Samuel E. Cohen

As a member of the Securities & Investments Professional Liability Practice Group, Sam represents broker-dealers, registered representatives and registered investment advisors in state and federal court and in Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration proceedings. Sam also represents broker-dealers, registered representatives and registered investment advisors before state and federal regulatory authorities as well as in FINRA investigations, examinations, inquiries and enforcement matters. As well, Sam represents registered representatives in expungement proceedings. Sam's practice also includes the defense of insurance agents and brokers, real estate agents and title agents.

From 1996 through 1997, Sam served as a law clerk to the Honorable G. Craig Lord in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County. Sam graduated from Temple University in 1993 where he received a Bachelor of Business Administration and subsequently his juris doctor in 1996 from Temple University School of Law. At Temple Law School, Sam served as the vice president of his graduating class.

In 2019 Sam was appointed to serve a 3 year term on the Special Olympics PA-Philadelphia Executive Advisory Board. The Executive Advisory Board assists Special Olympics PA-Philadelphia by opening doors to key community and corporate contacts, raising funding for the program, providing high-level support of its strategic objectives and in general, advocating on behalf of its athletes and mission.

Honors & awards

AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell

Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Star
2005-2008

Year joined

1997

Results

Defense Verdict in Binding FINRA Arbitration.

Securities and Investments Professional Liability
April 11, 2019

We obtained a defense verdict in a binding FINRA arbitration in Boca Raton, Florida. Our broker-dealer client was sued in arbitration by two retired broker claimants who sought $5 million in past and future benefits, under a retirement program that paid override fees to retired brokers on books of business they had developed decades ago.

Defense Verdict for Registered Investment Advisor and Securities Broker Dealer.

Securities and Investments Professional Liability
May 11, 2018

We obtained a defense verdict after a four-day jury trial in northeastern Pennsylvania on behalf of a registered investment advisor and a securities broker dealer who were sued by their former client for investment losses. The plaintiff was a paraplegic whose wealth was obtained through a jury verdict and settlements related to his injuries.

Dismissal on a Directed Verdict in NY FINRA Arbitration

Securities and Investments Professional Liability
April 21, 2016

Obtained a dismissal on a directed verdict in a FINRA arbitration in New York. The defense represented a broker-dealer in a dispute with its former customer regarding the unauthorized use of her account information. The claimant was a customer of one of the broker-dealer’s New York branches, where her ex-husband also worked as a broker. In the claimant’s request for attorney’s fees in a separate divorce court proceeding, she claimed to be destitute and alleged that her ex-husband was in the better financial position.

Victorious FINRA Arbitration

Securities and Investments Professional Liability
June 8, 2015

Obtained a directed verdict on behalf of a broker-dealer and a broker in a FINRA arbitration in New York. The claimant, a sophisticated and wealthy owner of a broker-dealer, alleged that he was being charged an unreasonable mark-up on municipal bond sales. The claimant further alleged that he was the victim of elder abuse. In granting the motion to dismiss presented at the close of the claimant's case in chief, the arbitration panel found that the claimant failed to present a basis for his claim.

Thought Leadership

Samuel Cohen Appointed to Special Olympics Philadelphia Executive Advisory Board

Securities and Investments Professional Liability
September 5, 2019
Samuel E.

FINRA Proposes Rule to Streamline Broker/Dealers Oversight of Outside Business Activities

Philadelphia - Headquarters
Securities and Investments Professional Liability
June 22, 2018

Protecting Seniors: A Priority for FINRA, Federal and State Legislators, and Arbitration Panels

Philadelphia - Headquarters
Securities and Investments Professional Liability
September 1, 2016
By Samuel E. Cohen, Esq.*Key Points:

Arbitration panel cites financial elder abuse for punitive damages.

Securities and Investments Professional Liability
July 19, 2016
An arbitration panel ordered Morgan Stanley to pay more than $8.6 million to a retiree for losses tied to alleged unauthorized trading and unsuitable investments, including an allegedly risky Chinese internet company. Case Law Alerts, 3rd Quarter, July 2016

Arbitration fee waiver request.

Securities and Investments Professional Liability
January 15, 2016
An application to an arbitration panel for a waiver of its fees is a prerequisite for avoiding arbitration on the ground that it is financially prohibitive. Case Law Alerts, 1st Quarter, January 2016

Arbitrator dissents from reasoning behind expungement, but still grants expungement.

Securities and Investments Professional Liability
January 15, 2016
The panel made the following Rule 2080 affirmative finding of fact: the registered person was not involved in the alleged investment-related sales practice violation, forgery, theft, misappropriation or conversion of funds. Case Law Alerts, 1st Quarter, January 2016

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Classes/Seminars Taught

Reconciling SEC and FINRA Examinations in Complex Products and Business Practices. Independent Broker Dealer Consortium 10 th Annual Risk Management Conference in Amelia Island, Florida, October 2018.

Department of Labor Fiduciary Rule, Delaware County Estate Planning Council, September 2017

Reducing Regulatory Exposure: Properly Preparing for FINRA and SEC Regulatory Examination, Independent Broker-Dealer Consortium Annual Conference, September 2017

Protecting Seniors, A Priority for FINRA, State and Federal Legislators, and Arbitration Panels, 2016 Cadaret, Grant Advisor Forum, October 21, 2016

Legislative Update on Issues of Concern to Financial Advisors and Independent Broker Dealers, Financial Services Institute, April 2010