Securities Arbitration & Litigation

Salas Wang LLC is experienced in securities disputes and represents investors in arbitration, state and federal courts.  Please review our “Current Investigations” page for cases we are currently looking at.  You can also call Jeffrey Salas at 312.803.4963 for a free consultation.

Securities Arbitration / Customer Dispute Overview

There are a number of claims, as a brokerage customer, you can make against a brokerage firm.  These types of cases are often hiding in someone’s brokerage account.  Most customers ignore meritorious claims because they think that it’s simply a matter of “bad luck.”  Many times, losses occur because of broker negligence or misconduct, and investors have the right to recover their losses from the brokerage firm:

1.   Unsuitability:  Basically, an investment is unsuitable if it is too risky for you.  A “unsuitability” claim is the most common claim against brokers and firms.  Why?  Because a broker is obligated to only recommend suitable investments and trading strategies.  If you didn’t know the risks of loss involved a in particular investment, could not financially withstand those losses, or had investment objectives that were not consistent with that investment’s risk profile, you may have a claim.  A brokerage firm does not have to commit fraud to be liable, negligence will suffice.

2.    Churning and/or Excessive Trading:  Churning is where a broker makes trades in a customer’s account to drive up there commissions.  Brokers work on commission, so the more trades in an account, the more money they make.  Customers may think that this active trading strategy is helping them, but they are just losing money through transaction costs.  Even if you’ve ultimately received a net profit on those trades, you may have a claim against the broker.

3.    Unauthorized trading:  You may have a claim against your brokerage firm if your broker traded without your approval in an account where the broker does not have sole discretion.

4.    Misrepresentations and Omissions:  Claims against a broker for misrepresentations and/or omissions is pretty clear.  Your broker either lied to you, or didn’t tell you about material information that caused your portfolio to lose money.

5.    Breach of fiduciary duty:  This is usually an additional claim by a customer rather than a claim by itself (on the other hand, in cases against corporations, this is often the main claim) for a broker who additionally breaches his or her duties to the customer.

This is not an exhaustive list, but the most common claims customers may have against their brokers and/or brokerage firm.  To take advantage of Salas Wang LLC’s free portfolio review, please click here:

Securities Litigation Overview

Different from the customer dispute / arbitration claims, litigation claims often entail fraud or breaches of fiduciary duty by the issuer. The issuer is the company that you hold stock in (e.g., if you are a common stockholder of a particular company, that company is called the “issuer”).

Securities “Products”

Often, investors invest in a securities “product” which is an amalgamation of securities that try to mimic a certain benchmark or index.  These “products” are pretty easy to spot because they often have long and complicated names.  Because of these investments are esoteric, investors really do not investigate the “product’s” composition, and can get burned pretty easily.  Once again, Salas Wang LLC can investigate these products and possibly bring actions on behalf of investors to recover losses from these products.

Securities Fraud

Securities fraud claims arise where a company makes material misstatements or omissions in its public filings.  These claims are best brought as class actions under federal securities laws.  There are number of quirks to federal securities laws, but Salas Wang LLC is willing to discuss these claims with investors.

Corporate Governance Actions

These are actions that scrutinize director and officer conduct.  Where a director and/or officer acts in their own self-interest at the detriment of the company, a shareholder can bring a claim on behalf of the company, called a derivative action.  Derivative actions help foster corporate governance changes and in some cases, lead to the company recovering money from its directors and/or officers for misconduct.  Salas Wang LLC attorneys have experience in these complicated cases, and can discuss your options in bringing a case to recover for a company you invest in.

Mergers and Acquisitions Litigation

Shareholders can bring lawsuits on behalf of all shareholders to enjoin and/or recovery additional consideration in connection with a company’s merger acquisition.  These cases often seen additional disclosure, better deal terms, and/or reconsideration of the merger decision.  Salas Wang LLC attorneys have experience in these complicated cases, and can discuss your options for bringing one of these cases.

To take advantage of Salas Wang LLC’s free portfolio review, please click here.