 We have received numerous calls from reps informing us that firms are cracking down on brokers abusing dinner, computer or transportation expense reimbursement accounts. Reps are being terminated and U5 forms are being marked resulting in more and more FINRA 8210 letters and year long FINRA Enforcement investigations. Brokers are being impacted by this purge of what in the past was viewed as a minor issue which in the past resulted in a simple warning. Now there are no more warnings, rather violators are being terminated. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, firms from Wells Fargo to Fidelity have been discharging brokers for violating expense policies regarding after hour meals. Others have been discharged for violating computer reimbursement policies by returning computers after being ordered and keeping the reimbursement instead of reporting the return. Other altered times on food receipts so as to meet firm time requirements for dinner reimbursement policies.
Many brokers don't realize the serious nature of such actions as on the surface they have nothing to do with clients and securities. However the impact on one's career can be devastating and not to be taken lightly. U5 forms mandate that firms report to FINRA if any termination involves "fraud or the wrongful taking of property" (Question 7F on Form U5). Such actions clearly renders the rep eligible for such being checked off. Once such is checked off on a Form U5 it automatically triggers a FINRA investigation and a FINRA 8210 Letter. FINRA Investigations tend to last over a year even if they do not seek sanctions, which impacts upon one's ability to be hired by another firm as they will inquire if there is a FINRA investigation, and no firm seeks to employ a broker who may be suspended or barred by FINRA. It is essential to retain a qualified FINRA Attorney early on, as soon as the rep is terminated, so that the attorney may be able to convince the firm not to check off Question 7F and if they do, to respond properly, so as to minimize the likelihood that FINRA pursues the investigation or seeks sanctions. These matters are not something to handle on one's own as too often reps dig a deep hole that the attorney they later retain cannot dig out from. Finally, too many reps incorrectly believe that if they resign voluntarily before they are terminated that they may avoid any issues. However, departing before being fired does not resolve any of the issues raised. One's U5 will still be marked as your departing during an investigation and when the investigation concludes your U5 will be amended. For further information or assistance Contact Stuart D. Meissner Esq. 866-764-3100. Note: New York based Meissner Associates is a nationally recognized employment law firm focused on the unique employment issues within the securities industry which is overseen by FINRA. The firm also represents SEC whistleblowers before the SEC, investors and securities professionals before FINRA arbitration panels and securities professionals in enforcement proceedings, as well as institutional and retail investors worldwide in recovering improper investment losses and protecting the employment rights of employees in the securities industry in FINRA arbitration and AAA Arbitration. Managing member Stuart Meissner is a former Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan and Assistant New York State Attorney General in the Investor Protection and Financial Crimes Units. Call Meissner Associates, FINRA Attorneys Nationwide Representation for FINRA Arbitrations NEW OFFICE ADDRESS: 1430 Broadway, Suite 1802 New York, N.Y. 10018 Along with five other convenient Manhattan Meeting Locations and five other cities across the US and London Attorney Advertising
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Meissner Law Firm Files & Prepares to File More Fraudulent Recruitment Claims Against Citizens Securities After the enormous publicity reporting on the record 1.7 million dollar award we recently won in July against Citizens Securities, subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group (NYSE: CFG), appearing in Bank Investment Consulting Newsletter, as well as the lengthy analysis done by Wealthmanagement.com (See Articles Below) about the pattern of aggressive recruiting and broken promises by Citizens Securities, which referred to new claims being reviewed and actually filed by our firm against Citizens Securities we expect more multi-million dollar awards to come in favor of registered representatives. The articles which appear below, have led to hundreds of calls from current and former Citizens Securities employees, from around the country, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Ohio, Michigan and other places who were similarly situated as Mr. Aiello. Callers to us seeking a FINRA Attorney have all provided similar stories of being misled into transferring to Citizens Securities based on false promises and losing their careers and clientele they built up over years in the process. As a result, we are preparing to file several more FINRA Arbitration Claims against Citizens Securities and have already file one such claim. In the award of this past July, we turned the tables on Citizens Securities who was seeking to have our client, who only stayed at Citizens for four months before leaving in disgust, repay a $220,000 upfront recruitment payment on a note. Instead Citizens Securities was required to pay 1.7 million, including retroactive interest, discovery sanctions and all FINRA forum fees to our client Frank Aiello. Frank was a financial advisor who alleged that he was fraudulently recruited from PNC Securities with the promise of a large book of business to be given to him as well as to be assigned to the same State College PA town which his customer base was in so that he could transfer his large current book of business. While the promises were all oral we were able to prove that they were made and that Citizen's reneged on their promises, which it was alleged was a pattern and practice for Citizens Securities. As noted in the Bank Investment Consulting Newsletter, other lawyers rarely win these claims which was characterized as a "bell-ringer," although in keeping with our law firm's know record arbitration win statistics *. If you believe you were misled by Citizens Securities or any other firm such as Well Fargo or others we have received calls on, and believe you were financially damaged significantly as a result call Meissner Associates for a free case evaluation - Toll Free Nationwide FINRA Attorney Representation 866-764-3100. We are now considering contingency type of legal retainers for Citizens employees as a result of our knowledge and history with such bank. Note: New York based Meissner Associates is a nationally recognized employment law firm focused on the unique employment issues within the securities industry which is overseen by FINRA. The firm also represents SEC whistleblowers before the SEC, investors and securities professionals before FINRA arbitration panels and securities professionals in enforcement proceedings, as well as institutional and retail investors worldwide in recovering improper investment losses and protecting the employment rights of employees in the securities industry in FINRA arbitration and AAA Arbitration. Managing member Stuart Meissner is a former Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan and Assistant New York State Attorney General in the Investor Protection and Financial Crimes Units. Call Meissner Associates, FINRA Attorneys Nationwide Representation for FINRA Arbitrations Mailing Address: 99 Main Street, Suite 303, Nyack N.Y. 10960 Phone- 212-764-3100, 845-444-5274 Fax-646-843-4964 New York City Meeting Address (Across from Bryant Park) 54 W. 40th Street New York, N.Y. Along with five other convenient Manhattan Locations and five other cities across the US and London Bank Investment Consultant Article: Wealthmanagement.com Article: *Prior results cannot and do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter, including yours, in which a lawyer or law firm may be retained. The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
Meissner Firm Wins 1.7 Million Award on Behalf of Reg Rep in Defending Promissory Note Case7/19/2017 In a unique case involving blatant misrepresentations and false promises made by Citizens Securities, a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group, to an investment advisor during the hiring process, who faced a $220,000 demand for return of promissory note funds because he left the bank just 4 months after starting, a FINRA panel awarded the Advisor nearly 1.7 million in damages, interest and sanctions.
------------------------------------------------------------------s-------------------------------------------- NEW YORK (July 19, 2017) – In a milestone FINRA arbitration award released late last week from a Pittsburgh Pa. arbitration panel on behalf of a broker/investment advisor, New York based FINRA arbitration law firm Meissner Associates has secured a nearly $1.7 million arbitration award to a former employee of Citizens Securities a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group (NYSE: CFG). The broker advisor, Frank Aiello, age 49 of Boalsburg Pennsylvania, claimed that Citizens misled him when they recruited him from PNC bank to work for Citizens Securities. The Claim alleged that Citizens made numerous misrepresentations to him, such as (1) false promises that he could continue to work in State College Pennsylvania where his client base was but instead assigning him to branches far from that location; and (2) false promises that he would be given a 30 million dollar book of business to add to his already growing book, when in fact he was given only one-third of what was promised. Commenting on the award Stuart Meissner, Managing Member of the Meissner law firm, and a former securities regulator and prosecutor in New York, stated “I am pleased that the Panel heard the mountain of evidence we developed, some of which were Citizens' own witnesses, to support Mr. Aiello’s allegations even though all the promises made to him were oral.” Noting on the attempt to cover up their actions Meissner noted “Citizens Securities went out of its way, both during the events and during the arbitration process, to try to cover up and obstruct the truth from coming out, but they failed miserably.” Mr. Aiello commenting on the award stated “I am very pleased that justice was done and that the FINRA panel saw through Citizen’s Securities attempt to mislead. I hope this award will give other employees who are misled during recruitment in the securities industry the incentive to fight for justice.” It was alleged that after he started his employment Citizens Securities demanded that Mr. Aiello execute an acknowledgement form stating that no promises were made to him and that he was instructed to backdate the document to a date prior to his start date to make it appear that he had signed such acknowledgement while he was still with his prior employer PNC. During the hearing it was established that Mr. Aiello could not even have had the acknowledgement form on the date that it was indicated it was signed. The arbitration was also impacted by numerous sanction motions related to Citizen’s improper withholding and improper redacting of portions of critical emails and other documents which were uncovered due to subpoena, including internal emails between the headhunter and Citizens’ personnel referring to another recruit who was demanding similar promises be placed in writing in his offer letter, refusing to place such promises in writing stating “that could create a disaster from a litigation stand point. Can you imagine Frank Aiello with this kind of written promise.” At the conclusion of the hearing Aiello requested a range of compensatory damages between $902,000 and 4 million dollars. The 1.7 million dollar award, included retroactive 6% interest from his start date of August 3, 2015 on the 1.5 million dollars awarded totaling $168,410 in interest and $8,000 in sanctions. While the award was offset by the $220,000 provided to him by Citizens, along with $7,030 in interest on such note, that amount is dwarfed by the damages awarded to Mr. Aiello. Further, all forum fees totaling over $15,000 was assessed entirely against Citizens Securities. Typically, cases involving forgivable promissory notes are very difficult to defend against, let alone achieve an award turning the tables on the brokerage firm and requiring it to pay substantial damages to the broker/advisor. It was alleged in the claim that Citizens Securities has a pattern and practice of making such false promises to prospective recruits and then failing to live up to such promises significantly impacting their careers. As a result of the award, the Meissner firm now expects, and has already received, numerous inquiries by current and former Citizens’ Securities broker/advisors who wish to bring similar multi-million dollar claims against the brokerage. THERE IS A FOLLOWUP BLOG POST REGARDING THIS CASE Mr. Meissner is a former Manhattan prosecutor and member of the New York Attorney General’s office securities and financial crimes divisions. Note: New York based Meissner Associates is a nationally recognized whistleblower, securities, investment fraud and employment law firm representing SEC whistle-blowers, securities professionals in FINRA arbitration and enforcement proceedings as well as institutional and retail investors worldwide in recovering improper investment losses and protecting the employment rights of employees in the securities industry in FINRA arbitration and AAA Arbitration. Managing member Stuart Meissner is a former Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan and Assistant New York State Attorney General in the Investor Protection and Financial Crimes Units. Call Meissner Associates, FINRA Attorneys Nationwide Representation for FINRA Arbitrations 212-764-3100 * Prior results cannot and do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter, including yours Firms Pay Up When They Play Discovery Games in Promissory Note FINRA Employment Arbitration1/20/2017 Unlike most law firms we at Meissner Associates aggressively seek discovery in all our arbitration cases, so when we encounter a firm like Citizens Securities, the brokerage arm of Citizens Bank, along with their large well known law firm Greenburg Traurig playing games avoiding our discovery demands in arbitration we did what we normally do, we filed a Motion to Compel and fought for sanctions to send the right message from the start. After a hard fought oral argument, on December 21, 2016 we were notified (SEE DECISION BELOW) that we won our Motion and besides being ordered to produce a slew of documents and information to assist our client Citizens was ordered to pay $5000 immediately for attorney fees and for their delay, along with an additional $1,000 per day for every day they failed to produce the requested documents past the given deadline. No doubt the Order sent a message to Citizens and their attorneys that this was not a game and they are already behind the 8 ball in the arbitration in annoying the Chairmanof the FINRA Panel. While winning arbitrations involving promissory notes are not always easy, ones where the broker has valid claims which form the basis for unkept promises of books of business, as this one did, and other carrots to cause a broker to leave one firm to join another which turn out to be false and hurt their careers, are a solid basis to fight back, and it appears this is one of those cases. We continue on with discovery, but do so knowing that our careful arbitrator selection and screening of our client's claims appear to have been on the mark. If you were misled when being recruited and those false promises negatively impacted your career, you may have an independent claim against the firm for damages, in addition to being able to fight against collection of those golden handcuff promissory notes. As in our firm's motto - "one can be David and take on Goliath". Call Meissner Associates, FINRA Attorneys Nationwide Representation for FINRA Arbitrations 212-764-3100 * Prior results cannot and do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter, including yours  On Sept 1, 2016 the Hon. Judge Singh of the New York State Supreme Court Commercial Division filed his decision (including the transcript) in favor of Mr. Meissner's client, denying a defendant's Request for an Order to Show Cause to stop our pending multi-million dollar FINRA arbitration claim against him for for allegedly sexually abusing and harassing our client, a 57 year old female representative who has worked in the industry for 17 years and allegedly forcing her to perform oral sex on him while it is alleged he was her supervisor who had hired her in early 2015.
As previously reported on April 14, 2016 the Meissner firm, a nationally recogonized FINRA Arbitration Attorney firm, filed the claim in the FINRA arbitration forum. After Oral argument by Mr. Meissner where the Court summarily denied the defendant's arguments, the parties were sent back to FINRA Arbitration where the case will be heard. The Court held that since the defendant determined to place the issue arbitrability before the Director of FINRA, who then Denied their Motion, in favor of the Meissner Firm's client, and then filed an Answer on the merits, they had participated in the arbitration and cannot then seek a stay of the arbitration, but rather must continue to arbitrate the case before FINRA. Call the Meissner Firm Nationwide - 866-764-3100 for a free phone consultation if you have an employment dispute within the financial industry. Attorney Advertising Past results do not gurantee future outcomes  We often receive calls from registered representatives who were recently terminated for cause. Being terminated is a stressful situation which often leads many to act irrationally and not think clearly as to what they must do to prevent further damage to their career.
What kind of damage could a termination in the brokerage industry cause? Unlike other industries, the securities industry is highly regulated by FINRA. Everything is reported to FINRA and depending on what is reported it can mean the difference between not only having incorrect falsehoods on your Brokercheck for the rest of your career, but also being the subject of a lengthy FINRA Enforcement investigation, while at the same time trying to find a new job - not a pleasant circumstance to be in. Further, firms are known to exaggerate the reasons behind the termination whether intentionally, so as to try to keep the representative's clients, or simply due to laziness and having no one questioning the verbiage they choose to use or what disclosures are checked off in response to item 7F of Form U5 . What the firm chooses to write can makes all the difference to their future in the industry and impact their immediate income. DO TRY TO KEEP ANY EMAILS, TEXTS, WITNESS NAMES, OR OTHER EVIDENCE WHICH MAY ASSIST YOU IN DISPUTING THE FIRM'S VERSION OF TERMINATION, IF NOT ACCURATE - any such evidence could be critical to convincing the firm to alter the language they propose to include in the U5 and/or dissuade FINRA from taking enforcement action. DO CALL AN ATTORNEY IMMEDIATELY UPON TERMINATION - If the representative is on the ball and they engage a qualified and experienced FINRA attorney as soon as they are terminated, often times significant expense, damage and stress can be avoided. Firm's have 30 days from the date of termination for which to file the Form U5 so it is critical to act quickly as firms are more likely to make changes before they file the U5 than after. We have successfully engaged with both large and small firms so as to determine what language will be submitted as to the reason for the termination as well as what the firm's responses to question 7F (violation of investment related statutes, regulations, rules or industry standards, fraud or wrongful taking of property, etc) will be. When called early on in the process, we have on numerous occasions been successful in convincing the firm to remove affirmative responses to 7F and modifying and toning down the language for termination, pointing out inaccuracies of such language based on the evidence with the threat of a future significant potential defamation claim. As a result, countless representatives have avoided FINRA enforcement proceedings which could lead to sanctions, suspension or a bar, and many have avoided marks on their Brokercheck records impacting their ability to obtain new employment and clients. In addition, typically by engaging counsel early on in such fashion, many thousands of dollars is saved from having to defend against a FINRA enforcement proceeding and potential customer claims that could be triggered by the Brokercheck mark. Nothing entices Claimants' attorneys more in filing claims than marks on one's CRD. DO NOT ENGAGE YOUR PRIOR FIRM DIRECTLY - While you may think you can engage with the firm directly and save some money, such actions are foolish as you will only make life more difficult for any attorney you later retain to try to engage them as you would have made additional statements impacting their ability to alter the U5 DO CALL AN ATTORNEY IMMEDIATELY UPON RECEIVING A FINRA 8210 LETTER AND DON'T RESPOND ON YOUR OWN - If one happens to receive an 8210 letter from FINRA, once again it is important to retain a qualified FINRA attorney as soon as possible, so as to engage with FINRA before the representative gives any statement oral or otherwise. Those determined to handle such matters on their own soon learn that they were penny wise and pound foolish, as FINRA doesn't really care about apologies or the " I didnt know" defense. By engaging an experienced FINRA attorney early on in the process, who knows what FINRA does care about, it allows the lawyer to assess the situation and present the best defense possible, knowing what FINRA would need to prove based on the accusations at issue. However, it is much harder to properly defend someone who makes numerous statements to FINRA, effectively locking themselves in, or worse attending an OTR (On the Record) interview without counsel. If you follow the above guidance, it is much more likely that your termination will be a simple bump in the road, with no impact on obtaining a new position and no impact on your CRD. Further, if there is a FINRA investigation a FINRA lawyer will assist in seeing that it ends fairly quickly with perhaps as little as a simple non-reported FINRA letter of caution, like one of our recent clients received, after only $2,000 of legal time expended. It is common knowledge that FINRA looks at pro-se (self represented) broker who is without an experienced FINRA attorney like low hanging fruit waiting to be tarred and feathered - Don't be that low hanging fruit! Stuart David Meissner Esq. Free Phone Consultations Nationwide Affordable Representation Toll Free - 866-764-3100 Ever since FINRA launched its recent focus on representatives' failure to update their U4 disclosures, we now often receive calls from registered representatives who have received a FINRA Enforcement letter inquiring about their alleged failure to file U4 forms on reportable events which took place in the past, sometimes years in the past, such as financial judgments, bankruptcies or ancient arrests or convictions. Unless handled properly such failure to report and the sanction could result in a complete Bar or suspension on one's license as well as a mark on one's CRD or BrokerCheck, Most recently we represented someone who allegedly did not report judgments from years before, which appeared on their credit history. Fortunately, the representative determined to hire an experienced FINRA attorney from the beginning instead of making the critical mistake of handling it himself or even initially respond on his own before having an attorney experienced with FINRA on his side. As a result, after two months, the results spoke for themselves - FINRA simply issued a Letter of Caution which is not reportable on a Form U4 and not included in the CRD registry. No sanction was issued other than the letter of caution. The total legal fees for this client, based on an hourly retainer amounted to under $2,000 which attorney fees no doubt would have been a lot higher, and the results much worse, if he had contacted us after he had responded to FINRA on his own and we would have to work with whatever was in-artfully articulated previously. Lesson learned - it doesn't pay to be penny wise and pound foolish when it comes to your career and license to earn an income. Contact and retain a FINRA Attorney early in the process. Stuart D. Meissner Esq. Meissner Associates Nationwide Toll Free and Free Phone Consult 866-764-3100  Today's NY Law Journal details how a lawyer can completely undercut their client's employment claims if they disregard or are unaware of clauses within the employer's severance agreement which apparently included a non-disparagement clause.
According to the Law Journal, Mr. Liddle chose to speak to the press about his clients' case, without any authorization to do so, and in so doing it is alleged it resulted in many of his clients losing their severance and bonus FINRA arbitration claims directly due to the violation of the non-disparagement clause in their agreements. Perhaps if he obtained his clients consent first (as we always do) in our opinion they could have at least reminded him of such clause, so as to have prevented such issue from happening just one month from the expiration of the clause. As noted in the article, the Appellate Division upheld the denial of a Motion to Dismiss the malpractice claim filed against Mr. Liddle and his firm. While there are many good reasons as a FINRA Attorney to speak to the press regarding an ongoing FINRA arbitration and other matters, one obviously wants to be careful to not only be truthful so as to avoid any defamation claim, but to also make sure that no contractual obligations are being violated by doing so, impacting the underlying case. A lawyer is generally an agent for their client, so that the client is thus responsible for what the lawyer says as Mr. Little's clients apparently learned the hard way. Malpractice Suit Over Lawyer's Newspaper Comments Proceeds Ben Bedell, New York Law JournalFebruary 10, 2016 A client's assertion that his attorney's "eagerness to get his name in the papers" caused him to lose a $1.3 million case states a claim for legal malpractice, a Manhattan appeals court ruled Thursday. Michael Barr, a securities industry executive, said Jeffrey Liddle, a founding partner of Liddle & Robinson, gave an interview to a newspaper that, according to Barr's former employer, breached Barr's agreement not to make any "disparaging statements" about the employer. A unanimous panel of the Appellate Division, First Department, upheld Justice Manuel Mendez's April 2015 denial of Liddle's motion to dismiss in an unsigned opinion. Barr was one of a group of 42 managers at Robertson Stephens, an investment bank that specialized in the software industry, who was laid off when the firm disbanded after the 2000 "dot-com bust." Liddle's firm was retained to prosecute the managers' severance and bonus claims in an arbitration proceeding. Barr's employment agreement included a clause which said his severance package would be revoked if, within six months of his termination, he made "any public statement that is adverse, inimical or otherwise materially detrimental to the interests" of Robertson Stevens or FleetBoston bank, which had bought Robertson and then tried to sell it just prior to its dissolution. A month before the clause would have expired, Liddle was quoted in The Wall Street Journal saying FleetBoston's "actions during the sale process drove down the value of the employees' stake in Robertson and damaged their reputations." FleetBoston said the quote violated the no-disparagement clause and denied Barr's claims. Read more: http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/printerfriendly/id=1202749141068#ixzz3zn3q5eCm  t This month the NY Times reported on a former JP Morgan Chase broker Johnny Burris, a large producer for the firm who internally raised issues with JP Morgan for pressuring its sales people to promote their own proprietary mutual funds over other funds which were more suitable for his clients. He reportedly taped conversations and complained repeatedly to his supervises before he was suspended and the fired based on what he said was fictional allegations in a U5 filing of the catch all "failing to follow firm procedures" and allegedly improperly marking an order as unsolicited when it was solicited. Most of his clients were retirees who were unsophisticated about the financial markets. RETALIATION Mr. Burris then took his evidence and recordings related to the sales pressure to the SEC and reported the same to the press , recordings and all made available to the public, and he apparently filed a claim of wrongful termination against JP Morgan Chase. What followed was what appears to be blatant retaliation by JP Morgan Chase in what appears to be a crusade to attempt to ruin Mr. Burris by incredibly instigating and even drafting at least two customer complaints against him so as to report such on his FINRA Broker Check and CRD system. By reporting three complaints, not only did such apparently negatively impact his pending wrongful discharge arbitration against JP Morgan Chase back in 2014, but such meant that he required heightened supervision with any new employer, making him toxic to many potential firms, even if his whistleblower status didn't already make him such. Adding insult to injury, the NY Times confirmed what appears to have been blatant perjury by his supervisor during the arbitration in denying that anyone at JP Morgan drafted any of the subject complaints and then later in response to the NY times this year JP Morgan admitted, contrary to such prior sworn testimony, that one of Mr. Burris' colleagues actually assisted clients "as a courtesy" in drafting the complaints. Clients that the Times spoke to denied that JP Morgan Chase even read back the complaints that JP Morgan drafted for them "as a supposed courtesy" and disputed the events, saying they signed the complaints without realizing what they said at the encouragement of the JP Morgan representative telling at least one that they "could get some money back" by signing (it appears JP Morgan then did provide about $8,000 to one of the clients without consulting Mr. Burrus as supposed compensation for a incorrect transaction and at the same time assisting themselves in defending against his wrongful termination claim). Although JP Morgan claims that the supervisor who denied that anyone at JP Morgan drafted the complaints, was unaware that such was in fact the case, nevertheless she apparently testified affirmatively (and turns out incorrectly) that no one at JP Morgan had done so. Which means she in effect testified that she knew for a fact what she was testifying to (which now they concede she did not) and if she did not know, as she clearly did not, she should have simply testified that she did not know, but instead chose to mislead the arbitration panel into thinking both that she knew all the facts and that she knew that no one at JP Morgan drafted the complaints, and such was thus false testimony. More troubling is that the JP Morgan representative who had contacted the clients, instigated and actually drafted the false complaints was on their witness list and was interviewed by JP Morgan's attorneys, but not surprisingly was never called to testify by them as it would appear that she would have contradicted their other witness who insisted no one at JP Morgan had drafted such complaints. To the extent the JP Morgan attorneys were aware of such information when the supervisor had testified it would appear they would have violated their ethical obligation not to solicit perjury and misleading a tribunal. However, this does not explain why Mr. Burris' own attorney did not call such JP Morgan witness on his own which he easily could have done, if he had contacted and spoken with the subject clients in preparing for the hearing to know of her existence and substantial relevance to the case.  ATTORNEY DROPPING THE BALL - DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HAVING A "BEN CARSON" TYPE OF ATTORNEY AND A "CHRIS CHRISTIE" TYPE OF ATTORNEY
According to the update to the NY Times Story Mr. Burris' lawyer told him not to talk to the subject clients during the proceeding which he apparently lost probably because of those very complaints which turned out to be fictional and created by JP Morgan contrary to their testimony. We assume then that the lawyer himself did not bother to speak to the subject clients which boggles the mind as to why. According to the story two of the complaints had the exact same typefaces and appeared to come from the same printer. As such, why the attorney himself did not bother to reach out and interview these clients as potential witnesses and possibly call them as witnesses to contradict what JP Morgan presented is unknown, but appears to be a dropping of the ball, big time. In our opinion such could have made all the difference to Mr. Burris as it would appear such FINRA arbitration and the damages he could obtain from the proceeding was critical to his financial future. According to the article Mr. Burris, after he lost his arbitration, had later obtained, on his own, sworn affidavits from both clients he spoke with, which in itself could have been very very helpful in cross examining JP Morgan's witness. In our view such could have not only resulted in a large award in his favor, but significant punitive damages as well, in his FINRA arbitration, instead of the big fat zero he received. LESSONS Apparently, now unemployed and having difficulty finding any employment, Mr. Burris has filed a compliant with FINRA Enforcement and the SEC Whistle-blower Office for retaliation. Frankly, if this is not retaliation then there is no such thing as retaliation. We will be following what if anything FINRA and the SEC Whistle-blower office does with these unfortunate actions taken by licensed representatives at one of the largest financial institutions in the country, but on the surface what took place is outrageous and without severe ramifications the very wrong message will be sent to the industry and to whistle-blowers across the country. Based on the facts, not only should the employees involved in both the creation of the false complaints and the presentation of false testimony lose their licenses, but criminal charges should seriously be considered including perjury and falsification of business records (one of the false complaints were maintained in JP Morgan records). In addition, the SEC should take enforcement action against JP Morgan Chase for retaliation against an SEC whistle-blower and seek a large multi-million dollar fine for their actions (in addition to the underlying whistle-blower matter). In addition, it would appear that the attorneys for JP Morgan could be subject to a Bar disciplinary complaint in presenting testimony which they may have known to have been false. Just this week the SEC announced it settled an enforcement action against JP Morgan Chase for inadequate disclosures related to the sale of their products for a possible a humongous 307 million dollar fine. If Mr. Burris is deemed an SEC whistle-blower who provided original information which led to such settlement he could be in for a large payday of 10-30% of the settlement and would obviously have the last laugh (although based on press reports it appears he may not be alone in relation to having provided information leading to such action, so the reward may be divided). Only time will tell as our own select whistle-blower clients can attest to. Unfortunately, none of this is in the control of Mr. Burris. The one proceeding that Mr. Burris had control over was his FINRA arbitration claim for wrongful discharge and retaliation and it would appear his attorney failed him in not doing proper due diligence in preparing for the hearing, speaking to critical witnesses, obtaining affidavits locking such witnesses in, calling them to testify and properly cross examining JP Morgan witnesses. As a former prosecutor, we were always trained that one must always question, explore and follow up with any suspicious evidence presented by any firm in any arbitration proceeding and not simply accept such on face value. Just as when another large Wall Street firm, Morgan Stanley, presented falsified computerized notes to us in another FINRA arbitration, which notes looked too good to be true for them, we carefully went about proving they were falsified, and obtained an order for a forensic examination of Morgan Stanley computers, all resulting in their admitting to such falsification by the broker, the subject broker being discharged, and a satisfied client. At this point it would seem that Mr. Burris still could consider filing another arbitration against the individuals involved in the manufactured complaints and the false testimony presented which likely impacted his lost hearing, and if he does, we hope he chooses his counsel more wisely. This case is a perfect example of why the selection of an attorney in any matter involving one's entire future career is essential and it is not the time to be penny wise and pound foolish. Stuart D. Meissner Esq, Meissner Associates, Nationwide Representation Free Phone Consult - 212-764-3100 Avoiding Firm Transition Disputes as a Financial Advisor - How to Stay Out of FINRA Arbitration8/4/2015 So after years of being at a firm you decide to seek out the next big sign on bonus check and seek out a new firm to do it. However, besides having access to your own clients who you brought to your current firm or even clients you developed at your current firm, you realize you have access to hundreds of other client records all with a net worth of over 1 million dollars with hundreds with over a 1 billion in invested assets. Clearly such records would be a gold mine for another firm, so you consider using such access as a method to parlay that into a much larger sign on bonus at a new firm. Generally, this is a very bad idea and would likely get you sued by your current employer for violating confidentiality agreements, violating trade secret prohibitions, unfair competition, potential breach of non-compete agreements you may have originally have signed, a breach of your duty of loyalty and other causes of action. This is not a hypothetical, but rather according to the NJ Law Journal of June 18, 2015 a real world legal action filed just last month by Fidelity in the Federal District Court of New Jersey against a former Fidelity financial advisor who went to Wells Fargo and allegedly utilized such to parlay it into a 1 million dollar upfront bonus from Wells Fargo. Fidelity is seeking an injunction from the Court to stop the solicitation of the subject clients and an order compelling arbitration of the dispute before a panel of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) which presumably would seek substantial damages. According to the NJLJ the law suit alleged: "In a three-month period before he resigned, Carson used Fidelity's computer system to look up data on hundreds of customers, with most of the searches conducted after 6 p.m., the suit said."  If true it does not look good for this former Fidelity Rep. Every rep should know in this day and age, everything one does on a computer system is monitored and will catch up to you sooner or later. In our view, considering the legal action, although it is unclear how much Wells Fargo knew about what this representative was doing in bringing over his supposed clientele, it was not worth the 1 million they paid him upfront, and if so we wonder how many days this representative will last at Wells Fargo before being dumped along with a new FINRA claim by Well Fargo seeking reimbursement of the 1 million sign on bonus, forgivable loan that now could never be repaid. If one is switching from one firm to another, the first order of business is to learn if both the firm you are leaving from and the one you are joining are signers to the Brokerage Protocol which provides a safe harbor for broker who abide by such guidelines to not be sued for most if not all of the issues raised above. It does not cover "raiding" which involves much more than one advisor going from one firm to another, and a claim we successfully fought against Oppenheimer & Co. years ago in defending another firm and branch manager who left them, as they have a history of filings such frivolous claims in our opinion, so as to intimidate potential departing employees. Hundreds of firms are signatories to the Protocol. However, if only the firm you are departing from is a signatory to the Protocol and you follow the protocol, there is an argument that they are bound by it even though the other firm did not sign, but the arbitrators will be the ultimate determiner of such. If you are unsure as to whether the firm you are joining or leaving is a member of the Protocol you may submit the below request button to our firm so as to inquire for free. Either way, if transitioning from one firm to another, whether or not a protocol member, it is a good idea to retain experienced FINRA lawyer to advise you on how to do it safely with the least likelihood of any legal action which will cost one a lot more than pro-actively retaining an experienced FINRA attorney in advance. Long ago before starting my own practice focusing on individuals, while working for boutique securities law firm, I was personally contracted by Morgan Stanley to solely represent many Morgan Stanley brokers just for their transition to the firm, while the firm had its own counsel. Such experience only reinforced many of the pitfalls representatives can fall into if they do not have the advice of a qualified FINRA Attorney from the beginning of considering any sort of employment transition. Stuart D. Meissner Esq, Meissner Associates, Nationwide Representation Free Phone Consult - 212-764-3100 Attorney Advertising |
AuthorStuart D. Meissner Esq. is an experienced FINRA attorney who has practiced law for over 27 years, including as a FINRA Attorney, Securities Regulator and Prosecutor. Archives
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