Securities Litigation

We have years of experience representing issuers, broker-dealers, clearing brokers, investment banks, institutional investors, market makers and specialists in litigation arising under the federal and state securities laws and regulations and the policies, rules and bylaws of self-regulatory organizations.

Our litigators possess substantial knowledge of securities industry operations, including in areas such as clearing and settlement; the activities of specialists and market makers, floor brokers and proprietary trading firms; securities lending; business conduct, compliance, regulation and enforcement.

Our expertise includes litigation, NASD and FINRA arbitrations, as well as regulatory and enforcement proceedings initiated by the SEC, state securities regulators, self-regulatory organizations and related internal investigations.

Representative Matters

• Victory for respondent following 11 days of FINRA arbitration hearings in an action brought by former employees of the respondent firm who alleged that the firm’s principals intentionally had failed to compensate claimants for their share of cash and securities allocated to the firm in several private placement transactions in which the firm acted as placement agent.
• Obtained $8.2 million arbitration award for clearing broker in NASD arbitration dispute brought by broker seeking to avoid payment of fees due under the parties’ clearing agreement.
• Negotiated separation agreement and language of U4 and U5 FINRA filings for international investment bank and securities executive.
• Settlement five days before trial in a securities lending dispute between two broker/dealers in which our client recovered $23 million and other payments equaling 98% of total actual damages.
• Victory on behalf of clearing broker in $3 million claim for indemnification against introducing broker in NASD arbitration.
• Dismissal of federal securities class action arising out of the conversion of a state chartered savings bank to a stock-based company and subsequent dismissal of a related state court class action.
• Favorable settlement on behalf of the issuer corporation, a New York Stock Exchange-listed company, in two separate securities fraud class action suits.