In
a
best-case
scenario,
a
lawsuit
or
some
other
kind
of
legal
matter
settles
with
everyone
signing
a
settlement
agreement
and
one
party
paying
the
other
a
lump
sum
for
a
release
of
claims. However,
sometimes
parties
do
not
have
enough
money
to
make
payments
under
a
settlement
agreement
all
at
once
and
a
longer
payment
period
is
needed. In
my
practice,
I
have
seen
payment
periods
of
a
few
months
to
a
few
years.
The
longest
payment
period
I
have
ever
seen
was
10
years!
Although
it
might
seem
easy
to
simply
agree
to
a
long
payment
plan,
lawyers
need
to
evaluate
certain
considerations.
Continued
Involvement
Lawyers
might
think
that
once
a
settlement
agreement
is
signed,
their
involvement
in
a
case
ends. This
is
not
always
the
case. For
instance,
a
lawyer
can
be
ethically
connected
to
a
lawsuit
after
a
settlement
agreement
is
signed
if
the
lawsuit
is
not
discontinued
until
after
the
last
settlement
payment
is
made. This
can
be
difficult
for
lawyers. Sometimes
attorneys
are
relieved
at
being
done
with
cases
for
a
variety
of
reasons,
usually
because
clients
are
difficult
to
handle
or
the
subject
matter
of
the
case
is
troubling. However,
if
a
settlement
agreement
comes
with
a
long
payment
period,
there
can
be
months,
if
not
years,
of
additional
work
that
a
lawyer
needs
to
perform
on
a
file. As
the
case
may
not
end
when
the
ink
dries,
lawyers
need
to
have
their
eyes
wide
open
when
they
are
involved
in
a
settlement
agreement
with
a
longer
payment
period.
Keep
Paperwork
After
a
matter
settles,
it
can
be
easy
to
close
a
file
on
a
case
and
forget
about
information
related
to
a
matter. However,
if
settlement
payments
are
interrupted,
or
after
all
of
the
settlement
payments
are
made,
the
lawyer
might
need
to
get
involved
in
the
case
once
again
either
to
file
a
motion
related
to
the
settlement
or
to
take
the
proper
steps
to
discontinue
a
lawsuit.
Over
the
course
of
my
career,
I
was
involved
in
multiple
settlement
agreements
that
called
for
two-year
payment
periods. In
each
of
these
instances,
I
was
informed
by
the
client
that
all
of
the
settlement
payments
had
been
made
and
that
the
cases
needed
to
be
discontinued. In
each
instance,
I
needed
to
refresh
my
recollection
about
the
files
and
review
all
of
the
documents
I
had
for
the
matters
to
see
what
needed
to
be
done
to
finally
put
the
matters
to
rest.
In
each
instance,
when
I
reached
out
to
other
stakeholders
to
the
settlement,
they
were
usually
just
as
surprised
as
I
was
that
the
settlement
payment
term
had
expired
and
that
they
needed
to
take
steps
to
close
a
file. Lawyers
can
prepare
for
this
eventuality
by
drafting
a
summary
of
the
case
and
next
steps
for
themselves
in
the
future
so
it
is
easier
to
recall
important
facts
about
the
case
at
the
critical
time.
Don’t
Burn
Bridges
Lawyers
often
do
not
end
cases
on
the
best
terms
with
stakeholders
to
a
legal
dispute. Clients
might
think
that
their
counsel
did
a
poor
job
on
a
matter
resulting
in
a
less-than-optimal
resolution,
and
this
can
strain
the
attorney-client
relationship. Moreover,
the
act
of
negotiating
a
settlement
agreement
can
be
heated
and
can
disrupt
relationships
that
lawyers
have
with
their
adversaries. However,
it
is
important
for
attorneys
to
maintain
their
connections
with
stakeholders
to
a
deal
when
a
settlement
agreement
that
has
a
long
payment
term. Chances
are
that
counsel
will
need
to
engage
with
stakeholders
to
a
deal
throughout
a
payment
period
and
this
is
easier
if
everyone
gets
along.
In
any
event,
I
am
not
opposed
to
longer
payment
terms
under
the
right
circumstances,
since
this
empowers
parties
to
settle
cases
when
they
do
not
have
cash
available
to
make
a
settlement
payment
immediately. However,
lawyers
should
take
steps
to
prepare
themselves
for
settlement
agreements
with
long
payment
terms.
Jordan
Rothman
is
a
partner
of The
Rothman
Law
Firm,
a
full-service
New
York
and
New
Jersey
law
firm.
He
is
also
the
founder
of Student
Debt
Diaries,
a
website
discussing
how
he
paid
off
his
student
loans.
You
can
reach
Jordan
through
email
at jordan@rothman.law.