FOR ADVISERS

We counsel, represent and defend financial advisers nationwide in regulatory, compliance, disciplinary and employment matters in arbitration and litigation, and before regulatory bodies such as the SEC, FINRA and state securities regulators. We frequently defend forgivable loan collection actions, prosecute Form U-5 defamation actions, counsel advisers as to how to transition successfully from firm to firm and negotiate the best possible agreements with their new firm, and provide succession planning, buy-sell agreements and other exit strategies and strategic consulting, practice transitions, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures.

REPRESENTATIVE SERVICES INCLUDE:

• Litigate or arbitrate U-5 defamation, discrimination, and wage and hour violations;
• Negotiate and represent advisers relating to claims for compensation and benefts;
• Defend financial advisers against customer arbitration claims and regulatory enforcement actions;
• Represent whistleblowers in the financial services industry;
• FINRA suspension hearing defense and post arbitration award proceedings & appeals;
• CFP Board enforcement and disciplinary defense;
• Succession planning, buy-sell agreements and other exit strategies and assist financial advisors and firms nationwide with strategic consulting, practice transitions, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures;
• Provide investment adviser regulation and compliance services, including preparing or customizing written policies and procedures, reviewing marketing and advertising materials, managing conflicts of interest and complying with record-keeping requirements;
• Provide advisers with a comprehensive range of hedge fund services, including hedge fund formation, securities offering and regulatory matters, as well as ongoing hedge fund compliance and maintenance services;
• Provide an investment adviser annual review (audit) of policies and procedures, interviews with key personnel and attorney-client privileged findings;
• Represent investment advisers during SEC and state regulatory examinations and assist in drafting responses to the SEC challenging alleged examination deficiencies;  ;
• Assist advisers in transition to a new firm or breakaway to go independent, including the planning in advance of all aspects of a successful transition; negotiating the terms of the employment agreement with the new firm; negotiating the terms of the promissory note agreement with the new firm; being "on call" for difficulties that may arise during the transition to the new firm; defending the advisers' interest and reputation from defamation by the former firm and/or its advisers (including negotiation of language for the Form U-5 filing); defending advisers in injunction proceedings and in arbitration relating to their employment agreements (including any non-compete, non-solicitation and confidentiality agreements at the former firm); and in planning to take advantage of the Protocol for Broker Recruiting; see our dedicated website,  www.Broker-Transition.com; and
• Offer a flat fee investment adviser start-up package to include compliance, corporate services and efforts to maximize the possibility of a successful transtion.

SIGNIFICANT VICTORIES INCLUDE:

• Defended an investment adviser and an accountant against claims that an investor had brought for unsuitable investments and conflicts of interest in which the arbitrator granted zero dollars to the investor, ordered the investor to pay forum fees to the investment adviser, found that the case against the accountant was essentially frivolous, and found the investor's expert to be unqualified to testify as an expert;
• Represented a broker in a wrongful termination and defamation action in which we convinced the arbitration panel to award $865,000 in compensatory damages plus removal of defamatory language from his publicly-available employment record (U-5);
• Represented a broker in a wrongful termination and defamation action in which we convinced the arbitration panel to award damages, to amend the broker's Form U-5, and to declare the outstanding promissory note balance null and void;
• Obtained the largest jury verdict ever (as of 1991) in Cook County, Illinois for a defamation and wrongful termination lawsuit for a business executive; and
• Transitioned and negotiated the deal for a large adviser team with over $10 million in annual gross production from one wirehouse to another wirehouse.