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How we make money

Settlement Record is an independent publisher, not a law firm, and it does not give legal advice. It is paid in one way: when a reader asks for a case review, consents to be contacted, and is referred to a participating law firm or legal-intake partner, that firm or partner may pay us a referral fee. We also sell labelled attorney-advertising placements beside the record at a flat fee, described below. None is running today. Nothing else on the site is sponsored.

What happens when you request a case review

1. You fill in the form on a lawsuit record. The consent box is unchecked until you check it. Its exact wording is: “I agree that Settlement Record and a participating law firm or intake partner may contact me about my potential claim by phone, text message, or email at the number and address I provided, including with automated dialing or prerecorded messages. I understand this consent is not a condition of any service, that message and data rates may apply, and that I can reply STOP to end texts.”
2. Your request is stored with the consent sentence you saw, the time you submitted it, and a one-way hash of your connection. This is the record that you gave express written consent, which federal telephone-consumer law requires before anyone may call or text you with automated technology.
3. If a participating firm or intake partner accepts referrals for that litigation, your details are passed to it and it may contact you. If none does, your details are held and nothing else happens. The page tells you which situation applies before you submit.
4. You can withdraw at any time by replying STOP to a text, telling the caller, or emailing hello@mlighthouse.com. We will delete the request on ask.

What a referral fee does and does not change

A fee does not change what the record says. Case counts come from the Judicial Panel's report, status from court orders and administrators, and eligibility from the filings, whether or not a partner is buying referrals for that litigation. A litigation with no partner gets the same record as one with a partner. Settled and dismissed litigations are labeled as such even when that ends the reason anyone would request a review.

A fee does mean we have an interest in you requesting a review. That is why the criteria section on every record quotes the court documents rather than paraphrasing them generously, and why the form says plainly when reviews are not open.

What never happens

• We never sell or share your details with anyone other than the firm or partner you consented to be contacted by.
• We never pre-check a consent box, bury consent in terms, or trade consent for a sweepstakes entry.
• We never host a claim form or take a settlement claim. Those go to the court-appointed administrator.
• We never accept payment to change a status label, a case count, or a criteria list.
• No page carries a projected payout.

Advertising

Law firms and legal marketers can buy a placement beside a lawsuit or MDL record. Each is a flat fee for a set period, never a payment per case, per call or per signed client. Every unit is labeled “Attorney advertising” and names the responsible attorney. An advertiser buys space next to the record and nothing in it: counts, status labels and criteria read the same with or without an ad on the page. No placement is running today. Details for advertisers: advertise.

Method and sources: methodology. Data handling: privacy.