Securities Arbitration Information Center

Featured Articles

Introduction to Securities Arbitration – The ultimate primer on securities arbitration, authored by Mark J. Astarita, Esq., a New York securities attorney who has represented parties to securities arbitrations in virtually every major city for 20 years. An excellent introduction to the process.

Featured Books

Securities Regulation in a Nutshell – This book summarizes the essential background and current status of each major area, while keeping details and citations to a minimum. It includes references to the relevant statutes, SEC rules and releases, and other governmental materials, as well as to “leading cases.”

Featured Guides and Information

The Arbitrator’s Guide (PDF 474 KB)
FINRA developed the new Arbitrator’s Guide (Guide) to provide arbitrators with a single resource for case guidance. It replaces the Arbitrator’s Reference Guide and the SICA Arbitrator’s Manual and focuses on the procedures specific to arbitrations administered by FINRA.

Introduction to Securities Arbitration – The ultimate primer on securities arbitration, authored by Mark J. Astarita, Esq., a New York securities attorney who has represented parties to securities arbitrations in virtually every major city for 20 years. An excellent introduction to the process.

FINRA Discovery Guide – FINRA’s often misunderstood attempt to streamline discovery in customer arbitrations.

Featured  Commentary

Finally, a FINRA Arbitration Panel who enforces their discovery award. In a customer arbitration, Morgan Stanley was ordered to produce documents related to the termination of one of its key employees. It did not do so. During the hearing, the Panel issued the same Order as was previously issued by the Chairperson for production of “all” related documents by midnight...
Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh issued his first opinion for the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday. The...
The LA Times published this article, based on a study that we can't find...
FINRA has filed a proposed rule change to provide that an attorney arbitrator would be eligible for the chairperson roster if he or she completes chairperson training and serves as an arbitrator through award on at least one arbitration, instead of two arbitrations, administered by a self-regulatory organization ("SRO") in which hearings were held...
From the Securities Arbitration Commentator...
FINRA's recent rule change, which effectively removed every attorney with any relevant securities experience from serving as a Chairperson might be negatively effecting the Chairperson roster...

Introductory Material

Introduction to the Federal Securities Laws – It all starts here. A primer on the federal securities laws.

Introduction to Securities Arbitration – The ultimate primer on securities arbitration, authored by Mark J. Astarita, Esq., a New York securities attorney who has represented parties to securities arbitrations in virtually every major city for 25 years. An excellent introduction to the process.

Typical Customer Arbitration Disputes – An overview of the claims which are typically brought by retail customers against their stock brokers.

Churned or Traded? – An examination of the elements of a churning claim, and what makes a churned account different from a traded account.

Judging Suitability – A broker’s recommendations to a customer must be suitable for that customer’s investment goals and experience. What does that mean in the real world, and how is suitability determined?

Related Articles

Article Archives

Article Archives – Collection of all of the arbitration articles and commentary from the site, arranged in chronological order. You can also search the site for relevant commentary

Arbitration Codes and Statutes

Federal Arbitration Act
The Federal Statute governing arbitration proceedings

FINRA Code of Arbitration Procedure for Customer Disputes
FINRA’S rules for the arbitration of disputes between firms and customers.

FINRA Code of Arbitration Procedure for Industry Disputes
FINRA’s rules for the arbitration of disputes between firms or registered persons.

AAA Commercial Arbitration Rules
From the American Arbitration Association, the rules, the procedures and more. The AAA’s commercial arbitration, with its securities supplement apply to securities arbitrations at the American Arbitration Association.

 
Uniform Arbitration Act
This is the model Act, used as the basis for the drafting of state statutes relating to arbitration.

Introduction to FINRA Mediation
FINRA’s introduction to its mediation program, an alternate means of resolving disputes with securities brokers.

Investor Information Center
Securities Attorney at Sallah Astarita & Cox | 212-509-6544 | mja@sallahlaw.com | Website | + posts

Mark Astarita is a nationally recognized securities attorney, who represents investors, financial professionals and firms in securities litigation, arbitration and regulatory matters, including SEC and FINRA investigations and enforcement proceedings.

He is a partner in the national securities law firm Sallah Astarita & Cox, LLC, and the founder of The Securities Law Home Page - SECLaw.com, which was one of the first legal topic sites on the Internet. It went online in 1995 and is updated daily with news, commentary and securities law related links.