MARK A. TEPPER, ESQ. Practicing law for over 35 years, representing the interests of investors in criminal and civil actions, securities fraud attorney Mark A. Tepper is in private practice in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Mr. Tepper is a graduate of Cornell Law School and a former Assistant Attorney General and Chief Trial Counsel for the Bureau of Investor Protection and Securities for the Attorney General in New York.
Mr. Tepper was associated with the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), led the NASAA Delegation to the Fifth International Symposium on Commercial Crime, in Cambridge England, and was awarded for outstanding service by NASAA.
He has also conducted suitability training for NASAA and during a NASAA Enforcement Meeting in Orlando, Florida, presented his study which provided some of the first evidence that arbitration can be unfair to public customers.
Mr. Tepper also served on the Board of Directors for the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA), from October 2004 through October 2010. He continues to serve on numerous PIABA committees and during a PIABA Annual Conference, Mr. Tepper interviewed FINRA President Linda Feinberg on changes and procedures at FINRA.
As a former Chairman of PIABA's NASAA Committee, he participated in an arbitration forum in New York, sponsored by NASAA, where he presented evidence from a defrauded investor, illustrating how the arbitration system can fail.
Mr. Tepper has authored numerous legal articles on securities arbitration and his legal expertise is often sought as an expert source for the media.
Cornell Law School, J.D. (1972)
State University of New York at Stonybrook, B.A. (1969)
Born in New York, Mr. Tepper received his law degree (J.D.) from Cornell Law School, (1972) and his undergraduate degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, B.A. (1969). He was admitted to practice in New York State in 1973, before the United States District Court, Southern District of New York in 1974, in California in 1976, Florida in 1989, before the United States Supreme Court in 1997 and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 2004. He is AV®-rated in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.
In addition to representing victims of fraudulent investment schemes from his law practice in Fort Lauderdale, Mr. Tepper continues to volunteer his expertise to professional associations, local clubs and financial organizations in a continuing effort to educate on the subject of securities fraud.
He makes audio-visual presentations in connection with a variety of topics concerning Securities Fraud, describing ways in which the public is cheated. He educates his audiences on how to protect themselves from fraudulent practices and how professionals can recognize fraud in a client’s investment account. Presentations are tailored to the needs of each group, depending on time requirements. Question and answer sessions follow each presentation.
Mr. Tepper has addressed the Certified Financial Planners, Gold Coast Chapter, on How to Recognize Securities Fraud and Protect Yourself; the Florida Society of Enrolled Agents and the Florida Accountants Society, Broward Chapter, on How to Detect Securities Fraud from Tax Returns; and the Broward Chapter of the Paralegal Association of Florida, where he explained how to identify Ponzi schemes and how they cheat investors. Mr. Tepper was also the featured speaker at local Chambers of Commerce, the Estate Planning Council and the South Florida Institute of Financial Planners.
Mr. Tepper is also the author of the following articles published in the PIABA Bar Journals: Goliath Refuses to Yield (Winter 2003) regarding Merrill Lynch and Confidentiality Orders during the Discovery Process; Attorney Issued Discovery Subpoenas in Arbitration are an Abuse of Process (Winter 2004); Another Serpent on Wall Street – The WorldCom Fraud (Summer 2004); Judge Pollack’s Merrill Lynch Research – Analyst Decisions – Lost in [Info]Space (Fall 2004); NASD 10106 - A Toothless Tiger or Protection From Improper Lawsuits by NASD Members (Winter 2005); Lessons Learned in the Labyrinth of Loss Causation - Finding Your Way in Infospace (Summer 2005) and SRO Arbitration - Is It Fair to Investors? (Winter 2007), The Rules are Not Discounted for the Discounter (Summer 2007) and Survey Says – SRO Arbitration Unfair (March 2008).
Training Arbitrators and State Securities Examiners:
Mr. Tepper has participated as a trainer during Arbitrator training for the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), (now FINRA), as a member of the Planned Giving Council of Nova Southeastern University and as a member of the Speaker's Bureau of the Florida Bar.
He has also conducted suitability training for state securities examiners during a NASAA Broker/Dealer Conference. His presentation at a NASAA Enforcement Meeting in Orlando, Florida explained a study which provided some of the first evidence that arbitration can be unfair to public customers. This study of Florida Arbitration Awards conducted by Mr. Tepper was published in the PIABA Bar Journal. Mr. Tepper accepted an invitation in June 2011 from the Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR), to share his expertise in representing elderly investors who have been defrauded. Titled “Interviewing Elderly Investors,” his presentation was made to Florida State Securities Examiners and attorneys attending the NASAA annual Broker Dealer Training conference in Fort Lauderdale. More recently, during a NASAA Investor Education Training Seminar held in Ft. Lauderdale from November 4-5, 2011, Mr. Tepper shared his expertise on a panel that examined "What Today’s Investors are Facing."
He continues to participate as an invited Moot Court Judge at various moot court competitions including the student chapter of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (American Association for Justice) annual American Bar Association's Regional Negotiation Competitions at the Shepard Broad Law Center of Nova Southeastern University, attended by 12 different law schools from the southeastern United States.
Mr. Tepper has been a panel moderator for PIABA on the following topics: A Primer on Securities Mediation; (PIABA 11th Annual Meeting, 2002) and on Mediation Strategy (PIABA 12th Annual Meeting 2003). He was Author and Presenter: CLE Materials: Supervision in the Securities Industry (PIABA 11th Annual Meeting, 2002) and was the panel moderator at the PIABA 14th Annual Meeting on the topic of The Hearing from the Arbitrator's Perspective (October 2005).
Career Highlights:
Mr. Tepper was an Assistant Attorney General, Chief Trial Counsel, Bureau of Investor Protection and Securities, in the Office of the New York Attorney General from 1977-1988 and was in private practice in New York until 1990. Prior to that position, he was a Senior Trial Attorney, Criminal Defense Division, Legal Aid Society, New York from 1972-1977.
While practicing law in New York, Mr. Tepper was associated with the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), from 1982-1988, as a Presenter in the Education and Training Program, as a Vice Chairman and Member of the Special Projects Committee.
In 1987, he led the NASAA Delegation to the Fifth International Symposium on Commercial Crime, Cambridge England.
His presentation at NASAA's Enforcement Meeting in Orlando, Florida explained a survey which showed that NASD arbitration can be unfair to public customers.
Mr. Tepper was admitted to practice in New York State in 1973, before the United States District Court, Southern District of New York in 1974, in California in 1976, Florida in 1989, before the United States Supreme Court in 1997 and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 2004.
Current Bar Memberships include the Florida, New York, and California Bar Associations. Mr. Tepper is also a Member, Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association and has recently served as an Arbitrator for the National Arbitration and Mediation, Inc. (NAM).