An attorney was was suspended for 18 months, stayed, placed on two years of probation with a 45-day actual suspension and was ordered to take the MPRE within one year after it was found that not only did he fail to disclose that he was an attorney during jury selection, once he was selected for the jury he posted comments about the trial on his blog during the trial, including identification of the judge, and the criminal defendant (by his first name only).

The criminal defendant's conviction was overturned after this conduct came to light. More>>>

UBS Retail Product's Executive Takes Leave

Michael Weisberg, the head of products and services for UBS AG's U.S. and Canadian wealth management businesses, has taken an indefinite leave of absence, according to an article in todays electronic version of Investment News.

According to the site, Weisberg's departure was announced internally this week, as rumors swirled that the firm's U.S. brokerage business was likely to be reorganized. More>>>

Morgan Keegan Appeals Arbitration Decisions

Morgan Keegan, a regional brokerage owned by Birmingham-based Regions Financial Corp. (RF), has faced a flood of claims by investors who were hit by sizable losses in 2007 and 2008 in seven funds that made bets in debt and other mortgage-related holdings.

Morgan Keegan has filed motions to vacate a number of the arbitration awards against it, although such awards are typically very difficult to vacate on appeal.

More>>>

Bank of America Fined $33 Million In Fines For Merrill Disclosure

Bank of America agreed to pay $33 million on Monday to settle federal charges that it hid from investors plans to pay billions of dollars in bonuses to employees of Merrill Lynch.The SEC accused the firm of misleading shareholders when the bank asked them to approve the deal, which was ultimately concluded under intense federal pressure as Merrill Lynch teetered on the verge of collapse. The SEC's press release announcing the charges is available at SEC Charges Bank of America for Failing to Disclose Merrill Lynch Bonus Payments, and a copy of the underlying complaint is available at SECLaw.com. More>>>

New Plan to Register Investment Advisers

The Obama Administration is proposing legislation that will remove the exemptions from registration enjoyed by managers of private investment partnerships and hedge funds. The legislation will require the registration of virtually all investment advisors who operate from the United States, or who provide services to United States citizens, and who manage over $25 million in assets. More details and commentary are at SECLaw.com - New Plan to Register Investment Advisers.

Investor's Guide to Securities Industry Disputes

The Pace Law School Investor Rights Clinic, has just published the Investor’s Guide to Securities Industry Disputes: How to Prevent and Resolve Disputes with Your Broker.  The Guide, authored by Professor Jill Gross, the Director of the school's Investor Rights Clinic, and Clinic Staff Attorney Alice Oshins, is designed to help individual investors with modest investment accounts. The Guide is designed to prevent disputes, to help investors learn their obligations as investors, to assert their rights as investors, and pursue a securities arbitration or mediation claim if needed to resolve any disputes that do arise.  

While designed for investors, a quick read wouldn't hurt the retail broker either.

Rise in Broker Employment Disputes Noted

As FINRA announces the significant increase in arbitration filings this year over last, many have assumed that the increase is caused by customers filing complaints against their brokers. That may not be the case.

Our law firm is seeing a marked increase in complaints by brokers over the termination of their employment at some of the major investment banks. We have confirmed with FINRA that the arbitration filing numbers include claims between brokers and firms. We have also confirmed that while FINRA breaks down its statistics for types of customer claims, in its total statistics it does not distinguish between customer cases and broker vs. firm cases.

The rise in cases filed in 2009 (which has now passed 4,000) may not be an indication of a significant increase in brokers accused of wrongful conduct, but rather an rise in disputes between brokers and firms as pressure mounts on firms to increase productivity and decrease costs.

Given the fact that we have witnessed a marked increase in inquiries from brokers at most of the major wirehouses over employment issues, the rise in arbitration claims may very well be in the broker-firm category of cases.