Bad stories are good. The most winnable cases involve unsophisticated clients who lost irreplaceable nest eggs at the hands of brokers who concentrated portfolios into one sector (remember tech?). Marie Breslow, a Florida widow and mother of two, reclaimed $256,501 in losses after arbitrators found her Prudential Securities broker put her husband’s life-insurance proceeds (the kids’ college money) into a few speculative tech stocks. Even better if you can prove you bought bad stocks on the basis of tainted broker advice.
Big losses count. The lawyers who specialize in these cases live on 40 percent contingencies, so they’re turning down small cases. “We aren’t even looking at anything less than $200,000” says Steven Caruso, of Maddox, Hargett and Caruso. Shop for a lawyer at the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (piaba.org). Or you can file your own case. Start at nyse.com or www.nasdadr.com, where claims under $25,000 are handled faster. You can also contact an arbitration clinic run by law schools like Fordham (law.fordham.edu) or Pace (law.pace.edu).
Be patient. Cases can take 16 months to resolve. If you win, you’ll recoup losses less your lawyer’s cut and filing fees. Not a bad return in this market.
