Discovery Misconduct by FINRA Enforcement Prompts Tepid Response from Regulator (BrokeAndBroker.com Blog)
Bill Singer
A critic of the inept and incompetent, and an advocate for economic and political sanity. It's a lonely journey but I walk it. Wall Street legal, regulatory, and compliance veteran since 1982.
Discovery Misconduct by FINRA Enforcement Prompts Tepid Response from Regulator (BrokeAndBroker.com Blog)
https://www.brokeandbroker.com/5448/FINRA-Discovery-Larson/
As with so many things in life and regulation, this one is all about nuance. We have a largely unsympathetic respondent, who does not seem to have had a firm grip upon his compliance obligations. Accordingly, FINRA filed charges and its staff seems to have done a commendable job making the counts stick. On top of that, we have persuasive decisions from FINRA's Office of Hearing Officers and its National Adjudicatory Council. As with all great beauties, however, there is a flaw. The flaw in this regulatory matter is FINRA's violation of its Discovery rules. A pro se respondent was asked to respond to Enforcement's misconduct at a time when the challenge would have proven immense for a veteran industry lawyer. In the end, someone has drawn a mustache on the Mona Lisa.