See how PIABA has helped protect others in investment disputes within the securities industry.
Michael C. Bixby is the founder and managing attorney of Bixby Law PLLC located in Pensacola, Florida. He dedicates his practice primarily on representing retirees and investors in securities and investment fraud litigation. Mr. Bixby has successfully represented over 1,000 investment fraud victims around the country recovering more than $150 million in verdicts and settlements in a variety of forums including arbitrations, and state and federal courts. Mr. Bixby is a member of the national securities bar, the Public Investors Advocate Bar Association (PIABA) where he serves on the PIABA Board of Directors and has served as Co-Chair of the PIABA Arbitration Committee. In 2021, he was honored to receive the PIABA Outstanding Service Award in recognition for his efforts protecting public investors. He regularly lectures for attorneys, paralegals, and investors around the country on topics ranging from basic introductions to securities litigation to complex securities litigation issues like clearing firm liability, broker theft investigations, and emerging securities litigation technologies. Mr. Bixby has been quoted in various national and local publications such as Reuters, Bloomberg, and Investment News.
Mr. Bixby is a trial lawyer who takes pride in tirelessly fighting to achieve justice for his clients through litigation, mediation, or trials and arbitrations. His favorite part of the practice taking cases to trial or final arbitration hearing. Mr. Bixby’s broad experience in securities and investment fraud cases includes representing clients in claims involving suitability and sale of unsuitable investments, overconcentration, failure to supervise, violation of Regulation Best Interest (“Reg BI”), margin borrowing and leverage claims, breach of fiduciary duty, lack of due diligence, churning and excessive trading, fraud, selling away, theft, sale of unregistered securities, market manipulation, and ERISA 401(k) and retirement plan litigation. He has also represented clients in claims involving bonds, bond funds, stocks, private placements, non-traded Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), direct participation programs, non-traded BDCs (Business Development Companies), Limited Partnerships (LPs) and Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs), Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and inverse and leveraged ETFs, options strategies, hedge funds, and insurance products. Mr. Bixby has also represented clients in other complex claims including class actions, products liability claims, whistleblower litigation, interpleader matters, and personal injury claims.
Joe Wojciechowski has been a licensed attorney since November 2009 and been with Stoltmann Law Offices since March 2005. Prior to Stoltmann Law Offices, I had a short stint as a paralegal with a Chicago securities defense firm. I am currently managing partner at Stoltmann Law Offices and am responsible for the day to day operations of the firm, docket and case management. Personally, I handle all aspects of case management from potential client/case intake to trying the case. I have successfully briefed, argued, and defeated numerous motions to dismiss before dozens of FINRA arbitration panels and courts of law.
I have successfully briefed motions to vacate arbitration awards before the Central District of California, Northern District of Illinois, and participated in appeals before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. I have appeared before FINRA arbitration panels in hundreds of cases and successfully mediated over one hundred investor cases. I also have experience appearing in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Circuit Court of DuPage County, Northern District of Illinois, American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) both under the Commercial Rules and Consumer Rules, and the Judicial Arbitration/Mediation Services (JAMS). My legal practice experience is almost exclusively in representation of investor interests, whatever the venue. I also do a small amount of commercial disputes and civl litigation work.
Benjamin Edwards joined the faculty of the William S. Boyd School of Law in 2017. He researches and writes about business and securities law, corporate governance, arbitration, and consumer protection. Prior to teaching, Professor Edwards practiced as a securities litigator in the New York office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. At Skadden, he represented clients in complex civil litigation, including securities class actions arising out of the Madoff Ponzi scheme and litigation arising out of the 2008 financial crisis.
His writing has appeared in the Northwestern University Law Review, Washington and Lee Law Review, University of California Davis Law Review, Georgia State Law Review, William & Mary Law Review Online, Virginia Law and Business Review, Michigan Business and Entrepreneurial Law Review, Journal of Business and Securities Law, Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law, InvestmentNews, Wall Street Journal, Salon, The Hill, The Washington Post, BloombergView, Oxford Business Law Blog, Columbia Blue Sky Blog, and The Daily Beast. He also writes regularly for the Business Law Professor blog.
Professor Edwards earned his law degree from Columbia Law School and clerked for Judge Samuel H. Mays, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.
Professor Edwards's most recent publications and working papers may be found on the Social Science Research Network.
Courtney Werning devotes her practice to the representation of investors who have claims against their financial professionals, investment advisers, and brokerage firms. Her practice includes litigation in state and appellate courts and various alternative dispute resolution forums. She has tried arbitrations to verdict before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the National Futures Association, and the American Arbitration Association.
Courtney excels at aggressively preparing from day one to take a case to trial, which strengthens the chance for a successful outcome for her clients. Courtney’s recent civil cases and arbitrations have involved allegations related to unsuitable investment strategies, fraud and misrepresentation, Ponzi schemes, legal malpractice, elder financial abuse, securities act claims, and securities class actions.
Fishman Haygood partner Lance McCardle practices in the areas of securities arbitration and litigation, environmental law, and general commercial litigation. Lance regularly represents investors (both individuals and institutions) in claims against their brokers, investment advisors, and/or investment banks in court or in arbitration proceedings administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). Lance also represents several landowners in claims against oil and gas companies for damage and land loss caused by oil and gas operations.
Lance is a fellow of the Louisiana Bar Foundation and a member of the Louisiana, Texas, Federal, American, and Public Investor Advocate Bar Associations. He serves on the editorial board of the PIABA Bar Journal and is a former Editor-in-Chief. Lance was recently appointed to the PIABA’s 2023 Board of Directors. He is also a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, an invitation-only trial lawyer honorary society.
Lance has taught litigation skills classes at Loyola University College of Law and Media Law at Tulane University. He has represented criminal defendants on a pro bono basis, is a member of the St. Thomas More Inn of Court, a former Director of the Younger Lawyers Division of the New Orleans Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, and former member of the ABA Securities Law Committee.
In 2024, Lance is recognized by Chambers and Partners as a leading lawyer (Band 1) in Securities Litigation and Mainly Plaintiffs Litigation, as well as Band 3 in Environment Litigation. He has also been named toThe Best Lawyers in America® since 2017 in the area of Securities, and he was recognized as the Best Lawyers® 2022 “Lawyer of the Year” in Securities Litigation (New Orleans). Lance has been named a top-rated Securities Litigation attorney by Super Lawyers since 2017, and he was a Super Lawyers“Rising Star” from 2012-2015.
Adam Gana is the managing partner of Gana Weinstein LLP. His practice focuses on all aspects of securities arbitration, complex commercial and business litigation. As a seasoned trial lawyer with over 20 years of experience, Mr. Gana has represented over 3,000 investors in the state and federal trial and appellate courts, AAA, JAMS, NFA and FINRA.
Adam is recognized as an influential attorney in securities law. He has served as a part time adjunct professor for New York Law School in its clinical securities department and is the incoming president of the Public Investor Advocate Bar Association-a national bar association of attorneys that represent investors throughout the United States. He has also published in multiple peer reviewed journals, spoken at dozens of conferences, and is regularly quoted in prominent securities publications including Investment News, Financial News, the Wall Street Journal, and Financial Planning. Adam was named in the New York Super Lawyer and a RisingStars® for eight straight years (an honor given to the top 5% of attorneys), ranked AV®Preeminent™ by Martindale-Hubbell™(the highest honor offered), and ranked by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the Top 100 attorneys in New York state.
For over twenty years, W. Scott Greco has devoted the entirety of his law practice to representing harmed investors against the biggest financial firms in the country. After starting out in the mid-90s with a diverse litigation practice, Mr. Greco realized that he had a passion for recovering the life savings of wronged, often elderly, retirees and other investors. Mr. Greco has regularly tried and won FINRA arbitrations for his clients, while facing large teams of defense attorneys and staff from big corporate law firms on the other side of the table.
Losing one’s life savings as a result of the greed of one’s trusted financial advisor can be devastating. Because of this, Mr. Greco limits his caseload so that he can devote his time to being intricately involved in all aspects of his clients’ cases, including case intake, claim filing, discovery, settlement negotiations, and if necessary, trying the case at a final hearing.
Mr. Greco was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the Public Investors Advocate Bar Association (PIABA), the only nationwide bar association for lawyers who represent investors. He is one of only two Virginia members of PIABA, but also regularly represents clients from up and down the East Coast, and across the country.
August M. Iorio is a dedicated securities arbitration attorney and investor advocate with over a decade of experience fighting for investors' rights. Throughout his career, Mr. Iorio has handled over 700 cases from inception to disposition, helping individual retail investors, groups of individuals, business entities, family offices, credit unions, and institutional investors recover nearly $100 million in investment losses.
As the founder and managing attorney at Iorio Law PLLC, Mr. Iorio has handled numerous complex cases, including the groundbreaking arbitration award for a retail investor against Robinhood. The award is notable because it is the first win by a retail investor against Robinhood over its decision to restrict the trading of certain "meme stocks" on January 28, 2021.
Beyond his legal practice, Mr. Iorio is actively involved in shaping the future of investor protection through his work on PIABA committees, speaking and lecturing engagements, and advocacy efforts with policymakers.
Mr. Iorio earned his J.D. from Seattle University School of Law. During law school, he served as a law clerk for the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington. He is also a graduate of the Smeal College of Business at Pennsylvania State University, where he
received a Bachelor of Science in Finance.
Mr. Iorio is admitted to practice law in New York.
Jason J. Kane is a Partner who practices out of the firm’s Upstate New York office. He focuses his practice on representing investors in Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitrations and in federal and state lawsuits.
Jason graduated from the State University of New York at Geneseo, in 2004, with a B.A. in Economics. Thereafter, Jason attended the Syracuse University College of Law, and received his Juris Doctorate, cum laude, in 2007.
While attending the Syracuse University College of Law, Jason served as a form and accuracy editor for the Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce. He also gained valuable experience as a student law clerk for Magistrate Judge George H. Lowe and was a volunteer at the United States Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of New York.
Following law school, Jason began his career working in the Legal Department of Wegmans Food Markets, Inc., one of Upstate New York’s largest employers. At Wegmans, Jason worked with the finance, real estate and human resources departments, as well as outside counsel.
In 2009, Jason has focused his practice on securities law. Since that time, Jason has represented hundreds of investors in Upstate New York and around the country in some of the highest profile securities cases originating out of Upstate New York. He has recovered millions of dollars in FINRA arbitrations and mediations while representing individuals against their former brokers and brokerage firms. He often assists his victimized clients through the regulatory investigations that result from large-scale scams perpetrated by their brokers.
A member of the Public Investors Arbitrators Bar Association (PIABA), New York State Bar Association, and Monroe County Bar Association, Jason takes great pride in his ability to lead his clients through the process of restoring their financial losses suffered through their broker’s actions.
Attorney Joshua B. Kons has a breadth of experience in securities arbitration proceedings and financial services litigation matters. Prior to attending law school, he worked on an equity trading desk for a national bank, where he learned the securities business from the ground up. After receiving his law degree, Mr. Kons worked as an in-house attorney for a Fortune 500 company, where he was responsible for corporate and commercial transactional matters. Prior to forming his own practice in 2012, Mr. Kons was in private practice with several law firms where the focus of his practice was representing broker-dealers, financial advisors, and investors in FINRA arbitration matters. Mr. Kons received a B.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his J.D. from the Pepperdine University School of Law. Mr. Kons concentrated his legal education in the areas of corporate and securities law and served as a senior fellow at the Geoffrey Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship and the Law. Mr. Kons is a member of the State Bar of Connecticut, the State Bar of Illinois, the State Bar of California and the State Bar of Wisconsin. He has been a member of Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA) since 2011.
Craig Kuglar is the founding partner of Kuglar Law.
Kuglar Law is an Atlanta based law firm with a nationwide presence and reputation that devotes its time and resources to representing victims of financial frauds, Ponzi schemes, illegal offerings, and other financial wrongdoing in court or arbitration. Since its founding in 2009, Craig and his team have tried cases in state and federal courts and arbitration forums across the country.
Kuglar Law has battled all the big financial firms and their big law firms and backs down from no just cause. Kuglar Law has significant experience representing groups of Ponzi scheme investors. Recently, Kuglar Law collected more than $80,000,000 from a New York financial firm on behalf of victims of a Ponzi scheme orchestrated by its stockbroker.
Craig has more than twenty-five years of experience trying investor claims in FINRA arbitrations. This experience gets clients results. In 2022, Kuglar Law obtained one of the largest FINRA Awards for individual investors in the history of the FINRA arbitration forum - a $38,500,000 award that included significant punitive damages. In 2023, Kuglar Law obtained a $14,000,000 FINRA award for investors that also included significant punitive damages. Kuglar Law and his team have also been involved in some of the most important court cases involving appeals of arbitration awards in state and federal courts across the country.
Kuglar Law also advocates for investors outside of the courtroom in a multitude of ways. For instance, Kuglar Law regularly represents individuals helping the government identify ongoing frauds through the SEC Office of Whistleblower program. Kuglar Law has guided clients through this confidential process from the initial filing to final determination letters and recoveries. And Craig was elected to the Board of Directors of PIABA (Public Investors Advocate Bar Association), a nationwide bar association that represents the rights of investors in front of the SEC, Congress, and other regulators to ensure a level playing field for investors.
Richard A. Lewins centers his practice in representing individual investors in claims against brokers, brokerage firms and investment advisors. He has represented hundreds of clients throughout the country in arbitrations before the NASD/FINRA ,NYSE and AAA, and has recovered substantial amounts through Awards and settlement. He has been a featured speaker and author in the area of securities and securities litigation for the American Association for Justice (f/k/a/ ATLA), State Bar of Texas, The University of Texas School of Law, Dallas Bar Association, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Financial Executives Institute. His opinions on securities related topics are frequently sought by news organizations, and he has hosted a weekly radio show on investor’s rights.
Prior to becoming an attorney, Mr. Lewins held series 7 and 24 licenses and had worked as a Registered Representative or in management for several national brokerage firms including EF Hutton, Merrill Lynch, Shearson Lehman Hutton and HD Vest. He currently holds a series 65 investment advisory license.
Named a Texas Super Lawyer and D Magazine’s Best Lawyers in Dallas, Mr. Lewins has been recognized as an exceptional attorney who has attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.
Mr. Lewins has also authored a book titled, “How to Keep From Going Broke With a Broker–A Guide to Opening, Maintaining and Surviving Your Brokerage Account”, which received widespread acclaim.
Scott L. Silver is the managing partner of Silver Law Group, a nationally recognized law firm representing investors worldwide to recover their investment losses. Scott has received a Martindale Hubbell Preeminent “AV” Rating, the highest ratings given for general ethical standards and legal ability. Scott has spent his entire legal career practicing securities and financial services law. Scott focuses his law practice on securities arbitration and litigation and plaintiff-side class action litigation, representing individual investors and institutions in claims against brokerage firms, investment advisors, commodities firms, hedge funds and others. Scott also routinely serves as counsel to receivers and trustees in matters relating to the recovery of investor losses in Ponzi schemes.
Scott has extensive experience in arbitration before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the National Futures Association (NFA), and the American Arbitration Association (AAA). He has recovered millions of dollars on behalf of aggrieved investors through arbitration and the courts. Scott has represented clients throughout the United States as well as in Europe, South America, Israel and elsewhere.
Melinda Jane Steuer has spent her legal career working on behalf of savers, investors and retirees from all backgrounds and financial situations. Since 2001, she has successfully litigated and resolved disputes between investors and their financial advisors. Ms. Steuer has handled all aspects of securities litigation and arbitration on a wide range of issues including fraud/misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, unsuitable investment advice, excessive trading/churning, and failure to supervise. Ms. Steuer has litigated cases involving early retirement pension cash-outs, variable annuities, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, options, alternative investments, life insurance and annuity products, and real estate investments. Ms.Steuer also represents financial professionals in employment-related disputes. Ms. Steuer has been counsel in multiple cases yielding seven figure awards/settlements to represented investors.
Ms. Steuer received her law degree from McGeorge School of Law in May of 2001, (in the top 10 percent of her class) with honors of Order of the Coif, and graduation With Great Distinction. Ms. Steuer received her undergraduate degree from University of California, Davis with majors in Political Science and German.
Ms. Steuer has been admitted to practice before all California courts, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Federal District Courts for the Eastern District, Northern District, Central District and Southern District of California.
Ms. Steuer opened her own practice in February of 2012 following more than a decade working with Howard M. Hoffman [attorney for plaintiff in the landmark California securities case of Duffy v. Cavalier]
Mr. Young is a partner practicing Securities and Arbitration Litigation at Colling Gilbert Wright PLLC and of-counsel with Levin Papantonio Rafferty in the firm’s Securities and Business Litigation Department. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Rollins College in 1982; a Master of Business Administration degree from the Rollins College Crummer Graduate School of Business in 1992; and Juris Doctorate degree from Barry University School of Law in 2004.
Prior to attending law school, Mr. Young spent over ten years in commercial banking and eight years working in the securities industry. During that time period, he was a Vice President at a global securities and money management firm located in Winter Park, Florida, holding licenses as a General Securities Registered Representative (Series 7), a Registered Investment Advisor Representative (Series 65), a Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination (Series 63) and Florida Insurance and Variable Annuity. Mr. Young serves as a County Court Mediator in the Orange County Florida Court System. The Supreme Court of Florida and the Florida Pro Bono Coordinators Association has recognized Mr.Young for exceptional pro bono service each year from 2006 through 2022. Mr. Young has personally litigated and resolved over 900 hundred FINRA (formerly NASD) arbitration Claims, many resulting in Claimants receiving monetary awards through live arbitration hearings.
Additionally, Mr. Young serves as Co-Chair of the American Association for Justice (AAJ) Securities and Financial Fraud Litigation Group. He was also the 2020 recipient of the Public Investors Advocate Bar Association (PIABA) Outstanding Service Award and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the association. Mr. Young has also served as a FINRA Non-Public Arbitrator for the past ten years.
In 2015, Attorney Young became a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum®. Membership in this prestigious group is reserved for attorneys who have achieved a verdict or settlement in one or more cases where the award met or exceeded $1 million–a distinction enjoyed by only 1% of trial attorneys in the United States.
Jennifer Shaw joined PIABA after spending 19 years as an enforcement attorney for the Oklahoma Department of Securities. While with the Department she was also the Director of Investor Education.
Jennifer received her law degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law.
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I affirm that I am in compliance with eligibility requirements for a PIABA members as outlined in Article IV Section 3 of the PIABA Bylaws.
This provision states: Section 3.
Eligibility.
(a) A person shall be eligible for Regular Membership upon satisfaction of all of the following criteria:
(1) Demonstration of their status as an attorney at law and a member in good standing of the bar of any state or U.S. territory; and
(2) At least 80 percent of their legal and professional work as an attorney or as an expert witness involving securities industry/customer disputes is performed on behalf of customers, and at least 80 percent of their law firm’s legal and professional work as an attorney or as an expert witness involving securities industry/customer disputes is performed on behalf of customers. For purposes of determining whether a person meets this requirement:
a. “Securities industry/customer disputes” shall mean disputes between investors, on the one hand, and any one or more of the following, on the other: securities and commodities industry participants (licensed or unlicensed), securities issuers, financial counselors, and persons alleged to have liability for the acts or omissions of any of the foregoing.
b. The percentage of the Regular Member’s or prospective Regular Member’s work and the percentage of their law firm’s work in securities industry/customer disputes shall be the percentage of hours spent rather than the percentage of revenues generated or any other measure; and the relevant time period for determining that percentage shall run from the date twelve months preceding the date on which the determination is made to the date on which the determination is made, inclusive.
If the prospective Member is an employee of or partner with a Regular Member in good standing, the time period for determining the percentage shall run from the date of hire or entry into partnership, so long as at least six months have passed between that date and the date of application. The prospective Member’s work performed before joining the existing Member’s firm will not be taken into consideration when determining the existing Member’s continued eligibility during the first six months of the prospective Member’s employment by or partnership with the existing Member. The prospective Member’s work performed while employed by or partnered with the existing Member shall be taken into consideration in determining the existing Member’s continued eligibility.
(b) Subject to approval by the Board, a person who does not represent investors in the United States shall be eligible for Regular Membership if that person is a Member in good standing of the legal profession in a nation outside of the United States and meets the requirements of Section 3(a)(2) above.
(c) If, at the time of application for membership, an attorney does not represent any customers in securities industry/customer disputes, the attorney shall be eligible for Regular
Page 2 of 21 PIABA Bylaws, Adopted [May 15, 2024]
Membership, provided that neither the attorney nor the attorney’s law firm, at the time of application for membership, or in the 12 months prior to application, is performing or performed any legal or professional work, including work as an attorney or as an expert witness, in a securities industry/customer dispute against a customer. Further, if admitted pursuant to this paragraph, upon the Attorney’s acceptance any legal and professional work, including work as an attorney and as an expert witness, in a securities industry/customer dispute, the Attorney shall certify compliance with Section 3(a)(2).
(d) The eligibility requirements for the five other classes of Membership are set forth in Article IV, Sections 5 through 9.
