Virtually all securities customer and intra-industry disputes are subject to compulsory arbitration. The National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (NASD) operates the world’s largest securities dispute resolution forum with over 11,000 arbitrations filed since 2005. The rules governing NASD arbitrations are provided for in the NASD Code of Arbitration Procedure, which governs all aspects of the process from the selection of arbitrators to the hearing.
On April 16, comprehensive changes to the Code for both customer and intra-industry disputes came into effect and apply to all arbitrations filed on or after that date. For those representing investors or industry parties before the NASD, the new Code presents many substantive changes and new procedures of which practitioners should be aware. The following is a brief examination of some of the more significant changes. A comparison chart is available on the NASD Website.
