Joshua Horn was featured in the Compliance Week article, "Putting FINRA's Priorities Into Practice." Full text can be found in the March 8, 2016, issue, but a synopsis is below.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) will continue to intensify its intent of addressing emerging and existing risks in the securities industry. Over the past 5 years, there has been a surge in restitution, disciplinary actions, and bars and suspensions due to increased investigations from the national authority.
In many cases, firms will negotiate an AWC (Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent settlement) without admitting liability. Depending on the violation, it may make a lot of sense to negotiate an AWC, because it is hard to prevail in a FINRA case, says Fox Rothschild's Joshua Horn.
If both parties are unable to come to terms, the firm may have no choice but to challenge the allegations. One way to make such a decision is to look at recent fines and penalties FINRA has issued based on similar allegations of wrongdoing, says Horn. "What's FINRA offering, and is it reasonable?" That's one way of assessing the potential cost and risk exposure of challenging a FINRA case, he says.
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