Michael J. Giarrusso
Michael J. Giarrusso is a seasoned financial services attorney who represents investors and financial services professionals. His practice is broad in scope and national in coverage, handling all manner of issues concerning investments and legal claims unique to the securities industry.
On behalf of investors, Mr. Giarrusso pursues claims against registered representatives, associated wealth managers, and broker-dealers. The most common grounds for these actions include unsuitability, overconcentration, excessive trading or churning, misrepresentation and/or omission, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and failure to supervise. In some cases, he may co-counsel with other attorneys to gain a strategic advantage and expedite results.
On behalf of securities industry employees including brokers and other licensed professionals, Mr. Giarrusso possesses substantial experience offering representation in the context of FINRA arbitration, as well as FINRA regulatory inquiries and disciplinary proceedings. He is adept at handling various employment-related matters unique to the securities industry, including Form U4 disclosure issues, Form U5 expungement matters, on the record interviews (OTRs), and compensation-related disputes.
Mr. Giarrusso is a former financial industry professional who knows the securities industry and understands complex financial products, sales practices, and regulatory issues. As a securities-based lending analyst for a large broker-dealer, Mr. Giarrusso monitored the integrity of collateral underlying securities-based loan portfolios. In this role he worked with financial advisors and their clients on various hedging and risk mitigation strategies, including the use of options to hedge against downside risk on concentrated collateral positions.
Prior to founding his own practice, Mr. Giarrusso worked for several well-regarded securities arbitration and litigation boutique law firms in the New York area, and for a major law firm based in the Mid-Atlantic.
Mr. Giarrusso has an A.B. in History from Princeton University and a J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law.
He is admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey and before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.