Tacker LeCarpentier Leading National Structured Settlements Trade Association
Tacker LeCarpentier of Raleigh, a longtime member of the North Carolina Bar Association and president of Settlement Planning Services, LLC, recently accepted the gavel as the new president of the National Structured Settlements Trade Association (NSSTA).
LeCarpentier began his one-year term as president on Friday, May 6, at the organization’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C., where NSSTA is also based. NSSTA was founded in 1985 and “represents nearly 1,200 licensed consultants, attorneys, insurance companies, and other professionals who work with accident survivors and their dependents.”
The annual meeting represents the first time since 2019 that the event has been held in person due to COVID-19 restrictions.
LeCarpentier joined the NSSTA in 2006 and is the Association’s 37th president. He serves as a broker for Summit Settlement Services and is the first Summit representative to lead NSSTA.
“For 37 years,” LeCarpentier stated in his introductory address, “NSSTA has been protecting the rights of injury victims and their families through passage of critical federal and state legislation to enhance and protect the financial security that structured settlements provide when these families are beset with an unforeseen tragedy, accident, injury or death. NSSTA has also been a critical player in the adoption of key regulatory protections in all 50 states to protect claimants from the abuses of certain factoring companies – those who buy future structured settlement rights.
“Those who helped establish the structured settlements industry had the foresight to build an association of professionals dedicated to one common goal – produce the best possible settlement plan for injury victims and their families. From the beginning, this has meant bringing together structured settlement consultants (both plaintiff and defense), life insurance companies, trusts and estate attorneys to work together to solve problems and focus on the needs of the people we serve.”
LeCarpentier has been a staunch advocate for NSSTA since he started in the industry in 2005.
“I received my Certified Structured Settlement Consultant certification in 2008, and it is one of the smartest things I have ever done,” LeCarpentier said. “NSSTA made that possible. The courses involves approximately 80 hours of study and classroom work, and a very involved examination. Thankfully I passed.
“We have recently upgraded the CSSC program and are moving it to the University of Texas this fall. We really look forward to working with the excellent faculty and staff in Austin.”
LeCarpentier’s emphasis in the coming year will be on industry growth, unity, legislative matters, and the establishment of a new NSSTA caucus dedicated to diversity in the industry.
“We have so many things going on this year,” LeCarpentier said. “It has been really great to be a part of introducing the Women’s Caucus into our organization over the last year. There is so much excitement and enthusiasm for what we do in that group. We are also pushing to include PTSD claims amongst those physical injury claims that can be structured on a tax-free basis. I also hope to have a Judicial Education program ready to roll for our North Carolina Superior Courts in the next six months.”
Tacker LeCarpentier addresses Women’s Caucus at 2022 NSSTA Annual Meeting.
LeCarpentier views his service with NSSTA as a rewarding experience that has allowed him to give back to both the organization and the structured settlement industry.
“I try to give back in part because this industry has been very, very good to me,” LeCarpentier said. “This work is my passion because our industry and this Association do so much good for people at the worst times of their lives. NSSTA facilitates that – and always has.”
“The other thing is the connections that I have built around the country. There is not a state I go into where I don’t know structured settlement professionals in that state. Those three things – knowledge, giving back, connections – have really enhanced my business and my company.”
LeCarpentier is a 1980 graduate of the Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1985 and is a 1991 graduate of Wake Forest University School of Law, where he won AmJur awards in Trial Practice and Family Law, and was a member of the Honor Court, Student Trial Bar and Moot Court.
LeCarpentier began his legal career as a law clerk for Chief Justice James G. Exum Jr. of the N.C. Supreme Court. He practiced law in Raleigh with Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog from 1993-2005 and served as director of Settlement Planning & Structured Settlements for Lawyers Insurance Agency from 2006-17.
LeCarpentier established Settlement Planning Services, LLC in August 2017. He lives in Raleigh with his wife Tricia, and they have 22-year-old fraternal twin daughters, Katherine and Grace.
“It is so humbling and exciting to take on this role,” LeCarpentier concluded. “I am grateful to have the opportunity to give back to this industry, which has given me so much over the last 17 years. What a treat to do what you love with those who share this passion.”
Russell Rawlings is director of external affairs and communications for the North Carolina Bar Association.