Financial Litigation

Financial litigation includes civil, criminal, and/or administrative charges, and investigations into financial and financial transactions and entities including banks, mortgage lenders, consumer financing companies, credit card companies, credit processing, and multi-monetary businesses, credit unions, brokerages, investment enterprises, and other companies.
Banking and finance litigation typically arises as a result of specific loans, trades, transactions, or financial products, as well as disputes and investigations involving stock and commodity exchanges, pricing, disclosure, management, and servicing issues. These industries, however, are among the most heavily regulated and scrutinized because they frequently involve consumers and/or public shareholders. Banks and financial services institutions, many of which are publicly traded, must follow a slew of laws, including federal and state securities laws, Dodd-Frank, the Bank Secrecy Act, the Patriot Act, credit card and consumer protection laws, Truth in Lending, Equal Credit Opportunity, Fair Credit Reporting Act, and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Banks and financial institutions are frequently the targets of investigations or enforcement actions initiated by governmental entities such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, FINRA, the Department of Justice, state AGs, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, FTC, the Treasury Department, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the OCC, and other regulators. Counseling businesses on the potential liability and risk of non-compliance with relevant laws and regulations is also an important part of the financial litigator’s role.

Financial litigators typically have experience representing corporate and individual clients in a wide range of matters involving federal securities laws, as well as state corporate, consumer, securities, and common law, as well as bankruptcy proceedings. Shareholder class actions and derivative suits challenging the validity of disclosures and the appropriateness of transactions are examples of such matters, as are suits alleging insider trading, broker-dealer noncompliance, misrepresentations in financial reporting, and securities or other fraud. Financial litigators should also have previous experience representing corporate directors and officers in litigation arising from alleged breaches of fiduciary and other duties. Officers’ and directors’ duties are frequently intertwined with the substantive claims asserted against the financial entities for which they work.

Finally, experienced financial services litigators regularly defend and prosecute claims arising from complex securities, derivatives, commodities, and foreign exchange transactions in both litigation and arbitration proceedings throughout the United States and around the world. Dealing with such claims frequently necessitates a thorough understanding of the regulations, laws, customs, and practices in various states and foreign countries.

Florida Business Litigation welcomes your inquiry into and financial and banking litigation matter.