Have You Been The Victim Of A Defamatory U-5, Unfair Practices By Your Former Firm, Or Of Discrimination Or Harassment

We represent brokers who have been the victim of a false or erroneous U-5. Too frequently, negative U-5 filings are used to delay the transfer of customer accounts and to prevent brokers from communicating with their customers while their former firm solicits the customers with further slanders.

We have access to experts that can value your book of business and determine the amount of income that you lost and who can testify concerning the obligations of firms to file accurate U-5s.

Even in states like New York and California where brokers are prohibited from bringing defamation claims for false U-5s, we provide alternative strategies using other causes of action such as interference with business relationships and violation of FINRA’s Rules of Fair Practice to obtain just compensation.

Similarly, we provide representation for brokers and employees who have been the victims of discrimination or harassment.

For example:

FINRA Arb. No. 08-03070 involved a claim for in excess of $750,000 on a forgivable loan. The arbitration panel ruled that the broker had to repay zero dollars on the forgivable note he had signed.

FINRA Arb. No. 12-03180 involved a claim for filing a defamatory U-5 in which we obtained an award of compensatory $475,000 in compensatory damages and $50,000 in punitive as well as having the offending language expunged from the U-5.

FINRA Arb. No. 06-01261 involved a claim for back-end compensation as well as a claim for sexual harassment. The broker had sold a large piece of business and a campaign of harassment to force her to leave before the back end compensation vested. In the ensuing arbitration, Nick obtained the broker’s entire $260,000 in back-end compensation plus $200,000 for sexual harassment as well as $80,000 in attorney’s fees.

FINRA Arb. No. 04-00256 involved the filing of a false U-5 in which The Iavarone Law Firm recovered $830,000 in compensatory damages and $1.3 million in punitive damages.

FINRA Arb. No. 97-00018 was a marathon and reflects the tenacity with which Nick represents his clients. The case began when the broker left and his former firm stopped the ACATS transfers in mid-stream. Nick went to court, obtained a TRO that required the firm to honor the ACATS transfers and successfully resisted an attempt by the firm to remove the case to federal court and convinced the court to force to firm to pay broker’s attorney’s fees. Then, Nick filed an arbitration and obtained an award that compensated the broker for his lost income while the ACATS transfers were blocked, punitive damages as well as attorney’s fees and a disciplinary referral of firm. The case was featured in Registered Rep Magazine. To read the full article click here

The Iavarone Law Firm
33 N. LaSalle Street
Suite 1400
Chicago, Illinois 60602
Phone: 312.637.9466
Fax: 800.417.0580

Broker References

Contact some of our broker clients by clicking here.

Read About The Transition Of One Of Nick's Clients From UBS Here.

As A Reporter Who Watched Nick Cross-Examine A Brokerage Firm Supervisor Wrote:

"Iavarone was merciless in his cross examination of Fournier. His principal point was that there never were any such client files in the Galesburg office. While Fournier firmly maintained that the records existed and were missing Iavarone attempted (with no small degree of success) to demonstrate that many of the specifics which led to Everen's allegations were based on assumptions made by Fournier or on non-representative anecdotal or hearsay evidence."

To view the entire article click here

Click On The Book Cover To Read An Excerpt About Nick’s Prosecution Of A Notorious Mob Hit Man

“With Harry under indictment for murder, rumors were rife that outfit bosses had imported a hit squad from California to take out Iavarone . . .”