TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2026
Interactions with Clients (12:00 PM – 1:00 PM)
Location: Rocky Mountain AB & Aisle
Richard Frankowski, Moderator; Joseph C. Peiffer, Bradley Rounsaville. A practical review of the attorney-client relationship from intake through representation, including conflicts, confidentiality, engagement agreements, communication duties, technology and AI use, client expectations, and ethical obligations throughout the matter.
Compel This: Navigating Discovery Fights in Securities Arbitration (1:05 PM – 2:05 PM)
Location: Rocky Mountain AB & Aisle
Lance McCardle, Moderator; Jaime Scivley, Stefan Apotheker. This panel addresses discovery strategy in securities arbitration, including effective use of the FINRA Discovery Guide, targeted requests for different case types, common discovery disputes, third-party discovery and subpoenas, and practical approaches to proportionality and enforcement.
How To Select An Expert (2:15 PM – 3:15 PM)
Location: Rocky Mountain AB & Aisle
Scott Silver, Moderator; Sander Ressler, Mike Evans, Catherine Mustico, Bob Lawson. This session examines the role of expert witnesses in FINRA arbitration, including how to select the right expert, the boundaries of permissible expert testimony, reliability and relevance considerations, and practical guidance for using expert opinion effectively.
Break (3:10 PM – 3:40 PM)
Location: Rocky Mountain Foyer
Negotiation Strategy and Theory (3:20 PM – 4:20 PM)
Location: Rocky Mountain AB & Aisle
Daren Luma, Moderator; Jason J. Kane, Brian Neville, Ellen Slipp. A review of negotiation strategy and theory for advocates, with emphasis on preparation, communication, leverage, decision-making, and professional obligations that affect settlement discussions and client representation.
Mediation (4:25 PM – 5:25 PM)
Location: Rocky Mountain AB & Aisle
August Iorio, Moderator; Howard Tescher, Sean Sweeney, Angela A. Turiano, Jeff Grubman. This session covers mediation in FINRA and related investor disputes, including fundamentals, preparation, mediator selection, negotiation strategy, ethics, caucus dynamics, settlement decision-making, and advanced practice considerations from counsel and mediator perspectives.
PIABA Reception (5:30 PM – 7:00 PM)
Location: Mountain View Terrace
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2026
Breakfast (7:30 AM – 9:00 AM)
Location: West Ballroom
FINRA (9:00 AM – 10:00 AM)
Location: Rocky Mountain AB & Aisle
Michael C. Bixby, Moderator; Richard Berry, Victoria Crane (Tory), Katherine M. Bayer, Leslie Leutwiler. An update on FINRA Dispute Resolution Services, including arbitration and mediation activity, statistics and trends, recent rule changes and initiatives, arbitrator administration, technology developments, and current program updates.
AAA and Alternative Arbitration Forums (10:05 AM – 11:05 AM)
Location: Rocky Mountain AB & Aisle
Jonathan Furgison, Moderator; Brandon S. Reif, Andrew Stoltmann. A claimant-side examination of arbitration outside FINRA, including AAA, JAMS, NAM and other forums; consumer and employment classifications; fee structures; discovery; motion practice; arbitral procedures; and strategic differences counsel encounters when the agreement dictates the forum.
Break (11:00 AM – 11:30 AM)
Location: Rocky Mountain Foyer
Product Updates (11:30 AM – 12:30 PM)
Location: Rocky Mountain AB & Aisle
Patricia L. Vannoy, Moderator; Brian Joseph Henderson, PhD, CFA, Regina Meng, Bob Cornish. Presentation materials addressing current investment-product issues and investor claims, including practical considerations arising from complex and alternative investments and related litigation or arbitration risks.
Boxed Lunch Pickup (12:15 PM – 1:15 PM)
Location: Rocky Mountain Foyer
Membership Meeting (Closed) (12:30 PM – 1:30 PM)
Location: Rocky Mountain AB & Aisle
Hot Topics in FINRA Compliance 2026 (1:30 PM – 2:30 PM)
Location: Rocky Mountain AB & Aisle
Jenice Malecki, Moderator; Colleen Diles, Stacy A. Puente, Tung Chan. A current regulatory and compliance review drawing on 2026 examination priorities and FINRA regulatory oversight materials, including emerging risks, supervisory expectations, financial crimes, cybersecurity, AI, firm operations, market conduct, and investor-protection concerns.
Class Actions (1:30 PM – 2:30 PM)
Location: Rocky Mountain CD
Alan Rosca, Moderator; Hugh Berkson, Michael Dell’Angelo, Jonathan M. Stein. A primer for securities arbitration counsel on spotting class actions and potentially liable parties. The materials address class-certification requirements, recurring securities and financial-services claim types, and practical ways to identify class opportunities in client files, account records, and discovery.
Break (2:15 PM – 2:45 PM)
Location: Rocky Mountain Foyer
Crypto (2:45 PM – 3:45 PM)
Joseph Wojciechowski, Moderator; Sara Hanley, David Richards, David Silver, Chris Groshong. This session examines crypto-related investor fraud and recovery, including case typologies, arbitration strategies, tracing and preservation of assets, coordination with law enforcement, forfeiture and remission procedures, and practical obstacles to returning frozen or seized assets to victims.
Premium Finance – A Primer (2:45 PM – 3:45 PM)
Location: Rocky Mountain CD
Donnell Much (Don), Moderator; Steven E. M. Roth, Alan J. Besnoff. This session will provide an overview of premium finance and its impact on an insurance client’s or plaintiff’s insurance policy, including common causes of action, effective discovery strategies, and how to review premium finance models and insurance illustrations. The session will also address common and anticipated defenses raised by defendants/respondents, key themes in premium finance cases—including potential forgery of an insured’s signature by a life agent and the impact of reinsurance—and methods for calculating damages in premium finance litigation.
Ethics Grab Bag (4:00 PM – 5:00 PM)
Location: Rocky Mountain CD
Craig Kuglar, Moderator; Beth Williams. Through interactive “Jeopardy”-style questions and real-world scenarios, attendees will examine topics including competence in the use of AI, confidentiality and privilege, supervision of AI-generated work product, accuracy and hallucinations, client communication and informed consent, billing considerations, bias and fairness, copyright concerns, and evolving guidance from courts and bar authorities. Participants will leave with practical strategies for leveraging AI responsibly while complying with their ethical obligations in an increasingly technology-driven profession.
Protecting Your Privacy: Understanding and Arbitrating Claims Related to Reg. D Investments and Other Private Securities (4:00 PM – 5:00 PM)
Location: Rocky Mountain AB & Aisle
Samuel B. Edwards, Moderator. A review of private placements and unregistered securities, including the registration-exemption framework, market structure, disclosure and liquidity risks, investor-protection concerns, and the expanding debate over retail access to private-market investments.
Women’s Happy Hour (5:15 PM – 6:45 PM)
Location: Donald Ross
PIABA Welcome Reception (7:00 PM – 9:00 PM)
Location: Lake Terrace Dining Room
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2026
Breakfast (7:00 AM – 9:00 AM)
Location: West Ballroom
Technology and Your Practice (9:00 AM – 10:00 AM)
Location: Rocky Mountain AB & Aisle
Ryan Cook, Moderator; Hugh Berkson, Joshua Kons, Rakesh Madhava. A practical look at running a claimant-side securities arbitration practice on a modern technology stack, from marketing through hearing, including case-management tools, document workflows, cybersecurity, automation, and where AI can add value in a small law firm.
SEC Whistleblower Panel (9:00 AM – 10:00 AM)
Location: Rocky Mountain CD
Scott Silver, Moderator. Session description not yet provided in the materials supplied.
Clearing Firm and Custodial Firm Space (10:05 AM – 11:05 AM)
Location: Rocky Mountain AB & Aisle
Joshua Kons, Moderator; Matthew Thibaut, Michael C. Bixby, Chase Carlson. This session examines theories of liability against clearing and custodial firms, focusing on the institutions that may retain assets and records when an introducing broker or other intermediary fails. The materials address potential claims, defenses, discovery, and strategic considerations.
Your Mind over Your Matter: A Candid Discussion on Lawyer Wellness (10:05 AM – 11:05 AM)
Location: Rocky Mountain CD
Stacy A. Puente, Moderator; Hon. Jonathan H. Pittman (Ret.), Stephanie Mastroantonio, LCSW. A candid discussion of attorney mental health and substance-use concerns, the state of lawyer well-being, professional and workplace pressures, available assistance, and practical approaches for supporting lawyers, judges, and legal professionals
Break (11:00 PM – 11:30 PM)
Location: Rocky Mountain Foyer
The On-Ramp: AI for Investor Advocates Who Have Cases to Win (11:30 AM – 12:30 PM)
Location: Rocky Mountain AB & Aisle
Courtney Werning, Moderator; David Meyer. A practical foundation for responsible AI use in investor-advocacy practices, including confidentiality, secure AI environments, human verification, firm AI policies, professional duties, and sample provisions governing the handling of confidential information with generative AI tools.
Cocktail Hour (6:00 PM – 7:00 PM)
Location: Rocky Mountain Foyer
President’s Dinner (7:00 PM – 9:00 PM)
Location: Rocky Mountain AB & Aisle
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2026
Breakfast (7:30 AM – 9:00 AM)
Location: West Ballroom
From the Defense Perspective (9:00 AM – 10:00 AM)
Location: Rocky Mountain AB & Aisle
Adam Gana, Moderator; Chad Weaver, Michael Schwartzberg, Jonathan Sterling, David Jonson. A modern view of FINRA arbitration from the defense side, including how respondent firms evaluate exposure, pre-dispute resolution, pleadings, insurance and coverage, discovery, settlement dynamics, institutional risk, and defense strategies that claimant counsel should understand.
Break (9:30 AM – 11:30 AM)
Location: Rocky Mountain Foyer
Annual Survey of Legal Updates (10:05 AM – 11:05 AM)
Location: Rocky Mountain CD
Scott A. Eichhorn, Moderator. A survey of significant recent securities-law decisions and developments, including Supreme Court and federal appellate decisions involving private rights of action, SEC disgorgement, FINRA jurisdiction and constitutional issues, and SEC market-structure rulemaking.
Handling Abusive Arbitration Provisions (10:05 AM – 11:05 AM)
Location: Rocky Mountain AB & Aisle
Melinda Steuer, Moderator; Demian Betz, Gary Varnavides. The session addresses theories, case law, and procedural means to challenge abusive arbitration provisions, including choice-of-law and venue clauses, limits on liability or damages, expensive forums, one-sided terms, discovery restrictions, and cost shifting. It also covers unconscionability and other contract defenses, successful challenges in court and arbitration, and the use of FINRA, AAA, and JAMS rules to attack unfair provisions.
Internet Scams (11:30 AM – 12:30 PM)
Location: Rocky Mountain AB & Aisle
Ryan A. Schwamm, Moderator; Erin Koeppel, Daniel Centner, Brandon S. Reif, James Booker. A review of pig-butchering, romance, impersonation, and other internet-fraud schemes, with emphasis on how scams are structured, the use of AI and social engineering, financial gatekeepers, victim representation, reporting and recovery options, and policy responses to rapidly evolving fraud.