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Arbitration Forums (FINRA, AAA, or JAMS?)

What Is Arbitration?

Arbitration is an alternative to going to court and tends to be faster and less expensive.

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What Is FINRA?

“FINRA” stands for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. https://www.finra.org/#/.

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What Is the AAA?

The “AAA” stands for the American Arbitration Association. https://www.adr.org/.

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What Is JAMS?

“JAMS” stands for the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services. .

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What Are the General Steps to Securities Arbitration?
  • How Can I Initiate a Case?

    The first step to the arbitration process is filing a statement of claim against your investment advisor, broker and/or brokerage firm (the respondent). This document outlines the dispute with the respondent, relevant legal arguments, and damages.

  • What Happens After I File my Statement of Claim?

    The respondent must then timely file a statement of answer. In this document, the respondent will answer to, argue, and/or deny your allegations.

  • What Happens After the Pleadings?

    The parties then engage in arbitrator selection, prehearing conferences, and discovery.

  • What Happens Next?

    The previously mentioned steps all lead up to the hearing. After the hearing, a panel of arbitrators will issue an arbitration award, which will include damages awarded among other things.

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What Is the Difference Between the FINRA, AAA, and JAMS Arbitration Forums?

Although all three forums, FINRA and the AAA provide arbitration forums, they may differ as to scope, membership, arbitrator section, and overall rules and/or procedures. As to the membership aspect, brokerage firms are registered “members” of FINRA. Because of this, the scope of FINRA Arbitration tends to be in a limited securities context, involving brokers or brokerage firms, and sometimes investment advisory firms. However, the AAA and JAMs cover many industries and practice areas outside of securities, such as employment law and commercial disputes. Malecki Law has successful arbitration lawyers willing to consult with you about your case for free.

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Testimonials From Former Clients
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I highly recommend Jenice and her team at Malecki Law. I had a challenging, and lengthly case. Jenice was professional, very knowledgeable, and a pleasure to work with. She managed to make the process far less stressful during a very difficult time. They care about their clients, and it definitely shows. Mario
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Jenice is truly a miracle worker and one of the top securities lawyers. She handled a very difficult case for us, displaying her legal knowledge, intelligence, and savviness throughout the process. I cannot recommend her enough. The quality of work from her team rivals that of corporate law firms. She was always available, extremely professional, and made sure to know all the details of the case. We were very fortunate to have been referred to Jenice and highly recommend her for any securities related legal issues. Nathan A.
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An excellent professional who represented us in trial regarding a bank fraud, an unexpected and difficult time. A professional that worked hard, persevering and who stood toe to toe against firms that had a team of excellent lawyers backing them up. Her unflinching determination really stands out, it makes you feel you have someone who really cares about trying to recover what you lost from the people that wronged you. Salomon Levi
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To say that my securities litigation was complex would be a severe understatement. With multiple parties involved and spanning many years, trying to understand the issues was daunting to say the least. Jenice and her team broke down the transactions by segment and by party uncovering every hidden expense. In the end, I was more than happy and could not thank Jenice and her team enough. I would not hesitate to recommend Jenice to anyone. She is highly professional, incredibly knowledgeable, well connected to industry experts, has a tireless work ethic and is so pleasant and easy to communicate with. Five stars for sure! Andrew Loughrane
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