Washington Securities Arbitration & Litigation Lawyers

Gana Weinstein LLP represents individuals and institutions involved in securities litigation within the State of Washington and in arbitration proceedings before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). By the time clients first retain us, many of them have suffered insurmountable financial losses in their portfolios. Many clients cannot discern where their funds have gone, how their broker permitted such losses to occur in the first place, and what their investments are currently worth.

Investors in Washington are protected by legislative laws and statutes in conjunction with industry rules that prohibit brokers from engaging in fraud, unsuitable sales, churning, unauthorized trading, failure to supervise, breach of fiduciary duty, or negligence. Below are useful links and resources covering some of the investor protections available in the State of Washington:

• Division of Securities protects consumers and business entities from fraudulent activities, while promoting consumer confidence in the capital markets.
• Consumer Protection Division within the Attorney General’s office enforces statutes and regulations to keep the marketplace free from unfair and deceptive practices.
• Securities Act of Washington regulates the offer, sale or purchase of any security within the capital markets.
• FINRA oversees and regulates all broker-dealers in the United States. FINRA, in conjunction with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also creates and enforces the securities laws.

Unfortunately investors are rarely reimbursed by state securities regulators as a result of an enforcement action. By hiring an experienced securities attorney to pursue their claim, investors have the best chance to be compensated. The attorneys of Gana Weinstein LLP can aid clients determine if investment losses were the result of normal market forces or misconduct by Wall Street. We apply a detailed and forensic approach to understanding your investment activity to explain those losses and apply the appropriate law to advance your claims.

In many cases, broker-dealers and investment advisers simply sell novel investment products in order to garner large commissions for them regardless of the investor’s willingness to withstand the large losses. Some of our clients are sold novel and exotic investment products that are only appropriate for a small group of sophisticated investors willing to take excessive risk. In other cases, clients’ approach us with account statements containing voluminous and complex trading activity in which they are unable to determine the actual losses suffered. Many times these indecipherable account statements are set up to cover up excessive trading activity and risk.

To learn more about potential claims and securities topics please visit our Securities Arbitration & Litigation page. Gana Weinstein LLP represents investors in all major Washington cities including Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Vancouver, Bellevue, Kent, Everett, Renton, Yakima and Federal Way. Our consultations are free of charge and the firm is only compensated if you recover.