Settlement Counsel Payout Approval UI

Quick answer

Counsel review and payout approval UI prevents settlement money from leaving the fund until the right people sign off—without burying approvers in unreadable claim PDFs. Design APR- approval requests* for individual CLM-* or batch PAY-* releases, COUN- counsel sign-off states* with segregation of duties, and dual-control gates where ops prepares and counsel approves (or vice versa per plan). Admins see approval queues with amount thresholds, risk flags, and linked DEF-* / FRD-* / IDV-* status; counsel sees summary cards—not raw PII dumps. Connect to payment disbursement, fraud detection, deficiency cure, identity re-verification, and final accounting. Start from the Figma guides hub and pair with tables, badges, and Dev Mode handoff.

Who this is for

Product designers building settlement administrator consoles where payouts require counsel or supervisor approval before release.
Class counsel and claims administrators implementing court-ordered dual-control and amount-threshold rules.
Compliance teams who need APR-* and COUN-* audit trails that survive discovery and fund audits.

Approval gate overview

ApprovalGate — APR-992-0188 · CLM-992-44102 · PAY-992-22014 · Status: Pending counsel (COUN-*)
├── When approval required (plan config):
│   ├── PAY-* amount above threshold (e.g. >$500)
│   ├── First disbursement in settlement · Batch run release
│   ├── CLM-* with cleared [FRD-* hold](/designing-breach-settlement-duplicate-claim-detection-and-fraud-prevention-ui-in-figma/) · Manual override path
│   ├── [Deceased/heir](/designing-breach-settlement-deceased-claimant-and-heir-designation-ui-in-figma/) or [minor/guardian](/designing-breach-settlement-minor-claimant-and-guardian-designation-ui-in-figma/) payout
│   ├── [Foreign claimant](/designing-breach-settlement-foreign-claimant-and-international-payment-ui-in-figma/) wire above limit
│   ├── Post-[deficiency cure](/designing-breach-settlement-deficiency-notice-and-claim-cure-ui-in-figma/) high-risk category
│   └── [Reissue](/designing-breach-settlement-returned-payment-and-reissue-ui-in-figma/) REI-* after repeat RET-*
├── ID namespace:
│   ├── APR-* (approval request) · COUN-* (counsel sign-off record)
│   ├── PAY-* (held disbursement) · CLM-* (claim context)
│   └── AUD-* (prepare · approve · reject · delegate)
├── Roles (segregation of duties):
│   ├── Ops preparer — creates APR-* · cannot approve own request
│   ├── Counsel approver — COUN-* sign-off · read-heavy UI
│   ├── Supervisor — threshold override · dual rejection resolve
│   └── System — auto-approve below floor (logged)
└── Outcomes:
    ├── Approved → PAY-* released to [disbursement](/designing-breach-settlement-payment-disbursement-and-payout-tracking-ui-in-figma/)
    ├── Rejected → Return to review · DEF-* or hold
    ├── Deferred → More IDV-* or docs
    └── Escalated → Court or special master

Approval tier	Typical threshold	Approver	SLA
Auto	Under plan floor	System	Immediate
Supervisor	Mid-tier amounts	Ops lead	1–2 business days
Counsel	High value or flagged	Class counsel	3–5 business days
Court	Plan exception	External filing	Out of band

Verdict: Preparer and approver must never be the same user on the same APR-*—design the UI to enforce it.

APR-* request structure and ops queue

ApprovalRequest — APR-992-0188 · pay_id: PAY-992-22014 · clm_id: CLM-992-44102
├── Core fields:
│   ├── apr_id (APR-*) · pay_id · clm_id · batch_id (optional)
│   ├── amount · currency · payment_method_enum
│   ├── approval_tier_enum (supervisor · counsel · court)
│   ├── trigger_reasons[] (amount · fraud_clear · foreign · reissue · manual)
│   ├── preparer_user_id · prepared_at
│   ├── approver_user_id (null until COUN-*) · approved_at
│   └── status: draft · pending · approved · rejected · deferred · expired
├── Summary card (counsel view):
│   ├── Claim class · award tier · amount · payee name (masked SSN)
│   ├── Risk chips: FRD cleared · IDV pass · DEF cured · DUP none
│   ├── Linked records: CLM-* · PAY-* · [DOC-*](/designing-breach-settlement-claim-document-upload-and-evidence-management-ui-in-figma/) count
│   └── One-click drill to claim timeline (not 40-tab PDF)
├── Ops queue columns:
│   ├── APR-* · Amount · Tier · Age · Preparer · Status
│   ├── Blockers (IDV pending · DEF open · FRD hold)
│   └── Batch vs single indicator
└── Bulk actions:
    ├── Submit batch APR-* for counsel · Export approval log
    ├── Recall draft APR-* · Reassign approver
    └── Link to [audit log](/designing-audit-log-and-security-activity-ui-in-figma/)

Use badges for blocker states—counsel should see at a glance why an APR-* is not ready.

COUN-* sign-off and dual-control UI

CounselSignOff — COUN-992-0188 · apr_id: APR-992-0188 · Signed by: counsel_user · 2026-08-31
├── Sign-off screen:
│   ├── Attestation checkbox: "I reviewed per plan section X"
│   ├── Optional comment (internal · may surface in audit)
│   ├── Reject with reason_enum (insufficient_docs · amount_error · policy)
│   ├── Defer → creates ACT-* for [IDV-*](/designing-breach-settlement-claimant-identity-reverification-and-step-up-ui-in-figma/) or DEF-*
│   └── Cannot approve if preparer_user_id === current_user
├── Dual-control batch:
│   ├── Batch summary: count · total $ · max single PAY-*
│   ├── Exception list (flagged CLM-* pulled from batch)
│   ├── Counsel approves batch COUN-* with hash of pay_ids[]
│   └── Partial batch approve not allowed unless plan permits
├── Rejection flow:
│   ├── PAY-* remains held · Notify preparer
│   ├── Preparer fixes · new APR-* or reopen same with version
│   └── AUD-* captures reject reason + counsel comment
└── Delegation:
    ├── Substitute approver with date range · AUD-* logged
    └── No permanent shared counsel login (bad practice)

Prototype side-by-side layout: claim summary left, approval actions right, audit trail footer—counsel workflows are read-decide-sign, not data entry.

PAY-* hold states until approval

PaymentHold — PAY-992-22014 · Status: held_pending_apr · apr_id: APR-992-0188
├── Hold reasons on PAY-* row:
│   ├── held_pending_apr · held_idv · held_frd · held_def · held_manual
│   ├── Badge on [status portal](/designing-breach-settlement-claim-status-portal-and-claimant-dashboard-ui-in-figma/): "Payment processing" (no internal codes)
│   └── Claimant never sees APR-* or COUN-* IDs
├── Release sequence:
│   ├── COUN-* approved → PAY-* → queued → sent
│   ├── Rejected → ops notified · claimant neutral status
│   └── Expired APR-* → re-queue or cancel PAY-*
├── Integration with [disbursement console](/designing-breach-settlement-payment-disbursement-and-payout-tracking-ui-in-figma/):
│   ├── Disbursement batch excludes held PAY-*
│   ├── Approved APR-* injects PAY-* into next run
│   └── [Final accounting](/designing-breach-settlement-final-accounting-and-court-closure-ui-in-figma/) reports held vs released $
└── Notifications:
    ├── Counsel: daily pending APR-* digest
    ├── Ops: approval/rejection realtime
    └── Claimant: only on actual send (not on approve)

Comparison: approval UI vs adjacent settlement surfaces

Surface	Focus	This UI adds
Payment disbursement	Execute PAY-*	Gate before release
Fraud detection	Block bad actors	Counsel review after FRD clear
Identity re-verification	Prove identity	Approval blocked until IDV pass
Deficiency cure	Fix claim data	Approval after cure complete
Final accounting	Fund close	Approved vs held reconciliation

Handoff checklist (Dev Mode)

ApprovalRequest — apr_id (APR-*), pay_id, clm_id, approval_tier_enum, trigger_reasons[], preparer_user_id, status_enum.
CounselSignOff — coun_id (COUN-*), apr_id, approver_user_id, attestation_checked, signed_at, reject_reason_enum.
PaymentHold — pay_id, hold_reason_enum, apr_id, release_eligible (bool).
ApprovalSummaryCard — clm_id, amount, risk_chips[], linked_record_refs[], timeline_href.
CounselApprovalQueue — tier_filter[], batch_mode, dual_control_enforced, sortable_columns[].

Common mistakes

Mistake	Why it hurts	Fix
Same user prepares and approves	Segregation violation	Block UI when user IDs match
Counsel sees full SSN/bank in list	PII exposure	Mask in queue · reveal in secure drill-down
No APR-* for batch releases	Unaudited bulk payouts	Batch COUN-* with pay_ids hash
Approve with open DEF-* or FRD-*	Bad payout	Blocker badges · disable approve CTA
Claimant sees “awaiting counsel”	Confusing · legal exposure	Neutral “processing” copy
Reject without reason_enum	Ops cannot fix	Required reject reason + comment
No AUD-* on auto-approve below floor	Audit gap	Log system approver + rule ID
PDF-only counsel review	Slow · error-prone	Summary card + timeline
Partial batch approve without plan rule	Court finding	All-or-nothing batch COUN-* default
Hold PAY-* without expiry	Stuck funds	APR-* SLA + escalate

Recommended workflow

Map approval tiers from the settlement plan (amounts, roles, batch rules).
Design ops APR- preparation queue* with blocker chips and batch grouping.
Prototype counsel sign-off screen with attestation, reject, and defer paths.
Connect PAY- hold states* to disbursement console filters.
Define SLA alerts for pending counsel APR-* beyond threshold days.
Export approval logs for final accounting and compliance exports.

FAQ

Auto-approve below $X—still need UI?

Yes—read-only auto-approve log · Filter “system approved” · AUD-* with rule_id · Counsel spot-check sample.

Reissue REI-* needs new APR-*?

Often yes after 2nd REI- or amount change* · Configurable · Link REI-* to parent APR-* chain.

Counsel rejects—claimant notified?

Usually no · Ops fixes or DEF-* · Claimant sees processing until PAY-* sends or denial path.

Batch of 10,000 low-value payments?

Single batch APR- with exception pull-out* · Flagged CLM-* separate APR-* · COUN-* signs summary + hash.

Integration with team roles?

Map preparer vs approver roles · Enforce at API + UI · No role elevation in approval screen.

Next steps

Design breach settlement payment disbursement and payout tracking UI in Figma — PAY-* execution after COUN-*
Design breach settlement deficiency notice and claim cure UI in Figma — Blockers before APR-*
Design breach settlement duplicate claim detection and fraud prevention UI in Figma — FRD-* clearance path
Design audit log and security activity UI in Figma — APR-* and COUN-* trail
Design breach settlement final accounting and court closure UI in Figma — Held vs released reconciliation

Designing breach settlement counsel review and payout approval UI in Figma: APR-* queues, COUN-* sign-off, and dual-control disbursement gates