FINRA Regional Office Reorganization – Effective December 8, 2025 FINRA just announced that there is going to be an organizational change at DRS. Effective December 8, 2025, DRS is consolidating from four regions to three: East (New York), Central (Chicago), and West (Los Angeles). The statement claims that the streamlined […]
Tag: Arbitration
Tips for a Successful Securities Mediation
Securities arbitration is a proven method for resolving disputes in the securities industry. It is a quicker and more cost-effective alternative to traditional court proceedings. With increasing frequency, investors and advisors are turning to mediation to make the process even more effective. Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution […]
What is Securities Arbitration?
Securities arbitration has become the most often-used method of resolving disputes in the securities industry. Since the late 1970’s, FINRA and its predecessors have required brokerage firms and stock brokers into securities arbitration to resolve their disputes with each other, and with their customers. That requirement led to brokerage firms […]
Securities Arbitration Overview-2023 Update
Securities Arbitration is not like any other proceeding Background Arbitration is a dispute resolution process, which is an alternative to the traditional lawsuit in court. Rather than have a matter decided by a judge and jury, participants to an arbitration proceeding have their dispute resolved by an impartial panel […]
Amazon Ends Mandatory Arbitration – Consumer Benefit?
By now every Amazon customer is aware that Amazon has changed its terms of service to remove the pre-dispute arbitration agreement. Many consumer advocates are praising the move, but have they really analyzed the change? I have represented parties in over 600 securities arbitrations, and a handful of commercial arbitrations. […]
JAMS Arbitration Better Than FINRA?
That is not to say that it does not have its flaws. Scheduling hearings is often a mess, too often arbitrators don’t want to make decisions, and the certainty of evidentiary rulings is iffy, at best. I have represented parties in other forums, notably the NYSE when it was conducting […]
UBS Keeps Losing its Attempt to Vacate $11-Mln Finra Award
Back in December 2019 UBS lost an arbitration case brought by Mark Munizzi, a former UBS regional compliance officer in Chicago, whom the wirehouse fired in 2018. His claim was based on his allegations UBS defamed him with the language it put on his U5 form filed with the Central […]
UBS Ordered to Pay Broker $1.6 Million
A former star broker for UBS Financial Services Inc. who was repeatedly called a “bitch” by her boss won a $1.6 million discrimination arbitration award last month. According to InvestmentNews.com, the broker, Chrisine Carona, worked for UBS in Boston from March 2009 through July 2017 and currently is employed by Morgan Stanley. She was […]
FINRA Discovery Guide
Discovery has always been a problem in litigation matters. In broad strokes, plaintiffs want to see every document that might possibly have any bearing on any issue in the case, and defendants don’t want to produce a single document. The courts and arbitration panels spend a significant amount of time […]
Churned or Traded?
Churning claims dominated the securities arbitration landscape in the 2000’s, but have declined over the years, as the trading mania waned. As the markets improved, we have begun to see a resurgence of churning claims again. The common perception among the general public is that a customer who trades his […]
