FAQs

Arbitration works much like a trial, but without a judge or jury. Your case is decided by a panel of arbitrators who act as both. They hear the witnesses, review the account statements and other documents, listen to each side's arguments, and then issue a binding written decision.

Who decides your case? For claims of $100,000 or less, a single arbitrator hears the case. For claims over $100,000, a panel of three decides. Arbitrators are not full-time judges — they are accountants, attorneys, bankers, educators, retired judges, and other qualified people drawn from the community. In customer cases, you have the right to strike every industry-affiliated arbitrator from the list, giving you a panel made up entirely of public arbitrators. Most investors exercise that right, and we generally recommend it.

Most cases never reach a hearing. In 2025, only 14% of customer arbitration cases were decided by an arbitrator. The rest closed through settlement, mediation, or withdrawal — and settlements almost always involve a payment to the investor.

If your case does go to a hearing, it takes place in a conference room at a hotel, office suite, or FINRA office — usually in the major city closest to where you lived when the problems arose — or by video. It is less formal than a courtroom, but the evidence and argument are just as real.

Afterward, the arbitrators deliberate privately and issue a written award. The decision is final. Arbitrators must issue their decision within 30 business days of the close of the hearing. The award is typically a short document stating the result without explaining the panel's reasoning. Arbitration awards are more final than court judgments: the grounds for challenging one are extremely narrow, and court challenges rarely succeed. If a brokerage firm fails to pay an award, FINRA can suspend the firm or the broker from the industry until it is paid.

Unlike court cases, FINRA arbitration rarely involves depositions, and motion practice is limited. That is a large part of why it moves faster than litigation.

Step 1 — Filing the Statement of Claim. Your case begins when we file a Statement of Claim with FINRA on your behalf. It works like a complaint filed in court, though it is often written in plainer language. It sets out what the brokerage firm or broker did wrong, the legal theories supporting your recovery, and what you are asking for. FINRA then serves the claim on the brokers, advisers, or firms being sued (the "respondents").

Step 2 — The Answer. Respondents file an Answer, which typically denies responsibility for the conduct and losses described in your claim. This is expected and is not a setback.

Step 3 — Choosing the arbitrators. Roughly 90 days after filing, both sides receive three computer-generated lists totaling 35 candidates: 10 chair-qualified public arbitrators, 15 public arbitrators, and 10 non-public (industry-affiliated) arbitrators. Each side may strike up to four names from the chair list, up to six from the public list, and — importantly for investors — all ten from the non-public list. Both sides then rank the remaining names, and FINRA builds the panel from the combined rankings. This step matters more than most clients expect. We research each candidate's background and prior awards before striking and ranking.

Step 4 — Initial Pre-Hearing Conference. Once the panel is set, FINRA schedules a telephone conference between the arbitrators and the attorneys to fix the hearing dates and set the schedule for the rest of the case.

Step 5 — Discovery. Both sides exchange the documents and information needed to try the case. You should expect to produce several years of tax returns and records from your other financial accounts, along with other documents. We prepare you for this in advance so nothing comes as a surprise.

Step 6 — Twenty days before the hearing. Each side must identify its witnesses and exchange any exhibits it intends to use that haven't already been produced.

Step 7 — The hearing. Each side gives an opening statement. We present your case first — calling witnesses and introducing exhibits — and the respondent then presents its defense. Both sides give closing arguments. Hearings are held in a conference room or by video, usually in the major city closest to where you lived when the problems arose.

Step 8 — The award. The panel issues a written award, generally within a week or two after the hearings close. Respondents have 30 days to pay.

How We Work With You Along the Way

We stay in contact throughout, send you copies of every significant document, return calls promptly, and keep you up to date on developments. Before the hearing, we sit down with you to walk through your testimony and the entire process, so that you know exactly what to expect on the day.

“Winning” is the wrong lens for most cases, because most cases never reach a decision at all.

The realistic picture. In 2025, 14% of customer arbitration cases were closed with an arbitrator's decision. The other 86% ended in settlement, mediation, or withdrawal — and settlements almost always put money in the investor's hands. Of the customer cases that were decided, 28% resulted in an award of damages to the customer. Among cases heard by all-public panels, the figure was 35%.

Those hearing numbers sound low, and it's worth understanding why they may present an incomplete picture. The cases that reach a decision are, by definition, the ones neither side was willing to settle — the hardest and most contested claims in the system. Cases with clear liability tend to settle well before a panel ever rules. The path to recovery for most investors runs through settlement, not through a hearing.

What does that mean for you? No lawyer can promise a recovery, and we won't. What we can tell you is that we take on cases we believe have merit, we prepare every case as though it will be tried, and we don't recommend a settlement we wouldn't accept ourselves.

Settlement decisions are yours. In most of our cases, respondents make settlement offers before the hearing. We will give you our candid assessment of any offer — including when we think you should reject it — but the decision to settle or press on always belongs to you.

Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case.

It depends on how your case ends. In 2025, FINRA arbitration cases took an average of 13.4 months from filing to closure, counting every case, regardless of how it ended.

Cases that went all the way to a decision after a full hearing took longer — about 16 months on average. Smaller claims resolved faster: cases decided on the documents alone averaged around five months. By comparison, a securities case in state or federal court commonly runs well past two years. Cases that settle — the large majority — generally conclude well before the hearing date.

Complexity, the number of respondents, and the arbitrators' availability all affect the timeline, and we'll give you a realistic estimate for your specific situation once we've reviewed your account records.

Have a question about timing in your case? Call (866) 966-9598.

We work on a contingency fee of 33% (1/3). If you recover nothing, you pay no legal fees.

The consultation is free. Call (866) 966-9598 or email us to have your situation reviewed at no charge and no obligation.