There are several FINRA arbitration jobs available to professionals who have an interest in the FINRA arbitration process. This post discusses some of these jobs.
Become a FINRA Arbitrator
An arbitrator is a neutral party who oversees arbitration proceedings. They decide who wins the FINRA arbitration as a judge and jury decides a court case.
What are the qualifications to become an Arbitrator?
FINRA is always on the lookout to expand its diverse pool of arbitrators. To become FINRA arbitrator, applicants must have at least 5 years of experience as a professional and two years of college credits. Professional experience means essentially any job. Qualified arbitrators have professional experience ranging from Ivy league educated lawyers, to Uber drivers. That means, even though cases often involve issues arising out of the financial services industry, arbitrators do not have to have finance or securities experience to qualify.
What are the Arbitrator Training Requirements?
Prospective arbitrators must attend training courses that educate future panelists on procedures, topics, and issues that arise during a typical case. Additional topics covered in training include assessing damages, and arbitration awards.
The training also covers the procedural distinctions between a typical case, and FINRA expungement cases brought under FINRA Rule 2080. The latter are matters that seek removal of public information made available as a result of FINRA rule 4530. That information appears through FINRA’s CRD database (through Form U4 and Form U5 filings) and BrokerCheck. (Note arbitrator training on this issue will soon change in light of recent changes to the FINRA expungement process).
(Please review our BrokerCheck “How-to” Guide for instruction on using this online tool).
What Types of Cases do Arbitrators hear?
Panelists consider cases dealing with investor issues involving securities:
Panel members hear and consider litigation involving a wide range of issues involving securities and finance. Often they hear cases from a remote location online.
Common Investor-Related Claims that Panelists Decide Include:
Cases dealing with Employment issues:
FINRA arbitrators also hear and consider employment-related claims involving stockbrokers, financial advisors, and other investment professionals.
Common Employment Claims that Arbitrators Decide Include:
How Much do Arbitrator’s get Paid?
Becoming an arbitrator enables individuals to expand their professional network, hear and decide interesting issues, and get paid. The amount arbitrators make changes over time. But generally, arbitrators make upwards of $600 per day (more if you’re chairperson qualified), and additional compensation for prehearing conferences attended.
Notably, arbitrators are not FINRA employees. They are considered neutrals and their compensation comes from the filing and submission fees the parties to process pay to have their issues heard.
Review Career Opportunities Posted Online
FINRA regularly posts career opportunities online. Each opportunity has a description of the job, qualifications needed, locations, and compensation information. With remote work becoming more commonplace, many of these jobs can be done from a remote location. FINRA has an employment policy that strives for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI).
What types of Career Opportunities does FINRA have?
There is a broad scope of career opportunities for individuals who have skills in numerous areas from coast to coast. Most jobs are located in either California; New York, NY; Florida; or Washington DC. This includes administrative jobs, IT positions, management positions, HR positions, attorney positions, finance-oriented positions, compliance positions, and many others.
What types of Opportunities cater to Arbitration Specifically?
Applicants can find specific jobs by reviewing career opportunities posted online. Many individuals are employed in jobs that cater to the process. For every case filed before FINRA, it employs a case administrator (typically a lawyer) who helps administrate every case. Additionally, staff members are hired to help support this effort to process claims, process documents, speak to counsel, coordinate hearing times, and deal with scheduling. These employees also help facilitate the securities hearings themselves. This includes securing a location for the hearing, ensuring the hearing room is equipped with the appropriate IT tools to facilitate the parties’ respective presentations.
How do you Apply for a FINRA Job?
Applicants can apply for jobs online. Applicants can upload their resumes and other application information directly.
