FINRA arbitration proceedings are different from other arbitration forums, for example, the triple A or the international arbitration forums in that the selection of the panel itself is done through very specific rules that are in place that are intended to balance public and private interest. That is to say the interest of sort of the consumers that FINRA serves and the banks and the financial institutions that work with FINRA. So it’s very important to understand that process because often I think the outcome of the arbitration can be heavily influenced at the very first phase in selecting the panel. And one of the good pieces of information is that FINRA actually gives you some background about the different panel members you may be selecting. It has a database where you can search and see what decision they’ve rendered in the past.

FINRA arbitration also has very specific discord rules which are unlike rules in other forums, certainly very different from being in court. And it’s very, very important to understand what the default discovery rules are that FINRA provides for and then build on those whether you’re in the defense or prosecuting to understand how you can build a discovery you need to prevail on the merits. And then the actual hearing itself is also quite different from other kinds of proceedings. So I think FINRA is a very unique forum to be in. It can be a very efficient forum with really expert panels but you need to know what you’re doing and you want a lawyer who’s done this before successfully.