Securities Arbitration Clinic
What We Do
The Securities Arbitration Clinic is part of the St. Vincent de Paul Legal Program, Inc. It is a one-semester clinic staffed by second- and third-year law students who help represent under-served investors in securities arbitration claims before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Typical claims involve breach of Regulation Best Interest, unsuitability, misrepresentation, unauthorized trading, excessive trading (aka churning), and failure to supervise.
The Securities Arbitration Clinic is part of the St. Vincent de Paul Legal Program, Inc. It is a one-semester clinic staffed by second- and third-year law students who help represent under-served investors in securities arbitration claims before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Typical claims involve breach of Regulation Best Interest, unsuitability, misrepresentation, unauthorized trading, excessive trading (aka churning), and failure to supervise.
Under the supervision of Directors Christine Lazaro and Elissa Germaine, students handle all phases of the client’s case and gain valuable lawyering skills, including client interviewing, counseling, negotiation, and advocacy, as well as substantive legal knowledge of securities laws and the securities arbitration process. Depending on the phase of our cases, students may engage in:
- Factual and legal investigation
- Case assessment
- Drafting of Statements of Claim
- Propounding discovery requests
- Responding to discovery requests
- Pre-hearing scheduling conferences and conference calls
- Negotiating settlement with opposing counsel
- Conducting mediations
- Conducting arbitration hearings
Clinical students also may consult and collaborate with financial experts to conduct financial and legal analyses of their cases. Additionally, students may write comment letters to the SEC and/or FINRA in response to requests for public comment on proposed rulemaking or other agency activity.
Students also may conduct investor education presentations to fellow law students, to undergraduates, or the community.
Contact Us
Lorraine Benjamin, Clinic Administrative Assistant
Securities Arbitration Clinic
Clinical Office
St. John’s School of Law, Room 2-26
8000 Utopia Parkway
Queens, NY 11439
[email protected]
718-990-6898
Fax 718-990-1961
Our Clinic
How to Apply as a Candidate
Students can apply for the Securities Arbitration Clinic during the spring semester for fall of the following academic year and in the fall semester for the following spring semester of the same academic year.
Attend a Virtual Clinical Information Session which is held for all clinics for one day in April and October.
- Next Date: In October 2024
Submit an online application
- Application URL: https://tinyurl.com/FallClinics24
Upload the following within the online application:
- Cover letter stating interest in the clinic
- Current resume
- Unofficial transcript printed from the Academic Record screen in UIS
Christine Lazaro and Elissa Germaine
Co-Directors, Securities Arbitration Clinic
The Securities Arbitration Clinic is a one semester, four-credit clinic offered in the fall and the spring. It is open to second- and third-year students.
There are no required pre- or co-requisites for Clinic participation. Students do not need to have a securities or finance background. Although there are no required courses, practice courses such as Mediation, Negotiation, and Trial Advocacy can help you prepare for the clinic. In addition, substantive courses such as Business Organizations Securities, Regulation, Broker-Dealer Regulation, and Corporate Finance can be helpful.
While the minimum weekly time commitment is 16 hours, comprised of 14 office hours and a two-hour weekly seminar, there may be weeks where students work much more than the minimum. Students meet their time commitment by completing eight scheduled office hours at the Clinic and six flexible hurs that may be remote. The seminar is held on Tuesdays from 11:10 am to 1:10 pm in the Law School's Clinical Conference Room. Students may not schedule office hours during the weekly seminar. Each student works in a team with two other students.
Students may have a part-time job while participating in the Clinic. However, part-time work should not interfere with students’ commitment to the Clinic or office hours. Students are cautioned that the progress of a case can be unpredictable at times and any part-time position they hold must be flexible enough to accommodate this unpredictability.