A securities attorney can help you determine how much you've lost and where and when to file a complaint.
How Much Did You Lose?
This is a harder question than it might sound at first. Investors' money is often spread over several accounts. And it’s a tricky accounting problem. For instance, if your broker pushes you into an inappropriate stock and the stock price climbs before falling, you can't necessarily claim a loss from the highest price the stock reached. Further, inflating your claims during an arbitration will only make you look worse.A knowledgeable securities attorney can help you figure out what your legitimate, claimable losses are. Indeed, at Shepherd, Smith & Edwards, this is one of our main tasks when we start working with a client.
Where and When to File a Complaint
We've seen many situations where people complain and complain to the regulators. When they finally figure out that they are not going to get their money back, it's often too late to file a case. The technicalities vary from case to case, but in general the rules are not the same as for personal injury suits like car accidents. You don't necessarily have several years to file a suit.The time clock on the statute of limitations for a case may start when the brokerage account was opened or when the stock was purchased (not when the stock price dropped). The time limitation typically includes the resolution time after a complaint has been filed.
Further, brokerage firms often try to stall and ask investors for clarification letters, hoping that the statute of limitations will expire before the investor contacts a law firm.
If you have a good case and your lawyer doesn’t file a case within 90 days, then you need a different lawyer. We file most of our clients' cases within 30 days. Most are filed with the NASD or NYSE.
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