amicus’ Farmington, Utah office. He specializes in tax-saving strategies for plaintiffs. His expertise with strategies such as structured settlement annuities and Plaintiff Recovery Trusts helps plaintiffs significantly reduce their tax liabilities.

Prior to joining Amicus, Bryce worked at Ernst & Young (EY) as a manager (EY is one of the “Big Four” accounting firms), at Rio Tinto as an Assistant Controller (Rio Tinto is the world’s second largest metals & mining corporation), and at Cottonwood Residential as the Director of Accounting (Cottonwood is a $2.5 Billion-dollar Real Estate Investment Trust).

Bryce received his Master of Accountancy (MAcc) from the Marriott Business School at Brigham Young University. Bryce received his B.S. from Brigham Young University in Accounting & Information Systems.

Agenda

I. Understanding settlement taxation | 1:00pm – 1:20pm

II. Tax pitfalls of punitive damages and pre- and post-judgment interest | 1:20pm – 1:40pm

III. The double tax problem due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act | 1:40pm – 2:00pm ET

Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

IV. Reducing plaintiff tax burdens with trusts and structured settlement annuities | 2:10pm – 2:30pm

V. Tax timing control for plaintiff attorneys | 2:30pm – 2:50pm

VI. Attorney options for converting taxable legal fees into tax-free or tax-deferred income | 2:50pm – 3:10pm

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