Firing Shots Into the Crowd

On the morning of Friday, August 24, 2012, visitors to the Empire State Building were lining up to ascend the famous structure.  The area was crowded, as usual, with tourists and office workers.   There was nothing out of the ordinary until police began firing shots into the crowd.  A total of 16 shots were fired. […]

Financial Advisors “On the Move” – Protocol and Covenants You Should Know

Whether the move is voluntary or as a result of an unexpected termination, financial advisors moving to new brokerage firms face a legal and business quagmire that may affect their ability to serve new and existing clients: What about the client list and the accounts that were serviced with the former firm? Can the new firm […]

PKP is Local Counsel in Investor Suit Filed Against Star Scientific

The local press reported on the shareholder derivative complaint filed against Star Scientific, Inc. by Kahn Swick & Foti, a La.-based law firm, and Phelan | Krudys | Petty as follows: Embattled drug firm sued by shareholder  New investor suit filed against Star Scientific

Krudys Selected as a 2013 Top Rated Lawyer in Securities Law

Mark J. Krudys has been selected by Legal Leaders as a Top Rated Lawyer in the field of Securities Law.  Mark and other lawyers so selected will be honored in in a special section highlighting Top Rated Lawyers in Securities Law, which will be presented in The American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel, and the National Law Journal.

Securities /Brokerage Firm Litigation News

Our Securities/Brokerage Firm litigation team, led by Mark Krudys, achieved several recent victories on behalf of our clients in front of the Financial Industry Regulation Authority (FINRA) Panel.  In March 2013, our securities team obtained a $300,000 award from FINRA on behalf of a former executive of Anderson & Strudwick, a former Richmond brokerage firm, against five guarantors of a […]

Large Estate May Pass to New York State

“He was a very smart man but he died like an idiot,” is the frank and harsh assessment made by Paul Skurka concerning his friend and fellow Holocaust survivor, Roman Blum, who died last year at the age of 97 without a will. Blum had no known heirs and no surviving members. Blum’s estate is […]

“Pension Advances” Threaten Retiree Savings

Retirees are being solicited by certain companies to obtain “pension advances,” which regulators say are really disguised loans. The New York Times has determined that pension advances carry (after factoring in fees) interests rates ranging from 27 percent to 106 percent. Jessica Silver-Greenberg, “Loans Borrowed Against Pensions Squeeze Retirees,” New York Times, Apr. 28, 2013, […]

S&P’s Defense: “We Weren’t Really Serious”

In response to a DOJ civil lawsuit that the company committed fraud when it asserted that its ratings were independent and objective, Standard and Poor’s Rating Services has claimed that the assertions were mere “puffery.” Whether or not the argument is legally viable, the Wall Street Journal notes that the position degrades the reputation of […]

Securities Brokers to Disclose Financial Incentives for Switching Firms

For years, brokers with sizeable books of business (large and well-funded client bases) often moved between firms in order to receive robust up-front bonuses. The bonuses often measure between $750,000 and $1 million. The bonuses are generally paid to brokers in the form of “forgivable loans” – for each year that the broker is employed […]

Prisoners “Boiling to Death” In Their Cells

A New York Times article on the Texas prison system entitled, “In Texas, Arguing That Heat Can Be A Death Sentence for Prisoners,” exposes a shameful problem that exists in jails and prisons throughout America–prisoners dying from hyperthermia or cooking to death in their cells. The Times reports that last summer, in a 26-day period […]