FINRA Arbitration Attorney and Securities Arbitration
FINRA, or The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, regulates and provides regulatory oversight for most of the securities industry, including broker-dealers, registered representatives, and investment firms. FINRA does not regulate Registered Investment Advisors. FINRA is in turn subject to oversight from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). FINRA is operated and funded by the securities industry.
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Most investors will find that their securities arbitration firm, and that firm’s financial advisors, are members of FINRA. Investors should know that when opening an account with a FINRA registered firm, they will be asked to sign an opening agreement that contains a provision that requires all disputes that may arise between the investor, the firm, and/or advisor must be resolved through FINRA arbitration conducted with the Code of Arbitration Procedure for Customer Disputes.
Customers are entitled to bring a FINRA claim pro se on their own behalf without using a law firm. The record of awards suggests that this is not a good idea. The vast majority of pro se awards are zero. On the other hand, many firms, like Veach Legal, will take cases on a contingent basis; Veach Legal does not charge attorney fees and only gets paid if the claim results in an award for the client.
FINRA Arbitration, conducted by FINRA Arbitration attorneys, is initiated with filing a Statement of Claim, like a Complaint in state or federal court, setting out the claims of the investor, which generally include FINRA Arbitration claims for monetary damages arising from the mishandling of the investor’s account. The investment firm’s law firm then responds with an answer, essentially rebutting the investor’s claims and protecting them from securities fraud.
FINRA then provides the parties with a list of potential arbitrators. Depending on the significance of the arbitration claim, there will be one or three arbitrators. The parties then rank the arbitrators. All the prior awards of the potential panel members are available the FINRA website, which is very helpful in the ranking process. A panel is determined by FINRA. Arbitration provides the advantage of generally resolving the dispute quicker than a court case with less discovery required and most often lower costs.
Once the Panel has been determined, the Panel and the parties decide on a hearing date and other issues at what is referred to as an Initial Pre-hearing Conference. The arbitration itself is conducted like a more casual court trial with a FINRA Arbitration lawyer. Witnesses are sworn in and the lawyers for both sides are entitled to question the witnesses. The Panel members can also question the witnesses. The hearings generally take place in a conference room in one of the cities in which FINRA has a hearing site. FINRA has at least one hearing site in every state, generally in the largest cities in the state. Veach Legal has handled FINRA arbitration procedures throughout the country.
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