Securities Practice Group Blog

Had a potential client call me the other day about his U5 situation, and learned that all you have to do is Google “U5” and you find my site. Top of the rankings. Really, it’s because I made the site so content-rich, but it is nice to hear that I’m now “The U5 Guy.”...

These days, broker-dealers and RIAs are looking for any excuse not to hire you. That is, if you have any negative information on your U5. Any at all. Why not? There’s plenty of people who want that job you’re after, and it’s a buyer’s market. So, if you want to work...

Every U5 case seems to start with a manager or supervisor taking an unhealthy interest in their reps, whether they want to steal your book and give it to a buddy of theirs or they don’t like you personally for some reason. Haters just gotta hate, yo. What’s really...

A few weeks ago, one of my U5 expungement clients in Michigan got a call from a law firm based in Colorado asking if he’d like to have them do his case. A salesperson with a lilting flight attendant voice called his assistant looking for him. Turns out this caller was...

Every so often your firm will have you fill out an OBA questionnaire. Whatever you do, before filling it out, talk it over with a lawyer! NEVER rely on management to get it right, especially if you have a good-sized book of business. They don’t know what they’re doing...

As my Scottish grandmother would say, “Good luck with that!” I’ve been at this for 20 years. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a broker get their U5 expunged in FINRA arbitration without representation. I’ve seen a broker beat a firm out of paying a promissory note or some...

Short answer: No. In many states, the defamatory statements your firm puts on your U5 may be defamatory per se, and you may have a better shot at getting damages in FINRA arbitration when you seek expungement. (See my previous blog.) But, you must bring a claim within...

Generally, FINRA allows you upwards of 6 years to file a claim in arbitration to expunge your U5. This is true of both removing customer complaints that should not be on your record and in removing false and defamatory information placed on your U5 by your last...

I keep seeing these firms with some twenty lawyers involved in helping brokers clean up their U5 records. You only need one good lawyer to get this done right. You don’t need to have a bunch of folks standing around some breakroom gabbing about your case and billing...

          Have you just left a broker-dealer you couldn’t stand anymore? Did the firm just put a bunch of false and defamatory information that puts you and your practice in a false light on your U5? Are there customer complaints on your U5 that shouldn’t be there? If...

In December 2020, FINRA published Regulatory Notice 20-42, which launched a review of lessons learned during the pandemic, soliciting comment on a range of topics, including remote inspections. In response to that notice, FINRA has seen general support from...

Outside business activities (“OBA”) are no joke when it comes to your employment with a broker-dealer. Earlier this month, Merrill Lynch fired a broker in Miami who had been with the firm for 26 years, because he “participated in a financial arrangement with a client...

Customer privacy is a huge issue in the broker recruiting process. Take a lesson from Cetera Advisor Networks. Recently the firm was made to pay a $125k fine and was censured for getting brokers who were still at their former firms to give non-public customer...

Recently, the SEC has decided to allow brokers to employ client testimonials in their practice, opening a huge – and for some, unwelcome – can of worms. Much like lawyers using client testimonials, brokers will run some risks in using them. Why? Because any...

If you are a broker who has had what you think is defamatory language put on your Form U5, the only way you can compel changes to your record is to bring a defamation suit at FINRA Dispute Resolution against the firm that filed it. Although defamation laws vary...