Financial Service Executives and Employees

There are many issues unique to the representation of financial services employees. These include:

Compensation disputes

Financial professionals frequently receive the majority of their annual compensation in the form of incentive compensation at year-end, with a significant portion of that year-end compensation deferred over several years and subject to forfeiture and claw-back provisions under company plans. Disputes over a financial professional’s rights to certain incentive compensation and long-term deferred compensation can and do often arise in connection with changes in the employment relationship.

Because the financial services sector is a highly regulated industry, many professionals in financial services are employed under licenses that require submission in writing of the reason for a professional’s separation from employment. These submissions can have the potential for significant reputational damage and can give rise to post-employment disputes.

Regulatory compliance and whistleblowing

Financial professionals and their employers are subject to a significant amount of regulatory oversight and industry employers maintain compliance policies related to these regulatory obligations. Professionals in the Financial Services industry may encounter lack of compliance with these obligations, or misconduct by other employees.  It is critical that industry professionals properly understand how to elevate these issues while protecting their rights.

Employment agreements

Almost all professionals in the financial services industry are employed subject to mandatory arbitration agreements typically resolved in industry arbitration forums before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), JAMS, or the American Arbitration Association (AAA), which often employ arbitrators with specialized knowledge of the industry.

Many employers in the financial services industry use some form of restrictive covenants seeking to limit the loss of their most valuable employees to competitors. Employers in the financial services industry often condition receipt of deferred compensation on compliance with post-employment restrictions. Understanding the relationship between these dual obligations is important to any successful change in employment.