March 20, 2023, Washington, DC
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission honours
On Wednesday, March 29 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will hold a virtual event titled “Investor Advocacy Clinics: Students Battle for Investor Justice.” This celebration will highlight the work of law students who, for free, represent damaged investors in disputes with their financial advisors.
The event will be put on by the official Office of the Ombudsman and the Division of Enforcement’s Retail Strategy Task Force. It will be shown live on sec.gov.
After SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s opening remarks, law students from investor advocacy clinics all over the United States will talk about how their clinics started, what services they offer, what mandatory broker-dealer arbitration is, real cases they have taken on behalf of investors who have been hurt, and the problems that will affect the future of investor advocacy clinics.
Hane L. Kim, who is in charge of the SEC’s Retail Strategy Task Group, has said that “retail investors with limited income or small dollar claims may not be able to hire a lawyer” if they disagree with a broker-dealer. “Law school investor advocacy clinics help bridge the gap” by giving important legal help for free to retail investors.
Stacy A. Puente, the SEC‘s acting Ombudsman, said, “The success of these investor advocate clinics shows how important it is to keep funding the clinics so that more investors can useOur hope that through this campaign, more people will become aware of and appreciate the efforts of these law students.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will host the Investor Advocacy Clinic Summit for the fourth year in a row. This is a one-day, behind-the-scenes event where the Commission and SEC officials will talk with clinic students about the issues that are most important to their retail investor clients. Hester Peirce, Caroline Crenshaw, Mark Uyeda, and Jaime Lizárraga will all speak at the summit, as well SEC Investor Advocate Cristina Martin Firvida and FINRA Dispute Resolution Director Richard Berry.
Participants from clinics at the following law schools: Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law; Cornell University Law School; Fordham University School of Law; Howard University School of Law; Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law; New York Law School; Elizabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University; St. John’s University School of Law; Seton Hall University School of Law; University of Miami School of Law; and University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
