Securities Litigation & FINRA Arbitrations

NYC-Based FINRA Defense Lawyers

Scarinci Hollenbeck serves clients from every corner of the financial industry, including investment banks, underwriters, accounting firms, professional advisers, venture funds, majority shareholders, broker-dealers, exchanges, hedge funds, and lenders. We also represent emerging financial services businesses, including fintechs, digital payment companies, and virtual currency platforms. 

While the firm represents clients around the country, our Securities Litigation & FINRA Arbitrations practice is rooted in the New York City metropolitan area, where our attorneys have developed strong relationships with NYC-based financial regulators and listing exchanges, such as FINRA, NASDAQ, and the NYSE.

FINRA Arbitrations

Scarinci Hollenbeck’s FINRA defense lawyers have extensive experience representing firms and brokers in securities arbitration matters before FINRA. We offer clients a deep understanding of Wall Street and extensive experience in complex and sophisticated securities matters. Many of our securities arbitration attorneys have either held a securities license or have worked for financial entities, organizations, financial services professionals, and financial regulators, including the SEC, FINRA, the New York Stock Exchange, and the American Stock Exchange. Members of our team also serve as FINRA arbitrators, giving them unique insight into the proceedings. 

Typical allegations of wrongdoing we defend against in FINRA arbitrations include:

• Misrepresentation
• Insurance fraud
• Elder abuse
• Suitability
• Negligence
• Market manipulation
• Errors and omissions (E&O)
• Breach of fiduciary duty
• Failure to supervise
• Churning
• Unauthorized trading

In addition to representing clients before FINRA arbitrators, our team has experience with both pre-arbitration and post-arbitration proceedings in state and federal courts, including the confirmation, vacatur, modification, and enforcement of FINRA arbitration agreements.

FINRA Expungements

As a broker, your business is defined by your reputation. Scarinci Hollenbeck’s expungement lawyers have assisted many brokers with successful expungement petitions with FINRA, working tirelessly to ensure that your brokerage career and reputation won’t be negatively affected by baseless customer complaints.

If a customer files a false claim against you, it will result in negative information included on your publicly available BrokerCheck report, which can cast a shadow on you. Fortunately, our expungement attorneys can help you remove false and inaccurate complaints from your public brokerage record by FINRA Rule 2080. Our FINRA defense attorneys have also successfully filed expungement petitions to remove false information on BrokerCheck reports concerning a broker’s termination from a broker-dealer on the firm’s Form U5 (Uniform Termination Notice for Securities Industry Registration). 

Securities Litigation

Securities litigation is not only high stakes but also requires the analysis of complex securities laws. Scarinci Hollenbeck’s skilled securities litigation team represents both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide range of financial litigation and regulatory proceedings. If necessary, our lawyers are prepared to advocate zealously for our clients at trial, with a strategy specifically tailored to the needs and budget of each client.

Partner With a Business-Minded Securities Litigation Attorney

We utilize our team’s depth and diversity in experience to help our clients turn adversity into opportunity. Our pragmatic business judgment, strategic planning, and proven expertise in resolving complex problems have won outstanding results for our clients in state and federal civil litigation, as well as matters before the SEC, CFTC, FINRA, and state securities regulators.

Scarinci Hollenbeck is experienced in all types of securities litigation, including:

• Breach of fiduciary duty
• Broker-dealer defense
• Class-action securities lawsuits
• Claw-back actions
• Corporate governance matters
• Cryptocurrency and fintech disputes
• Financial reporting and disclosures
• Going public and going private transactions
• Insider trading
• Investment bank and securities fraud
• Mergers and acquisitions litigation
• Private equity litigation
• Shareholder derivative suits
• SPAC-related litigation
• Violations of federal and state securities laws
• Whistleblower complaints

Shareholder Litigation

Shareholder litigation is becoming more prevalent and more costly, which makes it critical to work with experienced counsel. Scarinci Hollenbeck has a proven track record of resolving complex shareholder disputes in the best interests of our clients, which include public companies, boards of directors, officers, directors, private and closely held companies, and individuals. 

Shareholder litigation can involve both direct shareholder class-action lawsuits and shareholder derivative lawsuits in which individual investors or groups of investors alleging corporate misconduct file lawsuits in their names on behalf of the company. Our team is equipped to handle the numerous issues that can arise in both types of shareholder suits, including:

• Breach of fiduciary duty
• Breach of duty of loyalty
• False or misleading financial statements
• Fraud 
• Improper accounting
• Self-dealing
• Unjust enrichment
• Wasting corporate assets

Scarinci Hollenbeck’s securities team includes proven litigators with extensive experience handling shareholder disputes in federal court, state court, and arbitration. Our multidisciplinary approach to litigation also allows us to call on the firm’s seasoned practitioners in regulatory compliance, supervision, banking, cybersecurity and privacy, corporate governance, insurance, employment, tax, and bankruptcy law whenever necessary.

Whistleblower Representation

Scarinci Hollenbeck represents whistleblowers in securities and financial fraud cases. We work tirelessly to help industry professionals successfully disclose violations, protect their rights, and recover any reward they may be owed.

Being a whistleblower is not as simple as just making a phone call or filing an online report. Whistleblowers must follow a detailed legal process when reporting illegal activity. One wrong move can expose the whistleblower to their employer and can also disqualify the whistleblower from their legal protections and rewards. The best way to avoid these pitfalls is to have a knowledgeable whistleblower attorney working with you.

Our team knows how to navigate the whistleblower protections under federal and state laws such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Dodd-Frank Act, as well as the specific rules of procedures established by the SEC, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and other agencies. Our whistleblower lawyers also understand that blowing the whistle can result in retaliation, including wage reductions, hour cuts, being passed over for advancement and promotions, and even termination. We also help clients file claims for wrongful termination and recover their losses.

Real Estate Securities Litigation

The real estate development and management sectors require large amounts of funding to function, whether in residential or commercial real estate markets. Real estate securities, such as real estate investment trusts (REITs), real estate operating companies (REOCs), and residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities (RMBS and CMBS), allow investors to own interests in commercial real estate without committing large amounts of capital. 

Regardless of the structure of your real estate security, fund managers have fiduciary duties of loyalty, care, and disclosure to their investors. Avoiding issues related to these duties and resolving any problems when they arise is key to a REIT’s long-term financial security.

If your partnership or business invests in real estate, you must speak with experienced counsel about the implications, regulatory requirements, and legal risks.

If your investment is at risk, moving quickly is paramount when bringing an action against a real estate investment company because the company can sell its assets before investors have a chance to file the action in court. Once this happens, collecting a judgment on those assets becomes much more difficult. At Scarinci Hollenbeck, our attorneys understand the complexities of real estate securities, and we act quickly to protect your investment.

We understand the Street. Our unique perspective on regulatory problem-solving is shaped by deep and diverse experience — our FINRA defense lawyers and securities litigators have previously served with the SEC, the New York and New Jersey Attorneys General Office, as internal counsel at some of the largest banks, broker-dealers, and RIAs, and with private law firms that routinely advise multinational financial institutions.

We are sensitive to the burdensome cost of litigation and the impact it can have on your business. Our philosophy includes partnering with our securities litigation clients to strategize an end game, while always keeping the big picture in mind.

Finally, we tailor our counsel to your needs and objectives, handling every case with the same level of care and commitment. We value our reputation, so we recognize the importance of yours. It is in our best interests to provide you with world-class service and counsel so that you feel confident trusting us with any potential future investigations, disputes, or corporate matters.