Publisher's Synopsis
Every year, 10,000 securities arbitrations are filed in the United States, private lawsuits required to be resolved in secret, closed-door sessions by men and women who are not judges, are not required to abide by the law, and whose decisions are almost impossible to appeal. In these forums, the rules of evidence do not apply and at least one of the arbitrators is almost always a member of the same industry as the broker being sued. Litigants may represent themselves, saving thousands in legal fees, but at the same time exposing themselves and their losses to a labyrinthine system known only to a relative handful of specialists, where the presiding "judges" know the players and the system is financed by the very brokerage firms being put on trial. In this booklet, a 30-year veteran of arbitrations explains in plain, non-lawyer English what arbitrations are, how they work, and how you can protect your rights. Brian Lowe has spent 30 years in the securities industry, working both in brokerage houses, and for consumers as a non-attorney arbitration representative recovering millions of dollars. His arbitration against Jordan Belfort, "the Wolf of Wall Street," resulted in one of the largest awards ever against Belfort and helped put his firm, Stratton Oakmont, Inc., out of business. Lowe has worked alongside the FBI and consulted with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in combating financial fraud, and continues to work as Senior Legal Assistant at a Los Angeles-area law firm.
