malecki law

FINRA FOCUS: Senior Investors

February 4, 2016 | Malecki Law Team

FINRA’s recently released Regulatory and Examinations Priority Letter made specific mention of multiple critical areas that the regulator will be focused on for the upcoming year. The one that we will focus on today is the Senior investor and the steps that are and should be taken to prevent elder abuse.

As we have discussed here before, with the growing population of senior aged investors, this demographic is becoming increasingly significant in the retail investor pool nationwide. Baby boomers are beginning to hit retirement age just as advancements in technology and medicine are leading to longer and longer lifespans.

Per 2012 census data, there are 76.4 million baby boomers which represent close to one-quarter of the then estimated U.S. population of 314 million. These figures have coupled with longer lifespans across the boards, means that there is the potential for disaster if baby boomers’ retirement savings are not properly managed. FINRA recognizes that “the consequences of unsuitable investment advice can be particularly severe for this investor group since they rarely can replenish investment portfolios with fresh funds and lack the time to make up losses.”

Potential Recovery Options for OncoMed (OMED) Investors

January 25, 2016 | Malecki Law Team

Shares of OncoMed (OMED) plunged more than 40% today, January 25^th, in the wake of a report concerning a pancreatic cancer drug the company had reportedly been working on. According to Marketwatch, “an independent data safety monitoring board advised ‘of several findings regarding futility’ of a Phase 2 treatment of pancreatic cancer.’”

Investors who have lost money in OncoMed may be legally entitled to recover some or all of their losses and are encouraged to contact the attorneys at Malecki Law to explore their rights.

Unfortunately, issues like the one presently facing OncoMed can happen in the market. Even more unfortunate is that often times financial advisors will improperly advise their clients to take large positions in advance of the release of a report concerning a company’s prized drug, like Tarextumab.

Case Announcement: Malecki Law Obtains Summary Judgment Dismissal For Chinese Inventor Sued by Hedge Fund

January 13, 2016 | Malecki Law Team

Malecki Law is pleased to announce that we recently obtained Summary Judgment dismissal on behalf of a well-known Chinese inventor, who was a Defendant in the case that was pending in the Commercial Division of New York Supreme Court in New York County. Our client was sued by hedge fund Abax Lotus Ltd. over speculative investments Abax made more than eight years ago in a company called China Mobile Media Technology, Inc. The Inventor was a shareholder in China Mobile Media. Abax has filed a notice of its intention to appeal the decision, which both dismissed Abax’s motion for judgment, and granted the Inventor’s motion dismissing all claims against him.

Our client was personally named in the New York State lawsuit, alongside the company he worked for, over Abax’s investment. Abax previously obtained a judgment against the company, but sought to hold the Defendant personally liable. Justice O. Peter Sherwood, ruling from the bench, correctly noted that the Defendant-Inventor’s agreement as a shareholder did not make him personally liable for the company’s failures.

Correctly citing the seminal New York Court of Appeals case Hooper Assocs. v. AGS Computers, Inc., Justice Sherwood determined that the indemnification provisions relied on by Abax for the Defendant’s supposed liability did not apply. Justice Sherwood went further, determining that Abax “[did not] have the goods” to establish their claim against the Defendant.

Malecki Law Attorneys, Jenice Malecki & Bob Van De Veire, Named Top Attorney & Rising Star by Super Lawyers in 2015

October 1, 2015 | Malecki Law Team

Jenice L. Malecki has been once again rated as a Top Attorney by Super Lawyers in 2015. Ms. Malecki, a well-known Securities Attorney and owner of Malecki Law, has had the distinction of being a Super Lawyer rated Top Attorney since 2012. According to Super Lawyers outstanding attorneys from diverse practice areas are selected based on formal nominations by peers. Ms. Malecki also has several other peer rated distinctions to her credit including “AV Preeminent Rated” by Martindale Hubbell and New York’s Women Leaders in the Law in 2014.

Robert M. Van De Veire, a Securities attorney at Malecki Law, has been awarded the distinction of being a Rising Star by Super Lawyers. Mr. Van De Veire’s practice focuses on representing investors and industry professionals in Securities arbitration and litigation. According to Super Lawyers only “no more than 2.5 percent of lawyers in a state are named to Rising Stars”.

Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations.

This Week at Malecki Law

July 31, 2015 | Jenice L. Malecki, Esq.

It was an eventful week at Malecki Law with prominent stories in the press, speaking engagements at legal educational organizations, appointments to bar association committees, and introduction to securities fraud in different communities.

Malecki Law announced the filing of a $25 million FINRA claim against UBS Puerto Rico on behalf of seven former UBS brokers, following a mass departure of brokers from UBS Puerto Rico. In the Statement of Claim filed with FINRA, the registered former UBS representatives allege that UBS management misled its brokers and customers, and threatened and pressured the brokers to sell the the Puerto Rican closed-end fund products. This news generated a lot of interest amongst the financial media and has appeared in over 30 prominent financial websites and blogs including Market Watch, The Street, and Caribbean Business News. Subsequently, this news announcement has generated a great deal of interest in the legal and financial professionals’ community.

Securities Fraud is not a problem isolated only to large cities like New York City. Hard working people in towns and cities nationwide find themselves the victims of investment fraud every day from rural Texas to downtown Chicago. Therefore, Malecki Law introduced a Communities section on their www.aboutsecuritieslaw.com website to make individuals around the country aware of historic and actively suspicious financial schemes.

This Week At Malecki Law: Attorneys Submit Letters to Members of the Congress to Advocate for Department of Labor’s Proposal Seeking to Hold Financial Advisors to a Higher Standard

July 24, 2015 | Jenice L. Malecki, Esq.

This week, the attorneys at Malecki Law sent letters to several United States Senate and House of Representatives members, urging them to support the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposal to hold financial advisors to a higher standard and act in the best interest of retirement investors. These members of the Congress include the Honorable Charles E. Schumer, the Honorable Jerrold Nadler, and the Honorable Kirsten E. Gillibrand.

Millions of Americans have worked their whole life to build a retirement nest egg and count on their retirement savings to support them through their golden years. The DOL’s proposal addresses loopholes in the current rules that make it far too easy for some advisers to take advantage of these hard-working Americans and line their own pockets with retirement savings. Our system is so broken that brokers often can and do put their own interest in commissions above the interests of their clients, causing them to be in unsuitable products just so the broker could earn additional commissions.

When someone turns their life savings over to someone for advice, they believe their financial adviser is going to do what’s best for them. We have never heard a client recount a story of a financial advisor that told them that they are not fiduciaries, in fact, we hear just the opposite. We all see the advertisements on television that say the financial advisers are there to help us, but we need to know that financial advisers are obligated to put client interests first, as well as be able to receive that assurance in writing.