I have watched enough medical shows over the years, from the awesome St. Elsewhere to the never-ending Grey’s Anatomy, to have heard umpteen times that the Hippocratic Oath includes the admonition that doctors “do no harm.” While, apparently (according to Google, anyway), Hippocrates may or may not have ever actually said that, everyone gets the
arbitration
FINRA’s Fixation On Unpaid Arbitration Awards Has Morphed Into Something More Dangerous
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 little time to parse, and a lot of work to get the post shorter than ten…
More Thoughts On The Age Of FINRA Arbitrators
Not too long ago, I wrote a piece complaining about (among other things) the fact that the potential arbitrators that FINRA rolled out to the parties in a particular arbitration I was handling skewed juuuuuuust a bit towards the older end of the age spectrum; indeed, the average age of the ten potential chairpersons was…
Some Ideas In Response To FINRA’s Recent “Discussion Paper” On Expungement
FINRA recently published a “Discussion Paper” on expungement of customer dispute information in which it outlines its plans going forward on revising the expungement process. Expungement_Discussion_Paper.pdf (finra.org) (Let me just start by applauding FINRA for trying hard to get this right. The current patchwork of expungement rules and guidance could use some improvements, and there…
Lack Of Diversity In FINRA Arbitration Panels, Or, How Many Old, White Guys Does It Take To Hear A Case?
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 disproportionately populated by such guys. And I am not sure that’s a good thing for the arbitral process. …
Filing A Frivolous Customer Arbitration Carries Real Monetary Risks
Here is a very interesting piece from Chris about the fact that some customers who file arbitrations may come to learn the hard way that even when their attorney takes the case on a continency fee basis, they still have real skin the game. I also want to be clear: while the award that serves…
Order Granting Motion To Vacate Arbitration Award Raises Question: Is FINRA Meeting Its Obligation To Provide A Fair Process?
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 to be “final.” As a matter of both federal and state law, there are very, very few available bases…
New Account Forms: As Evidence, They Can Be A Blessing Or A Curse
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 is complete, it is up-to-date, it doesn’t have any changes or white-outs, then I am free to…
A Sad Story Of Regulators Simultaneously Doing Too Much And Too Little
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 happened to this unfortunate firm presents an excellent case study in regulators who simply do not wield their considerable prosecutorial discretion in…
FINRA Withdraws Proposed Expungement Rule Changes It Has Worked On For Four Years After Pushback From SEC
Sorry for the flurry of posts this week, but the development Chris writes about here was not expected, and it is important enough that I decided to push it out today, on the eve of a three-day weekend. – Alan
Today FINRA announced in a press release here that it has withdrawn from SEC consideration…