Do I Need An Attorney For FINRA Arbitration?
Although you may feel confident in your ability to file a FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) arbitration claim without representation, there are important factors that must be considered before anyone tries to go it alone. These factors are not immediately apparent to the untrained eye.
Even attorneys, if they’re not experienced in FINRA arbitration, get confused by the process of litigating stock fraud claims. Fortunately, a seasoned stock fraud attorney can help you navigate the potential pitfalls of FINRA arbitration with dignity and poise. More importantly, he’ll give you the best chance of success.
So, do you need a lawyer for FINRA arbitration? The answer should be clear, especially considering that many FINRA attorneys will evaluate your case for free. And even pursue your claim without charging you a dime until after they successfully recover money on your behalf.
In the end, if you think you’re the victim of stock fraud and you lost money because of it, it’s true that you don’t need an attorney. However, it’s just as true that you’ll be far better off with an experienced lawyer on your side.
A Good Lawyer Will Zero In On The Facts That Win Your Case
The best securities attorneys will look at your claim in terms of legal technicalities and state and federal securities laws. But they’ll also look at the not-so-apparent factors, which are commonly overlooked by non-attorneys.
For example, stock fraud issues almost always involve ‘he-said-she-said’ scenarios (e.g., your stockbroker might lie to you, but no one else was there to witness it but you). Obviously, a claim relying on ‘he-said-she-said’ arguments alone is going to be difficult to prove. This is why every attorney’s job is to uncover as many cold, hard facts as possible to make your case.
Below are a few kinds of facts that an experienced FINRA attorney will look for and why:
- Your age: The older you get, the more you need to protect your money with safe and conservative investments. If you’re a senior citizen, and your stockbroker put you in risky stocks, you may have received unsuitable advice for your age and this is actionable under the law.
- Your past investment experience: Because inexperienced investors don’t know any better, they’re much more vulnerable to getting lied to by dishonest stockbrokers. Also, investment advisors have a clear fiduciary obligation to look after your best interests and needs. For inexperienced investors, this fiduciary duty is even stronger.
Investment history can also identify any sudden shift in strategy. A sudden shift from a conservative to a risky strategy, for example, can be used to show that your stockbroker made recommendations that were not in alignment with your investment history – which is one way to make a case for unsuitable investments.
- Your net worth and other personal background info: Information like net worth, education, income and monthly expenses can be used to prove a lot of things. For example, if you have a low net worth and depend on your investments for income, no stockbroker should ever recommend you buy risky investments. Also, victims who don’t have a college or high school education sometimes have stronger claims – mainly because their lack of education could make them easier targets for fraud.
Whether or not certain facts are important in FINRA arbitration doesn’t always make sense. Nevertheless, for an experienced attorney, they’re par for the course. Failing to consider them could cause you to blindly steamroll into very big pitfalls.
Avoid Getting Bullied By The Defense
There are certain rules of decorum and appropriate ways of conducting business in securities arbitration. For example, it’s standard to request a short extension of time to file discovery responses and other pleadings. In turn, it’s standard for opposing counsel to grant these extension requests without protest (so long as they’re reasonable). However, under the law, opposing counsels don’t have to be so nice.
A person representing himself may not be treated with the same level of common courtesy that would be given to a lawyer representing his client. In fact, defense counsels representing Wall Street brokerage firms often stoop to the legal equivalent of ‘bullying’ – simply because they know they can get away with it. A layperson who has never litigated an FINRA claim simply doesn’t know anything about these standards.
In fact, I’ve seen investors who represent themselves in FINRA arbitration get the entire book thrown at them. The defense will try and tangle you up in as much procedural red-tape as it takes for you to cry “uncle!” Here, investors usually call in an attorney and say, “help!”
On the flip side, another issue is that investors representing themselves might violate politeness standards too, by accident, and hurt their relations with the defense. They might treat the opposing counsel in an angry or unprofessional way, which would make things about 100 times more difficult in doing so. The defense may be less willing to settle for example, out of anger or spite.
Maintain The Right Kind Of Attitude
Staying positive is essential to moving an FINRA case forward and no one can help you do this better than a stock fraud attorney who is advocating on your behalf.
Victims are usually hurt, confused and angry. Who wouldn’t harbor a great deal of anger toward the brokerage firm that defrauded them? However, negative feelings can actually get in the way of your success. You need to stay positive about your chances of winning the case, and you need to stay positive in your dealings with opposing counsel.
It also takes a lot of clear-mindedness to zero in on the specific facts that could win your case rather than focus on every tiny your broker did wrong. Being a nitpicky claimant is one of the biggest mistakes people make when going it alone. Better to focus your arguments on the wrongdoing and laws that hold the most weight rather than dilute your strongest claims with inconsequential information. Having an attorney representing you is the best way to keep your emotions from getting in the way of your success.
Finally, a qualified FINRA attorney will have a much easier time dealing with opposing counsel calmly and professionally, which will make settlement negotiations, and everything else, that much easier in your case. In fact, the more seasoned and experienced your attorney is, the better he’ll be at navigating this aspect of winning your case.
Get The Most Experienced FINRA Attorney You Can Find
In conclusion, FINRA arbitration case cannot be distilled to just the laws that were violated. There are rules of decorum that average laypersons don’t know. There are rules of procedure that can be used against a person who’s unfamiliar with the process. There are just too many mistakes that can be made, and far too much at risk, for an investor to try and re-invent the wheel by representing himself.
Don’t sue your stockbroker in the dark. Employ the most seasoned stock fraud attorney you can find.
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If you have been injured by stock fraud, you have been wronged and you deserve justice.
For a free and totally confidential consultation, contact the Consumer Investor Resource Center today. We will listen to your side of the story, discuss your legal rights and give you any kind of assistance that we can.