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How to File for FINRA Arbitration

October 31, 2023 Blog

If you have suffered investment losses due to broker fraud or misconduct, recovering your losses will most likely involve filing for FINRA arbitration. Brokers and brokerage firms consent to arbitration as a condition of registration, and FINRA arbitration is intended to provide defrauded investors with streamlined access to justice.

So, how do you get started?

Regardless of your level of sophistication as an investor, it is important to work with a lawyer who can represent you effectively. Obtaining compensation for investment fraud in FINRA arbitration is not easy, and your brokerage firm will have a team of lawyers working to leverage all available opportunities to escape liability.

5 Steps to Prepare for FINRA Arbitration as an Investor

With this in mind, if you believe that you are a victim of investment fraud, here are five steps you should take to prepare for FINRA arbitration:

1. Do What You Can to Minimize Your Losses

When you have concerns about investment fraud, you should do everything you can to minimize your losses. At a minimum, this means that you should avoid depositing any additional funds with your broker, stopping any pending or scheduled transfers as necessary. It may also make sense to withdraw any cash from your brokerage account, although this can present risks in some cases. Once you hire a lawyer, your lawyer can help you decide what to do.

2. Do What You Can to Document Your Claim

You should also do everything you can to document your claim for broker fraud. Collect all relevant documents and communications, and take notes so that you can convey all relevant information to your lawyer. If you need to log in to access your account statements or you relied on information that is only available online, download PDFs or create screen grabs to preserve these as evidence for your claim.

3. Learn About the FINRA Arbitration Process

As a defrauded investor, it is important to understand what to expect during the arbitration process. While your lawyer will represent you throughout the process, you will still need to play an active role. By gaining a general understanding of what happens in FINRA arbitration, you can make sure that you are prepared to assist your lawyer as necessary.

4. Make Sure You Have Reasonable Expectations

When preparing to go through FINRA arbitration, it is also important to have reasonable expectations. While your lawyer may be able to help you recover your fraudulent investment losses, there are no guarantees. Additionally, while FINRA arbitration is relatively streamlined compared to courtroom litigation, it will still take time to pursue your claim to its resolution.

5. Hire a Lawyer to Prepare and File Your Claim

Once you’ve taken these preliminary steps, you will need to hire a lawyer to prepare and file your claim. You will want to choose a lawyer who focuses his or her practice on representing defrauded investors—and who has significant experience helping investors recover their losses in FINRA arbitration.

Schedule a Free Consultation with a Lawyer at Zamansky LLC

Do you need to know more about filing for FINRA arbitration as an investor? If so, we encourage you to contact us promptly. To schedule a free consultation with a lawyer at Zamansky LLC, call 212-742-1414 or tell us how we can reach you online now.

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“Jake Zamasky and his colleagues represented me in a FINRA arbitration case against a large multinational bank and succeeded in obtaining an award for the full amount of my investment losses. I would highly recommend the Zamansky firm for their experience in securities litigation, their level of detailed research and case preparation, and their ability to effectively fight for what’s right.”

Richard R.

“Throughout my entire case, Jake Zamansky was incredibly responsive and spent time walking me through each step of the process. He is professional and worked with my challenging schedule, even meeting with me nights and on weekends. He knew exactly which turn to take when it came to my case and yet was respectful of any decisions I wanted to make resulting in a positive outcome.”

Donald A.

“Jake Zamansky and his firm represented me in a FINRA arbitration case to recover investment losses. Jake and his team were very professional and worked very hard preparing for trial and then reaching a substantial settlement of our case. I would highly recommend them.”

William E.

“Jake Zamansky represented me in a FINRA arbitration case which allowed me to recover a substantial portion of investment losses. He is truly an expert in this space and I would highly recommend him to those investors who may have been been a victim of investment fraud.”

Chris K.

“Jake and his team did a great job communicating with me throughout the process of my lawsuit. I would recommend him to anyone looking to sue UBS for unethical practices.”

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