What Are the Benefits of Hiring a FINRA Arbitration Lawyer?

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is the self-regulating agency responsible for disciplinary matters and licensing for most stockbrokers and financial advisors throughout the country.  FINRA’s strong rules and regulations ensure that brokers meet their investors’ needs, but when a broker-dealer falls short, you may be able to file a claim through FINRA to recover financial damages.  In many cases, FINRA is set up so that investors can file these claims themselves, but many investors get the initial response from their broker’s lawyer and realize they might be out of their depths.  The FINRA arbitration lawyers at Epperson & Greenidge represent investors who have suffered financial harm at the hands of their stockbrokers or investment advisors and help them fight to get compensation.  If you need help filing or handling your claim, call our law offices today for help with your case.

Do I Need Legal Representation for a FINRA Claim?

Technically, you never need legal representation for most legal claims; you may act as your own attorney and represent yourself pro se.  However, when you act as your own lawyer, you are still held to all the same standards and rules of procedure as if you graduated from law school and passed the bar.  This means handling complex legal rules, meeting deadlines you may not even know exist, and filing properly formatted, clearly worded briefs and motions.

Although the FINRA claims process is designed so that investors can represent themselves, they often come across serious roadblocks to continuing their claims on their own.  If you begin your case on your own, you are never locked-in to representing yourself.  You can always hire an attorney, even if you’ve already filed your claim and your arbitration hearing is approaching.  However, the earlier you have an attorney representing you, the earlier you can reap the benefits of their advice, training, knowledge, and experience.

Our attorneys strongly caution against representing yourself pro se in a FINRA arbitration claim.

Advantages of Hiring an Attorney for a FINRA Arbitration

Working by yourself may give you the feeling that you are in control of your claim, and that no one knows better than you the harm you’ve suffered.  However, that passion could actually harm your ability to state your case clearly and provide supporting evidence for your claim.  Hiring an attorney to handle your breach of broker contract claim or unauthorized trades case has the first benefit of giving you distance from the process.  An attorney handling your claim is not as involved and can provide a dispassionate, yet effective “statement of claim.”  Additionally, experienced attorneys who have filed countless briefs and memoranda know the proper wording to use to state a strong claim.

This experience is the second major benefit to hiring a lawyer for your FINRA arbitration case.  The lawyers at Epperson & Greenidge have personally handled numerous FINRA claims before.  If you have never filed a FINRA claim yourself, then the entire process may seem foreign, complex, and intimidating.  Our attorneys understand the intricacies and rules associated with arbitrator selection, pre-hearing conferences, discovery, and FINRA arbitration hearings.  The rules of procedure, rules of evidence, and simple courtroom etiquette engrained in us after handling multiple cases are invaluable tools that you usually miss when you represent yourself.

Many of the processes involved in FINRA arbitration are uncommon, and even other attorneys unfamiliar with FINRA’s processes might not be prepared to handle a FINRA claim.  Unlike a court case, FINRA’s arbitration process allows you to select the arbitrator who will ultimately decide your case.  A FINRA arbitration lawyer can advise you on potential biases, conflicts of interest, and track records for various arbitrators, which can help position you for a stronger case.  Additionally, the evidence exchange process behind “discovery” is complex and requires you and your opponent to turn over a wide range of records and documents.  Our attorneys can help guide you through which documents you must turn over, and fight to get you as much relevant information from your stockbroker or financial advisor as FINRA rules permit.

One of the final major benefits you receive from a FINRA arbitration attorney is understanding the value of your case.  When you work by yourself, you may have an idea of how much you lost because of unsuitable investments or trade churning, but our attorneys can help you examine common damages you may be entitled to for undisclosed charges and fees as well as other financial harms.  Our attorneys can help ensure that any settlement you reach with the other side is fair and covers your needs.  Never accept a settlement for a FINRA claim before discussing your case with an experienced attorney.

FINRA Claims Lawyers Offering Free Consultations

Though you may be able to file a FINRA claim on your own, you should consider consulting with an experienced FINRA claims attorney before your claim progresses any further.  The attorneys at Epperson & Greenidge represent clients in their FINRA arbitration and mediation claims and fight to ensure that their cases are as strong as they can be and that they are in the best position to maximize their potential damages.  For a free, no obligation consultation on your claim, contact our law offices today at (877) 445-9261.