FINRA Arbitration Lawyers

Finra arbitration lawyer serving the entire United States

Losing money in an account you handed to a licensed professional is a different kind of loss than a bad market. Investors hire a FINRA arbitration lawyer at Erez Law, PLLC, after a broker or advisor mishandled money in an account they trusted.

We represent investors nationwide and have recovered more than $400 million, with 65-plus years of combined experience behind every claim.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) runs this arbitration forum under its own rulebook. The brokerage firm on the other side retains counsel who works in that forum every week.

Call 305-728-3320 for a free, confidential consultation. Where you live places no limit on our representation.

Why Do Investors Bring Their FINRA Arbitration Claims to Erez Law?

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Investors bring us their claims because we prepare every case as though it were going to a full evidentiary hearing.

That posture changes how a brokerage firm’s defense counsel prices the dispute. Our attorneys have recovered more than $400 million for investors and secured some of the largest awards in the country.

Jeff Erez, our founder, says it plainly: “I will try your case if we have to and we have experience and strategies that have gotten results to put you in the best position to prevail.”

What Our Trial Posture Means at the Negotiating Table

Defense counsel sizes up opposing counsel before the claim. A lawyer who files a claim and then waits for an offer gets paid accordingly. We build the record, take the discovery fights, and keep the hearing date in front of everyone involved.

Our reputation in this forum rests on a short list of concrete things:

  • More than $400 million recovered for investors nationwide
  • 65-plus years of combined experience in securities arbitration
  • Thousands of investors represented across the United States and abroad
  • Some of the largest awards in the country
  • Founder Jeff Erez, with more than two decades on the investor side of claims

Experience in arbitration is not interchangeable with courtroom experience. Arbitrators decide these cases, and what persuades a three-person panel differs from what persuades a jury.

A National Practice, Run From One Miami Office

We represent investors in every state, in Puerto Rico, and abroad, from our office in downtown Miami. Hearings take place near where you lived when the dispute arose, so most of our clients never travel to us. Our Google reviews describe how that arrangement works in practice.

What Does FINRA Arbitration Cover and What Does It Leave Out?

FINRA arbitration covers disputes between investors and FINRA member brokerage firms or their registered representatives. It excludes a good deal.

Market declines with no misconduct behind them fall outside it. So do trades you placed yourself in a self-directed account. So do disputes with a bank rather than a brokerage.

Arbitration Compared With Civil Court

The two forums differ in ways that matter to the pace and finality of a recovery. The table below explains their differences.

Feature FINRA arbitration Civil court
Decision maker A panel of one or three arbitrators A judge or a jury
Typical time to resolution Often 12 to 18 months Frequently several years
Discovery Document exchange under FINRA’s rules, few depositions Broad discovery, including depositions
Challenging the outcome Narrow grounds to vacate an award Standard appellate review
Public record The award is published, the filings are not Filings are generally public

What Kinds of Broker Misconduct Support a FINRA Arbitration Claim?

Broker misconduct supports a claim when a recommendation or a trade broke the rules governing the advisor and caused a loss. The conduct drives the case, not the size of the drop. Panels look at what the broker recommended, what the client was told, and what the firm did about it.

Most of the claims we file fall into recognizable patterns:

  • Unsuitable recommendations that ignored age, income needs, or stated risk tolerance
  • Overconcentration of an account in one security, one sector, or one illiquid product
  • Churning, where trading volume served commissions rather than the client
  • Unauthorized trades placed without the client’s approval
  • Misrepresentation of risk, liquidity, fees, or projected returns

Rule violations rarely announce themselves on a monthly statement. They surface in the arithmetic: turnover ratios, cost-to-equity figures, and the gap between the risk profile on file and the holdings in the account.

Where Do the Brokerage Firm’s Obligations Come In?

Brokerage firms owe supervisory duties that exist independently of what any single broker did. A firm that ignored exception reports, missed concentration flags, or cleared trades against its own questioned compliance rules carries direct exposure.

Registration and disciplinary history published on FINRA BrokerCheck often reveals a pattern the firm knew about long before the investor did.

Does the Claim Run Against My Broker or the Brokerage Firm?

The claim runs against the brokerage firm rather than the individual broker alone. That answer matters to clients who feel conflicted about pursuing someone they liked and trusted for years. The firm hired the broker, supervised the broker, and collected on the account.

Brokerage firms carry both the supervisory obligations and the assets. An award against a registered representative who has since left the industry is frequently uncollectable. Naming the firm puts the claim where recovery actually exists.

What That Means for You Personally

You are not asked to build a case around personal blame. Our claims rest on account records, trade data, and internal compliance files. Many of our clients never see their former broker again during the entire process.

How Long Does FINRA Arbitration Take From Filing to Award?

Most FINRA arbitration claims resolve within 12 to 18 months, though the range can vary. Cases that settle after discovery close faster. Meanwhile, cases that reach a full hearing before a three-arbitrator panel run longer.

The sequence stays predictable even when the timing varies:

  • Statement of Claim filed with FINRA Dispute Resolution Services
  • Respondent answer, generally due 45 days after service
  • Arbitrator selection through FINRA’s ranking and strike process
  • Document exchange and any discovery motions
  • Evidentiary hearing, followed by a written award, usually within 30 days of the record closing

One timing rule deserves attention early. FINRA Rule 12206 makes a claim ineligible once six years pass from the occurrence giving rise to it. Separate state deadlines sometimes run shorter. FINRA publishes the governing procedures in its rules and case resources library.

What Does It Cost to Bring a FINRA Arbitration Claim?

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We work on a contingency fee of roughly one third of the recovery, so no attorney fee is owed unless we recover for you. Case costs are separate from that fee.

Costs in this forum are concrete rather than open-ended:

  • FINRA filing fees and hearing session fees set by the forum’s own fee structure
  • Independent analysis, such as damages modeling or industry-practice testimony
  • Document production, transcripts, and exhibit preparation
  • Travel for hearings, which are held near the investor’s home
  • Deposition and subpoena costs in the minority of cases that require them

We put those numbers in front of you during the consultation, before anyone signs anything.

How Do We Decide Whether Your Claim Is Worth Filing?

We decide by analyzing the account, not by applying a published dollar cutoff. Every consultation starts with a review of statements, trade confirmations, and the paperwork that set the account’s risk profile. From there we model the damages and give a candid read on the claim.

What We Look At First

Account statements show the holdings and the timeline. Trade confirmations show what moved and when. The new account form records what the firm wrote down about your objectives, which are frequently at odds with what ended up in the portfolio.

What Helps Us Answer Faster

Bringing documents to the first conversation shortens the evaluation considerably.

  • Account statements covering the period in question
  • Trade confirmations for transactions you did not authorize or understand
  • The new account form and any risk tolerance questionnaire
  • Emails, text messages, and letters exchanged with the broker
  • Any complaint already sent to the firm or to a regulator

If the numbers do not support a claim, you hear that in the first conversation. An honest no costs us nothing and saves an investor a year.

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FAQ for FINRA Arbitration Lawyers

What damages may I recover through FINRA arbitration?
Recoverable damages generally include net out-of-pocket losses, market-adjusted losses, and excessive commissions and fees, plus interest. Panels sometimes award attorney fees where a statute or a contract supports the request. The measure that fits a given case depends on the claims pleaded and the evidence behind them.
Do most FINRA arbitration claims settle before a hearing?
Yes, most claims resolve before an evidentiary hearing. Settlement discussions open at any stage, and many cases move once discovery exposes what the firm’s own files contain. Preparing for a hearing is what makes those discussions productive, which is why we prepare regardless of how a case eventually resolves.
Is a FINRA arbitration award binding?
Yes, a FINRA arbitration award is binding, and courts vacate awards only on narrow statutory grounds. Member firms must pay an award within 30 days or face suspension of their FINRA membership. That enforcement mechanism is a large part of why arbitration outcomes hold.
May I use FINRA mediation instead of arbitration?
Yes, FINRA offers a voluntary mediation program, and either side may end it at any point without giving up the right to a hearing. We use mediation when a neutral third party moves a negotiation that has stalled. The arbitration track keeps running while mediation happens.
Do you represent investors who live outside the United States?
Yes, we represent international investors with claims against United States brokerage firms, and we handle matters in English and Spanish. Hearing locations and scheduling accommodate clients living abroad. Cross-border accounts raise added documentation questions, which we work through during the consultation.
Do I need a lawyer for FINRA arbitration, or may I file on my own?
Investors are permitted to file without counsel, and some do. The brokerage firm retains securities defense counsel in every single case. Arbitrator selection, discovery motions, and damages presentation each carry consequences that a self-represented claimant absorbs alone. Most investors with a substantial loss retain counsel who works in this forum regularly.
How involved do I have to be in my own case?
Less than most clients expect. We gather the records, draft the claim, handle discovery, and prepare the presentation. Your time goes into an initial document handoff, periodic calls, a possible deposition, and testimony at the hearing. Between those points the file moves forward without daily input from you.
What happens if my broker already left the firm?
A departure does not close the door. The brokerage firm carries supervisory responsibility for conduct that occurred while the representative worked there, and the claim proceeds against the firm on that basis. We pull the representative’s registration and disclosure history as part of the review.
Is what I tell you in the consultation confidential?
Yes. Consultations are free and confidential, including the ones that end with us declining the matter. Investors often hesitate because they feel embarrassed about what happened to them. Nothing described in that conversation goes anywhere else, and no obligation attaches to it.

Talk With a FINRA Arbitration Lawyer About What Happened in Your Account

Jeffrey Erez

Jeffrey Erez, FINRA Arbitration Lawyer

Brokerage firms resolve claims on the terms the evidence supports, and nothing else. Building that evidence starts with one conversation about what happened in your account and what the records actually show.

Call Erez Law at 305-728-3320 for a free, confidential consultation. Our phones are open 24 hours, every day of the week.

We represent investors nationwide and prepare every claim as though it goes to hearing. Our attorneys have recovered more than $400 million for the investors we represent. Hablamos Español.