Any lawyer can call him or herself a securities attorney, since there are no certifications approved by any state bar associations, or the American Bar Association, in the area of investment and securities fraud litigation.
However, that does not mean all lawyers are created equally in this complex and specialized field. Since there are no certifications you can check quickly to determine the potential qualifications of any lawyer you may be considering choosing for your securities fraud case, here are some additional criteria that may be helpful to you in choosing qualified counsel.
Determine how many securities and investment fraud cases the firm has handled.
Ask the attorney or law firm how many and what types of securities and investment fraud cases they have handled, and their outcomes. This information will give you a good sense of whether this law firm actually does a lot of these types of cases or merely has this as part of a long list of general practice areas where they may like to expand.
Further, it is important to determine whether these cases have been in front of FINRA arbitration panels or litigated in the courts, or both.
You can see a partial list of Starr Austen & Miller’s securities fraud case history here.
Is the attorney a member of PIABA?
PIABA, also known as the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association, is a voluntary nationwide bar association of attorneys who represent investors in securities arbitration and litigation. While any lawyer who wishes to can pay a fee and become a member of this bar association, typically they will not take on these fees unless they do a significant amount of securities law work.
Several Starr Austen & Miller attorneys are members of PIABA, including Scott Starr.
Check with Indiana’s state bar association for public information about any attorney you consider.
Last, but not least, before choosing any attorney to represent you in your investment or securities fraud claims, check the publicly available information about such attorney with the Indiana state bar association to make sure there are not any red flags raised based on complaints, current investigations, or other such matters.
