highbeam.com (May 18, 1997) -- Have you filed for an arbitration hearing because a stockbroker did you wrong? Big losers can easily find lawyers to help, but not those who've been stripped of a ``mere'' $25,000 or less.

That could be half your savings, yet most lawyers say it's too small a case. Even if they win, they can't charge enough to make the effort worth their while. So investors with small claims have to arbitrate alone. Sometimes you win, so you should always try.

But without a lawyer, your chances are greatly reduced, says Richard Ryder, editor of the Securities Arbitration Commentator.

SAC surveyed some 5,000 arbitrations between July 1991 and June 1996 to see what happened to investors who represented themselves. …