Broker-Dealer & Financial Products

Our Financial Services Litigation & Arbitration Practice Group has extensive experience servicing the diverse needs of the financial services industry. As one of the largest practices of its kind in the country, we have defended more than $1 billion in claims for clients in more than 40 states, plus Washington, D.C.

We regularly represent national, regional and local broker-dealers and investment advisers and their directors, officers and representatives, as well as other public and private financial institutions, in a wide range of matters. In recent years, we have handled matters throughout the country in high-stakes bet-the-company litigation, complex enforcement and regulatory proceedings brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and other securities regulators, and arbitrations involving diverse financial products, including annuities, municipal bonds, exchange traded funds, non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs) and business development companies (BDCs), structured products, open-end and closed-end bond funds, derivatives, collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) and other asset-backed securities, and master limited partnerships (MLPs).

Areas of Focus

• Defending suitability, churning, unauthorized trading and other sales practice claims.
• Prosecuting, defending and advising on raiding, recruitment, termination, registration, disqualification and other employment matters.
• Consulting on compliance and supervision issues.
• Advising on margin, mark-up, clearance, settlement, recordkeeping, net capital and other reporting requirements.
• Counseling on customer privacy, data protection and response to data breaches.

What Sets Us Apart

• Extensive Industry Experience: Our attorneys have dedicated their careers to this practice and have been recognized repeatedly by Best Lawyers in America©. They work seamlessly with one another, our clients, and a deep bench of attorneys and para-professionals to ensure that we handle all aspects of our clients’ needs effectively and efficiently. Our deep understanding of the industry and the myriad regulatory issues impacting our clients, coupled with our extensive trial experience, allow us to provide superior service and achieve outstanding results for our clients.
• Innovative Tools and Resources: We bring added value to clients with innovative tools such as our proprietary BBS Arbitrator Database, which features detailed notes and information on thousands of arbitrators and facts on more than 21,000 awards. When choosing panels or assisting a client in doing so, we mine the database to provide a customized summary with recommendations based on qualitative and quantitative factors.
• Market Insights and Forecasts: We publish quarterly market forecasts for clients, analyzing market conditions, arbitration filings, and award trends, helping clients stay ahead of industry developments.

Experience

• Open-End Fund, Closed-End Fund and ERISA Litigation for Morgan Keegan
  We served as lead counsel for Morgan Keegan and related entities in federal securities, ERISA and derivative multi-district litigation related...
• Success in Defending $5.8 Million FINRA Arbitration Claim
  We successfully defended LPL Financial in a $5.8 million FINRA arbitration claim.  The claimants asserted that LPL improperly concentrated their...
• Case of First Impression for Morgan Keegan
  We successfully argued issue of first impression under the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act before the U.S. Court of Appeals...
• Success in Arbitration and On Appeal
  We successfully represented Morgan Keegan in obtaining the dismissal of customer claims against the firm in a FINRA arbitration. The...
• Defense of Product Failure Cases
  Between 2008 and 2012, we represented Morgan Keegan in defense of more than 300 customer-initiated arbitrations in the wake of...
• Raiding Case Before NASD Arbitration Panel Results in $6 Million Award
  We represented Duncan-Williams, Inc. in a raiding case against Coastal Securities, Inc., in which our client alleged that Coastal and...
• Success for Raymond James in FINRA Raiding Case
  We represented Raymond James & Associates, Inc., in a raiding claim against a competitor, Cantor Fitzgerald, that hired a significant...
• Time-Barred Claims Dismissed in Arbitration and in Court
  We successfully represented Securities Service Network and one of its investment advisory representatives in obtaining dismissal of customer claims against...
• Success Before the Sixth Circuit, Petition for Certiorari Defeated
  We successfully represented Securities Service Network, Inc., and its principal officer in an arbitration that was brought outside of the...
• Suitability Claims Dismissed in Arbitration
  We successfully represented Century Securities in a FINRA arbitration involving claims of unsuitably risky and inappropriate investment recommendations to the...

Professionals