How does arbitration work?
Arbitration is much like a judicial trial except that instead of having a
judge and jury rule on your claims, your claims are resolved by a panel of
one to three arbitrators. The arbitrators will hear and weigh the arguments
and evidence presented by the parties, and render a binding decision.
Arbitration panels generally include at least one "industry" person and two
non-industry persons. Such persons may include attorneys, accountants,
retired judges, bankers, brokers and other professionals. Unlike judicial
proceedings, arbitration generally does not involve the more expensive
aspects of litigation such as depositions, motions or appeals. It is usually
much faster and inexpensive than pursuing your remedies through the civil
courts.
Who
sponsors or conducts the arbitration proceedings?
The three main sponsoring organizations for resolving investor disputes are
the American Arbitration Association, the New York Stock Exchange, and the
National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. ("NASD").
How much does it
cost to request arbitration?
Each sponsoring organization determines filing, administrative and hearing
fees. The average filing fee with the NASD is roughly $1,200. The greater the
amount of your claim(s), the greater your filing and administrative fees will
be. If your case settles, a portion of this fee may be returned.
Are there other costs involved?
There are often attorney expenses arising from the preparation of damage
exhibits and the retention of expert witnesses, as well as routine expenses
such as mailing and copying costs.
How does your firm recover
its fee?
We generally prosecute investor grievances via a contingency fee agreement.
In sum, if you do not recover, we do not receive a fee. If you do recover any
portion of your claim, you are responsible for remitting a percentage of the
recovery to us (after expenses have been deducted).
What are my chances of
winning my case?
Unfortunately, there is no correct answer to this question. Each case will
ultimately depend on its own unique set of facts. Notwithstanding, we can
tell you that according to the Securities Arbitration Commentator, a
periodical which studies and records securities arbitration statistics, 80%
of all customer cases settle in favor of the investor prior to the rendering
of an arbitration award. Over half of the remaining 20% that do not settle
prior to arbitration result in an award to the customer. While we cannot
guarantee you success, we generally will not accept a case unless we believe
there is merit to the claim.
Do I have a case?
