Join Ulmer partner Alan M. Wolper as he addresses hot topics including FINRA's oversight of Reg BI, trends in enforcement and arbitration filings, and perspective whether FINRA would survive a constitutional challenge....more
11/28/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Enforcement ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Regulation BI ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Webinars
When I am engaged to defend a case, whether it’s a customer arbitration or a regulatory complaint, my clients typically get to the point, sooner or later, where they ask me two questions: (1) what do I think about their...more
Among the criticisms I have leveled against FINRA are (1) that it is increasingly acting like a claimant’s arbitration attorney, by taking every possible opportunity to blame member firms for losses incurred by investors when...more
Shortly, I hope to get around to drafting a blog post about FINRA’s latest demonstration of abasement to PIABA and claimants’ counsel everywhere, namely new Rule 4111. But, that rule is such a monstrosity that it will take a...more
Let me say at the outset that I, myself, am an old (by most people’s definition, anyway), white man. So, selfishly, I’ve got nothing against old, white men. But, the fact is that FINRA arbitration panels are...more
Motions to vacate an adverse arbitration award are rarely granted by courts. Indeed, that should come as no surprise to anyone inasmuch as the awards rendered at the conclusion of the arbitral process are explicitly designed...more
I am fond of saying that, at least generally speaking, the most important document in a customer arbitration alleging unsuitable recommendations is the new account form. If the NAF is in good shape, i.e., it is accurate, it...more
Not too long ago, a single, small BD experienced a bizarre combination of regulatory overzealousness and regulatory indifference, by the SEC and FINRA, respectively. These things, sadly, happen all the time, but what...more
So I spent last week – the whole week – doing an arbitration with JAMS. It involved some of the typical elements of a FINRA claim, e.g., allegations of the sale of an unregistered security, of an “investment” gone bad, of...more
As everyone knows, back in the 1980s, broker-dealers fought hard for the ability to include in a customer agreement a clause mandating that all disputes be dealt with in the arbitration forum, rather than in court. It was...more
My friend and former colleague, Brian Rubin, publishes annually his analysis of FINRA Enforcement cases, spotting trends in terms of the number and types of matters it brings, the sanctions meted out, etc. It is an excellent...more
I get the fact that anyone silly enough to work for a broker-dealer knowingly chooses to live in a fishbowl. Thanks to BrokerCheck, you can very easily learn more about a registered representative than you can about, say, a...more
I just read this article... – admittedly authored by lawyers, Ethan Brecher and Ana Montoya, whose website provides that one of their three principal areas of practice is representing investors “who have been defrauded by...more
As the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals made clear a week or so ago, serving as a FINRA arbitrator seems rather apropos in a world where the score is not kept in kids’ baseball games (to avoid there being any “losers”), and...more
Carlos Legaspy is a respondent in a FINRA arbitration that was scheduled to go to hearing in August. As with all other FINRA cases, it was subject to a sweeping administrative decision by FINRA to postpone all in-person...more
8/20/2020
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Dismissals ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Shelter-In-Place ,
Teleconferences ,
TRO ,
Virtual Meetings ,
Zoom®
I read with interest earlier this week that a judge in Texas conducted a one-day bench trial via Zoom, apparently representing the first time this has happened. I understand that hearings, i.e., matters that involve arguments...more
Forced to sit at home under government-ordered decree, and having finished binge-watching Season 3 of Ozark and Season 4 of Money Heist on Netflix, what’s left to do except prey upon scared investors – particularly seniors –...more
I think that most lawyers who handle arbitrations, no matter what side of the table they occupy, would agree that one of the most important components of the case – perhaps the most important – is the selection of the...more
As I have mentioned before, several times, PIABA is deathly concerned with the fact that sometimes customers who prevail in arbitrations are unable to collect their awards, which typically happens when the respondent firm...more
Here is how PIABA’s one-track mind operates: in a Report it just issued, PIABA laments the frequency with which registered reps are able to get customer complaints expunged from their records. The sole reason for this, PIABA...more
10/23/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitrators ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Consumer Complaint Management ,
Expungement ,
False Evidence ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment Firms ,
Investment Management ,
Public Records ,
Registered Representatives
I was catching up on my reading and came across a column in Investment News by Mark Schoeff that described the results of a recent FINRA arbitration, results which I found a bit alarming. I caution you: reading too much into...more
9/25/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compensatory Damages ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Firms ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
Liability ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Securities Transactions ,
Unregistered Brokers
I read an article this week in Investment News with the following headline: “Brokerage Customers Winning More FINRA Arbitration Cases.” As a guy who defends customer cases, I was naturally intriguied by this. According to the...more
If you read this blog even semi-regularly, you know that I have taken a few shots at PIABA. I think they’re well earned, but some people – particularly PIABA lawyers, not surprisingly – have suggested that I’m overdoing it....more
What exists at the point where PIABA’s transparent self-interest in getting paid and FINRA’s historical lack of transparency about who is actually driving its agenda regarding arbitrations? This: a late December decision by...more