Securities Law Commons^™

Finra Dispute Resolution Task Force Releases Its Final Report, With Support For Mediation And Live Hearings, Jill I. Gross

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article briefly describes the task force’s formation; highlights its key recommendations (such as requiring mediation before arbitration of all claims—subject to party opt-out, and introducing a more affordable, live hearing option for small claims); analyzes in more detail a few more controversial suggestions (such as expressly banning class action waivers in customer agreements and increasing the use of explained awards), and critiques the task force’s inability to reach consensus on other hot-button issues, such as mandatory arbitration.

Finra Dispute Resolution Task Force Releases Its Final Report, With Support For Mediation And Live Hearings, Jill I. Gross

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Late in 2015, the FINRA Dispute Resolution Task Force, a group formed solely for the purpose of systematically assessing and critiquing securities arbitration, released its Final Report and Recommendations. The report contains 51 individual recommendations designed to improve FINRA's heavily-regulated dispute resolution program. Some recommendations offer specific details on implementation; others urge conceptual reform of a particular aspect of the arbitration process but leave FINRA to take care of fleshing out the details.

This article briefly describes the task force's formation; highlights its key recommendations (such as requiring mediation before arbitration of all claims-- subject to party opt-out, and introducing …

Justice Scalia's Hat Trick And The Supreme Court's Flawed Understanding Of Twenty-First Century Arbitration, Jill I. Gross

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In this article, I report on the results of my close examination of more than two dozen opinions the Court has handed down interpreting the FAA--arising primarily from commercial, consumer, employment, or securities disputes--since the beginning of the twenty-first century only fifteen years ago.19 I focus on cases in which the Court was asked to decide a question of arbitrability--whether a claim is arbitrable or whether an agreement to arbitrate is enforceable under FAA section 2. I have concluded that these decisions are built on a narrative of an arbitration process that no longer exists, although it may have existed …

The End Of Mandatory Securities Arbitration?, Jill I. Gross

Pace Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Explained Award Of Damocles: Protection Or Peril In Securities Arbitration, Jill I. Gross

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

NASD's proposed rule change requiring arbitrators to provide written explanations in arbitration awards upon the customers' request (the “explained award proposal”), which was published for public comment in July 2005, is the clearest example of NASD's proposing a rule change in response to investors' complaints. “We have found that investors want to know more about how a panel reaches its decision,” stated NASD Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert R. Glauber in announcing the explained award proposal. “By giving investors the option of requiring a written explanation of an arbitration panel's decision, we will increase investor confidence in the fairness …

Securities Mediation: Dispute Resolution For The Individual Investor, Jill I. Gross

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Part I of this article will provide a brief history of ADR in the securities industry (primarily arbitration), and then will describe the emergence of mediation as an alternative to arbitration. Part II will explore the state and federal statutory regulations that arguably govern the securities mediation process, and their impact on procedural and substantive justice. In particular, this section will review the applicability to and impact on securities mediation of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (1934 Act), the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), and state mediation statutes, including the Uniform Mediation Act. In this section, I will argue that …

Making It Up As They Go Along: The Role Of Law In Securities Arbitration, Barbara Black, Jill I. Gross

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

What is the current role of the law in securities arbitration? Given the difficulties investors would encounter in pleading and proving their claims in court, they may well be better off in a system where less attention is paid to the law and more to the equities of the actual dispute before the arbitration panel. While this is not a system where accountability and predictability of results can be achieved, investors may, in fact, fare better than they might expect. It follows then that if equitable considerations enhance rather than subtract from investors' chances of recovery, then investors need not …