October 29, 2014
The purpose of this letter is to provide the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with comments on the above referenced proposed rule change which was originally filed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) on June 17, 2014 and, thereafter, was the subject of an October 1, 2014 Order issued by the SEC that instituted proceedings to determine whether to approve or disapprove the proposed rule change.
I am an attorney whose practice is exclusively devoted to the representation of individual and institutional investors in their disputes with the securities industry. Moreover, I am a former President and current Director Emeritus of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA), am the former Chairman of FINRAs National Arbitration and Mediation Committee (NAMC), am the current Chairman of FINRAs Discovery Task Force Committee (DTFC) and am a former member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) Modernization Task Force.
As indicated in my original comment letter, dated July 1, 2014, it is my personal opinion that the proposed amendments to the Code of Arbitration Procedure, which would expand the scope of the non-public arbitrator definition and reorganize the presentation of both the public and non-public arbitrator definitions, would significantly address longstanding constituent perceptions about the fairness and neutrality of the public arbitrator roster and would enhance the interests of public investors.
It is also my personal opinion that the determination, by the staff of FINRA, that the proposed rule change and the resulting improvement in arbitrator classification would not be detrimental to its ability to provide a fair and efficient forum for the resolution of both customer and industry disputes, should be given considerable deference by the SEC.
Based on the preceding, I would, without qualification or reservation, strongly recommend that the Commission approve the proposed amendments to the Code of Arbitration Procedure on an expedited basis.
Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to submit my comments on this rule filing.