Since 1985, I have practiced almost exclusively in the fields of securities litigation and arbitration.  I take great satisfaction now helping investors who have been abused or neglected by their financial professional.

For over fifteen years – my first years in practice – I gained invaluable experience representing most of the major broker-dealer firms in the country, both in court and in arbitration, and often at the forefront of emerging legal issues. During that time I worked with a major law firm based in Florida, followed by a decade as an “in-house” senior counsel in the New York City headquarters for Prudential Securities Incorporated.   While “in-house” on Wall Street, I handled complex, high profile litigations/ arbitrations and class actions, and was fortunate to have worked with some of the most highly esteemed talents in the field.

In the new millennium, I took the plunge and jumped to the “other side of the street”, that is to say “Main Street”. My practice concentrates on the representation of investors in their disputes against brokers and their brokerage firms. Fortunately,  my extensive experience  working on behalf of  Wall Street brokerage firms, gives me the advantage of anticipating defenses from the brokerage side,  and knowing various  high powered law firms who routinely represent the other side. Most investor disputes are resolved through compulsory arbitration, and sometimes through voluntary mediation. You can read more about the arbitration process through our Home page and on www.finra.org/arbitrationandmediation/arbitration/.

Since 2010, I have been on the faculty of the Cornell University Law School, as an adjunct professor in its Securites Law Clinic. Immediately prior to that time, I fulfilled a 3 year appointment by the Syracuse University College of Law to teach securities arbitration law and oversee its clinical securities cases, pursuant to a grant from the New York Attorney General’s Office.

I have volunteered substantial efforts to investor protection efforts. Among those contributions are my service as former Chairperson of the Self-Regulatory Organization Committee for the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (“PIABA”), which is the preeminent nationwide bar association of attorneys devoted to investor protection causes. I continue to serve on several PIABA committees. In addition, I have: presented CLE courses offered through PIABA, the ABA, and local bar associations; appeared on PBS to speak about investor protection issues; and presented community seminars to various groups throughout NY. I also have served as an arbitrator for the NASD, which is now known as FINRA.

Bar Admissions:NYS, Florida, various federal district courts and the United States Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals

• J.D., University of Miami School of Law, cum laude, 1985; attended Syracuse University College of Law
• B.S. Syracuse University, (Physics), cum laude, 1981; attended University of Rochester

• Selling Away: A Brokerage Firm’s Nightmare, 12^th Annual Securities Law Seminar, Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association, 2010. 
• Discovery in Securities Arbitration: Toss a Tennis Ball, Get Back a Chewed Up Slipper, PIABA Bar Journal, Vol. 16, No. 3. (2009), (available on Westlaw) (co-authored with Richard Lewins).
• Industry Perspectives on the Report of the Arbitration Policy Task Force, Glasser Legalworks, 1996.  Presented at the publisher’s Continuing Legal Education seminar. A comprehensive analysis of the arbitration report of SEC Chairman David Ruder, with insights concerning   arbitration practice, history, interpretation of statistics.

• “Selling Away: A Brokerage Firm’s Nightmare”  19^th Annual Meeting of the  Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA), Ponte Vedra, Florida, October 2010. Analysis of legal, regulatory and enforcement issues regarding “selling away” claims against  financial institutions, particularly broker/dealers.
• “Arbitration Basics – The Hearing and Beyond”, 18^th Annual Meeting of PIABA, Carlsbad, Ca, 2009.  Presented to securities lawyers an interactive seminar concerning arbitration skills, with emphasis on problem scenarios at final arbitration, and attendant ethical issues.  
• “Invest-igate Your Choices”, Elder Law Fair, co- sponsored by AARP NY and various Legal Aid organizations.
• “Financial Fitness”, PBS Television, WCNY and throughout NYS, November 2007.  Discussion of investor protection issues.
• “FINRA’s New Know Your Customer And Suitability Rules 2090 And 2111: A View From All Sides – Regulators, Industry, And Litigants”, ABA Webinar, January 2013.