Lambert Law Firm, LLC often relies on other professionals (e.g., probate attorneys, bankruptcy attorneys, certified public accountants, tax preparers, doctors, nursing home administrators and family members) to help identify circumstances in which someone has been harmed by negligent or fraudulent investment advice. Most investment misconduct cases are handled through the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) dispute resolution process, which has its own set of procedures and rules. There are a limited number of attorneys/law firms in the United States that regularly handle such cases on behalf of investors. Ms. Lambert/Lambert Law Firm, LLC is one of those. As such, she is always happy to speak to consumers or other attorneys in the FINRA arbitration arena about issues of particular interest to them.
Ms. Lambert has learned through the years that there is no particular “type” of victim in investment fraud cases. The victims can be a too-trusting person that who hands over his life savings to someone he trusts or a sophisticated hedge fund manager who was lied to about the investment product sold by a brokerage firm. Anyone can be victimized – your neighbor, boss, mother, friend, co-worker, customer or client.
To make matters worse, people who have suffered damages due to bad investment advice often mistakenly believe their financial injuries are their own fault or were simply “caused by the market.” In truth, while investing does involve risk, that risk does not include the risk that the person giving the advice is not qualified, does not have the customer’s best interests in mind, or is committing a crime (such as running a Ponzi scheme, for example).
Unbeknownst to many investors, when they open an account with a brokerage firm, they are agreeing to participate in a mandatory arbitration process run by the Financial Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). Over the past 10 years, Ms. Lambert has represented hundreds of investor clients in FINRA arbitrations against their brokers and/or brokerage firms.
Ms. Lambert has been an active member of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (“PIABA”) since 2005 and was elected to serve as one of 15 members of the Board of Directors in 2012. PIABA is an international bar association whose members represent investors in disputes with various players in the securities industry. There are more than 400 PIABA members from 44 states, Puerto Rico and Japan. Ms. Lambert has served as Treasurer and Executive Vice President/President-Elect, and just took office as President at the 25th PIABA Annual Meeting in San Diego, California in October 2016.
Ms. Lambert is dedicated to protecting the investing public regarding important issues such as:
- Expungement of broker records after settlements/awards;
- Provision of “conflicted advice” to customers;
- Protection of seniors;
- More robust broker disclosures on FINRA’s BrokerCheck database;
- Accuracy and completeness of arbitrator disclosures;
- Permitting investors the choice of forum when they sue their brokerage firm;
- Treatment of whistleblowers; and
- Reducing the number of unpaid arbitration awards.
Ms. Lambert is always open to discussing the following types of claims with potential clients or other attorneys:
- Breach of Fiduciary Duty,
- Negligence,
- Churning,
- Misrepresentations/Omissions, and
- Violation of state or federal blue sky laws.
Similarly, Ms. Lambert is always available to consult with potential clients or other attorneys involving the following products:
- Stocks
- Mutual Funds
- Bonds
- Exchange Traded Funds
- Variable Universal Life Insurance Policy
- Variable Annuity
- Tenancy-in-Common (“TIC”)
- Real Estate Investment Trust (“REIT”)
- Private Placements
- Unit Investment Trust
- Hedge Funds
- Equity Indexed Annuities
- Whole Life Insurance Policy