Securities Industry Regulation Is Formidable

You’re an investor who has been victimized by illegal Wall Street practices and lost thousands or even millions of dollars. You were wrongly persuaded to invest in a security that was completely unsuitable for you given your background, income, net worth and investment objectives. Or you sustained losses when your broker traded your account without your approval. Or you lost money when your broker “churned” your account by buying and selling stocks to an excessive degree, generating extraordinary commissions for the broker but a loss for you. Perhaps you bought a stock based on brokerage house misrepresentations or omissions. Or the purchase or sale price of your security was illegally manipulated. Perhaps you were the victim of a Ponzi scheme, where the broker never invested in the promised security, instead using your funds for personal gain. Maybe you were encouraged to over-leverage your account through excessive margin or over-concentrate your portfolio in one stock or one sector of the market. Or your brokerage firm failed to execute the trade you ordered. Or perhaps you were a victim of criminal activity – forgery, larceny or conspiracy.

You’re a broker who has been improperly charged – by a customer, the authorities or the brokerage firm you work for – with improper or illegal activity. Your brokerage firm is trying to lay off its negligent supervision of a customer’s account on you. Or it claims that you are responsible for a customer’s loss which, in fact, was caused by your brokerage firm improperly recommending or pushing the sale of a certain security based on suspect research or other reason. Perhaps you have been charged with insider trading, “selling away,” unauthorized trading, churning, misrepresentations, price manipulation or other improprieties by state or federal law enforcement authorities. Perhaps you were terminated from employment by your brokerage firm employer in violation of your statutory or contractual rights. Perhaps there is something on your public BrokerCheck Report that is false and you want to have it expunged.

You’re a brokerage firm against whom charges have been leveled by customers, the self-regulatory organizations or governmental authorities. Customers are seeking thousands or millions of dollars in compensatory and punitive damages based on your alleged stock manipulation, over-leveraging or negligent supervision. Your broker has absconded with millions of dollars of customer funds and you are being held responsible. Federal or state authorities are charging you with price manipulation, failure to supervise or “control person” liability. Your key brokers are leaving and attempting to improperly use your customer lists, client information, research and recommendations for another brokerage firm’s advantage. You have to defend a case charging unsuitable security recommendations, churning, fraud, unauthorized trading, order failure or insider trading.

If you find yourself in any of these situations, you have come to the right law firm. Because IFG’s investor fraud and securities arbitration practice is renowned from coast-to-coast for possessing unique expertise, experience and credentials in the field of investor fraud and securities arbitration.

A Track Record Of Success

Virtually all customer-broker and broker-brokerage house disputes must be arbitrated and not litigated in court. Our law firm’s senior partner-in-charge of securities arbitration – David E. Robbins – wrote the book on the subject: the definitive Securities Arbitration Procedure Manual, daily relied on by other lawyers, by arbitrators, by the stock Exchanges and the FINRA and by the securities industry itself. In fact, The New York Law Journal reported that IFGs’ two volume treatise, which he updates every year, is “the Bible” in this area of the law. IFG and his team possess unique expertise in evaluating whether a customer’s case should be brought to begin with, what the likelihood of success will be and what losses can be recaptured. When it comes to defending brokers and brokerage firms, IFG and his team’s remarkable experience becomes critically important in determining whether to aggressively defend the case or, in the alternative, settle it quickly, directly or through mediation. And when dealing with industry disputes (broker vs. brokerage firm or one brokerage firm against another), Mr. Robbins’ skill and reputation can prove vital to your result.

It is also when the government commences an investigation or brings an action that our lawyers’ skills, experience and reputation become critically important to brokers and firms. Perhaps the charge being leveled is insider trading; or front running; or outright fraud (“Rule 10b-5”). Regardless, you will find IFG’s experienced and accomplished securities and litigation attorneys capable of defending you with fervor, efficiency and results.

David E. Robbins and his team prosecute and defend securities arbitrations and court cases throughout the United States and around the world. And with positive results.

• Just ask the group of physicians and businessmen in Pittsburgh who lost $3 million after they were improperly persuaded by one of the nation’s leading brokerage firms to invest in an extremely arcane security that, unbeknownst to them, was totally unsuitable. These investors believed that they were entitled to their money back. But they were anxious, and for good reason – almost 30 identical cases alleging the very same type of misconduct were brought against that brokerage firm – one of the world’s largest – and each was won by the firm. But our lawyers, working with a team of expert witnesses, reached deep into its skill, expertise and sophistication. The result? The Pittsburgh physicians and businessmen recovered every dollar they had invested, to the last penny. Not only to their amazement, but that of the brokerage house as well.
• Or ask the Geneva-based broker who found himself charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission with being the ringleader of a massive international “insider trading” scheme. Over 30 other defendants were also charged. Many of them were barred from the securities industry for life. Many had to pay what collectively came to $11 million in fines and penalties. And our client – the alleged ringleader – who, at the end of the day, was standing alone? All of the other defendants either pled guilty, settled or defaulted. Thanks to our team’s tenacious defense and litigation skills, that Geneva-based broker escaped with minimal distress: payment of a small penalty, but absolutely no “down time.” (That is, no suspension or revocation of his license).
• Or the wealthy British executive who thought that investing over $5 million with a United States brokerage firm meant he received comprehensive protection from fraud by our state and federal regulators. Little did he know that the firm was engaged in an intricate scheme to manipulate the prices of the “house stocks” it sold him. After a great deal of discovery of “clearing firm” records and through the creative use of mediation in the middle of the arbitration – to settle with a hostile witness who then became our star witness against the brokerage firm – we obtained a multi-million dollar decision against the firm and its president.
• Or the financially inexperienced young man who was paralyzed in a car accident and gave his broker, at a reputable firm, $2 million from his personal injury lawsuit to invest in a conservative manner over the long term. When all of his money was lost from unsuitable and excessive trading in a matter of months, we brought a highly successful arbitration on his behalf.
• Or the score of individuals whose “nest eggs” were frozen in the auction rate securities market and others whose life savings were decimated in the market collapse of 2008 and 2009.
• Or the individuals who were encouraged to purchase non-publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), which were, in reality, shell-games.

Knowing when and how to bring a case, or successfully defend one, flows from our team’s lengthy experience in the securities arena. Our partner-in-charge of investor fraud and securities arbitration, David E. Robbins, began his career as a securities fraud criminal prosecutor. Thereafter, he served as Director of Compliance of the American Stock Exchange under Arthur Levitt, who ran the AMEX prior to becoming the Chairman of the SEC and promoted him to Director of the Legal and Regulatory Policy Division. Mr. Robbins serves as an arbitrator and mediator for the New York Stock Exchange, FINRA Dispute Resolution, Inc. and the American Arbitration Association and was Chair of all Practising Law Institute (PLI) continuing education programs on securities arbitration from their inception in 1986 through 2009.

Mr. Robbins and his team successfully represent investors, brokers, investment advisors and brokerage firms throughout the United States and around the world with remarkable success. Their zeal, experience and effectiveness have brought them national and international renown. And the degree of efficiency and economy which they bring to bear to securities arbitration and litigation is extraordinary. For further information, please visit our Securities Website. 

Keeping Your Legal Fees To The Absolute Minimum

It sounds counterintuitive, doesn’t it? A law firm seeking to minimize the fees that it charges its clients.

But at IFG, we are proud that our reputation for quality and excellence is coupled with a reputation for efficiency and economy. We know the enormous pressure that individuals and brokerage house counsel are under to keep their budgets in line and to minimize counsel fees. And we make every effort to help them do just that.

We thank you for your interest in our firm’s investment fraud and securities arbitration practice. We invite you to learn more about us and give us the opportunity to learn about you.