I recently had two clients, both respondents in pending matters – ask me the same question in the same day: should I mediate this case? The answers I gave them differed dramatically, not just because the facts of each case were very different, but because one case was a customer arbitration, where we are defending
broker-dealer
Day Two of FINRA’s Annual Conference
By UB Greensfelder on
I wish I was able to report some fireworks, or something semi-controversial, but FINRA and its hand-picked panelists managed to avoid saying anything particularly remarkable in any way. If you have never attended one of these conferences, and think that people come to learn cutting edge strategies, forget it. It is all very basic, very…
Day One of FINRA’s Annual Conference
By UB Greensfelder on
Here are my thoughts after Day One.
At a minimum, you would have to admit that FINRA has a sense of humor: the song they played when Rick Ketchum, FINRA’s Chairman, was introduced to give his keynote speech was “Why Can’t We Be Friends,” the 1975 song by War. Predictably, there were few laughs after…
Notes From The Annual FINRA Conference
By UB Greensfelder on
Posted in FINRA
I am in DC, to attend the annual FINRA conference that starts tomorrow morning. I have been to many of these over the years, formerly as the Director of NASD’s Atlanta District Office, but, over the last ten years, as a lawyer who defends brokers and broker-dealers against, among other things, FINRA allegations of misconduct.…
Do As I Say And Not As I Do: To What Standard Is FINRA Held?
By UB Greensfelder on
Look, I get that nobody’s perfect. We all make mistakes, it’s just human nature. I told my kids when they were growing up the same thing I tell my associates: it’s ok to make mistakes, it’s just not ok to repeat them. Sadly, my broker-dealer clients live in a heavily regulated environment, so when they…
FINRA’s New Sanction Guidelines: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same
By UB Greensfelder on
Just a week ago, I ran a post about FINRA’s Sanction Guidelines, suggesting that they appear to have no relevance anymore, given the vast disparity between fines that FINRA is actually imposing in settled cases, on the one hand, and the supposed maximum fines described in the Sanction Guidelines, on the other. In an excellent…
May I Go Out of Business, Please?
By UB Greensfelder on
It may be the ultimate example of the heavy price that a BD pays for being subject to FINRA regulation, and it happens all the time. Broker-dealer A decides to cease operations, for whatever reason, so it files a Form BDW (which, technically speaking, is a request by the BD to withdraw its FINRA membership…
Mid-Case Disciplinary Referrals: Unnecessary and Unfair
By UB Greensfelder on
FINRA recently passed an amendment to the Code of Arbitration Procedure which provides that arbitrators no longer have to wait until the end of a case to make a disciplinary referral. Now, panelists are free to make such a referral in the middle of a hearing!
My first observation is: was there really a need…
SEC Supports Creating a Uniform Fiduciary Standard; But is FINRA Already Enforcing It?
By UB Greensfelder on
SEC Chairwoman Mary Jo White recently announced her support of a uniform fiduciary standard for broker-dealers and investment advisers, ending any remaining speculation as to her views on the subject. The announcement kicked of a whirlwind of speculation in the industry – What would the new standard look like? When would we see it? Will…