Before filing: the review and the engagement
It starts with documents, not a flight. You send statements, confirmations, the account application, and the firm’s correspondence — as PDFs, through a secure upload or email. We read them, date the events, check the eligibility rule and the state limitations period, and tell you whether there is a case. The review is free and confidential. If there is no case, we say so.
If there is, you sign an engagement agreement electronically. Our cases are on contingency: $0 unless you recover. No power of attorney is needed, and nothing has to be notarized to begin. You will be asked for a few facts we cannot get from the documents — what the broker told you, when, and what you understood — usually in a phone or video call scheduled in your time zone.
Filing the Statement of Claim
The case begins when a Statement of Claim is filed through FINRA’s online portal, along with a submission agreement you sign electronically and a filing fee scaled to the amount claimed. The Statement of Claim is the story of the case: who you are, what the broker did, which rules it broke, and what it cost. It names the firm and, usually, the individual broker.
FINRA serves the claim on the firm. The firm has 45 days to file an Answer, which will deny most of what you said and raise defenses — that the trades were authorized, that you were a sophisticated investor, that the claim is too old. Do not be alarmed by the Answer. It is written by defense counsel for the panel, not for you, and it is the same on nearly every case.
Choosing the arbitrators
FINRA sends both sides lists of potential arbitrators drawn from its roster, with a disclosure report on each. Each side strikes some names and ranks the rest; FINRA appoints the highest-ranked survivors. Claims over $100,000 get three arbitrators unless the parties agree to one; smaller claims get one. A customer can insist that every arbitrator be a “public” arbitrator with no industry ties. This ranking is one of the places experienced counsel earns the fee: the roster is small enough that the arbitrators’ records are known.
Once the panel is set, it holds an initial prehearing conference by phone with counsel — you do not attend — and issues a scheduling order with dates for discovery, motions, and the hearing itself. Hearing dates are commonly nine to fourteen months out.
Discovery: documents, not depositions
FINRA discovery is built around its Discovery Guide, which lists what each side must produce in a customer case. The firm produces the broker’s notes, compliance files, account documents, commission runs, and supervisory records. You produce your account statements, tax returns for the relevant years, correspondence with the broker, and financial information bearing on suitability. Depositions are rare, which is one reason the forum works from abroad: no one is flying you to a conference room to be questioned for a day.
Expect to spend a few hours gathering things and answering our questions about them. If you cannot locate something, say so — most of it exists at the firm in any case, and we can ask the panel to compel it.
Mediation, where most cases end
At some point after discovery — sometimes earlier — the parties usually agree to mediate. A mediator, often a retired arbitrator or judge, spends a day moving between the two sides by video, testing each side’s position and carrying numbers back and forth. Most FINRA customer cases that do not get dismissed settle, and most of those settle in or around mediation. You attend by video, from home, with us. The decision to accept a settlement is always yours.
The hearing
If the case does not settle, it is heard. Twenty days before the hearing each side exchanges the exhibits and witness lists it intends to use. The hearing itself typically runs three to five days, in half-day sessions, with each side presenting witnesses and documents and cross-examining the other’s. You will testify — about what you were told, what you understood, and what you needed from the account. We prepare you for it, in detail, in advance.
FINRA’s rules expressly provide for hearings by video conference, and a party living abroad is a recognized reason to hold one that way. Panels sit on US hours; if you are twelve hours ahead, your testimony is scheduled for the part of the day that is bearable on both ends. Our separate guide on video hearings covers what the day looks like.
The award, and getting paid
After the record closes, the panel aims to issue a written award within thirty business days. The award states who won and how much — compensatory damages, sometimes interest, costs, and, where a statute or the account agreement permits, attorneys’ fees. Panels give reasons only if both sides ask for an explained decision in advance; most awards are short.
A firm must pay an award within thirty days of receiving it. A member firm that does not pay faces suspension from the industry, which is why awards against operating brokerages are almost always paid without further proceedings. Payment is by wire or check to our trust account, and your share is wired to you — a US bank or a foreign one, your choice. Grounds to overturn an award in court are extremely narrow and rarely succeed.
What it asks of you, from abroad
Across twelve to eighteen months, the honest inventory of your involvement:
- Gathering documents at the start — a few hours, once
- Two or three calls or video meetings to reconstruct what you were told
- Reviewing the draft Statement of Claim for accuracy
- A half day for mediation, by video
- Preparation sessions and one to two sessions of testimony if the case is heard, by video
- No travel, no notarized filings, no courthouse
Key takeaways
If you remember six things
- Everything from the free review to the award can be done from where you live.
- The firm has 45 days to answer; hearings are usually set nine to fourteen months out.
- Discovery is documents under FINRA’s Discovery Guide; depositions are rare.
- Most cases settle, most often around mediation, which you attend by video.
- Hearings are held by video when a party lives abroad; panels schedule around the time difference.
- Awards are due within thirty days and are almost always paid; fees are $0 unless you recover.
Questions
Asked most often
Do I ever need to be in the United States for a FINRA arbitration?
Almost never. Filing, discovery, mediation, and hearings are handled electronically or by video. If an in-person appearance were ever genuinely required, we would discuss it with you long in advance; it is not the normal course.
How long does a FINRA arbitration take?
Cases that go all the way to hearing average roughly sixteen months by FINRA’s own statistics. Cases that settle — most of them — finish sooner. Simplified cases under $50,000 are faster still.
Can I sue the brokerage in court instead?
Almost certainly not. Your account agreement contains a pre-dispute arbitration clause that commits both you and the firm to FINRA arbitration. For an investor abroad that is an advantage: no courthouse, no jurisdiction fight.
What does it cost me if we lose?
Our fee is $0 unless you recover. Forum fees and case costs are discussed and agreed in the engagement letter before anything is filed, so there are no surprises either way.