On April 27, 2012, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, entered a consent order requiring five individuals to return their customer information they took with them and agree not to solicit their former clients to join them at Morgan Stanley. Now, the matter is in arbitration at FINRA.
Allegedly, an office manager at Merrill’s Birmingham Southeast office caught Christopher Baker and Henry Hagood printing out quarterly review reports for approximately 35 clients just two days before the team members put in their resignations on April 16th. Other members of the team, after they resigned, allegedly downloaded and printed out customer statements and other information at different times. The advisers, however, are allowed to keep the basic information on clients allowed under the protocol and can transfer their Merrill clients to their accounts at Morgan Stanley if the clients contact them.
Eccleston Law Offices counsel, represent and defend financial advisers nationwide in regulatory, compliance, disciplinary and employment matters in arbitration and litigation, and before regulatory bodies such as the SEC, FINRA and state securities regulators. We frequently defend forgivable loan collection actions, prosecute Form U-5 defamation actions, counsel advisers as to how to transition successfully from firm to firm and negotiate the best possible agreements with their new firm, and provide succession planning, buy-sell agreements and other exit strategies and strategic consulting, practice transitions, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures.
