Office of the Investor Advocate and the Investor Advisory Committee

For example, the law establishes the Office of the Investor Advocate and the Investor Advisory Committee within the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The mandate for these entities is to protect investor’s interests and assist investors but that will largely depend upon how they are funded and staffed. What voice will they have in decision and policy making at the SEC? What services will they provide to investors and how can they assist investors? We will have to watch and see how this unfolds.

Fiduciary Duty Standard of Care

Traditionally, stockbrokers do not owe their clients a fiduciary duty. A fiduciary duty is generally defined as a duty of loyalty, duty of care, a duty to avoid conflicts of interest and put the client’s interests first. Registered investment advisors have these fiduciary duties under federal law.

Stockbrokers generally have transactional duties such as duty to perform the customer’s orders promptly after receiving the customer’s approval. They also have the duty to recommend investments only after studying it, to inform the customer of the risks, and to not misrepresent any material facts to the transaction. Finally, they also have a duty to recommend investments that are suitable for the investor.

Under the new legislation, the SEC has the authority to impose the fiduciary duty standard on brokers. SEC must first study the issue and deliver a report to Congress. This will be a heavily lobbied report and review by Congress as brokers have historically fought hard to avoid the duties of being a fiduciary.

Also of note in the law is the power of the SEC to limit or prohibit mandatory predispute arbitration clauses in brokerage account agreements. Some advocates argue that mandatory arbitration is not fair for retail investors. They argue that biased industry arbitrators and unfair arbitration rules favor brokers and their firms. Conversely, the cost and efficiency of the arbitration process generally benefits retail investors over traditional state and federal courts. It will be interesting to whether the SEC will limit or give retail investors the choice to arbitrate or go to court.

Just because an account or an individual investment has decreased in value does not necessarily mean that a broker or financial adviser has acted inappropriately. At Crary Buchanan, we provide consultations concerning negligence arising from improper financial advice. If you have questions regarding your account or the duties owed by your broker, we invite you to call us to discuss your rights and remedies under the law.

Historically, lawyers have confined their law practices to geographic areas with which they were familiar. There was a reason for this: The lawyer knew the “landscape” of the area and could guide a client through the steps necessary to successfully pursue a claim for injuries. This local knowledge was beneficial in the acquisition of quality medical care and services. There were always a couple of lawyers who covered large areas such as an entire state, but this was rare.

Now, more and more sole practitioners and small law firms are advertising that they maintain multiple offices covering large geographic areas. This is a natural consequence of there being more lawyers, aggressive advertising and a limited number of cases.

But are there any disadvantages to an injured client hiring a lawyer who is “not really from here?” I think the answer is “yes”.

If the lawyer you hire isn’t familiar with the local community of medical providers, then the care you receive for your accident-related injuries may actually hurt your case. Believe it or not, there are actually providers out there who dislike accident cases, and if you happen to come under their care, the medical records they keep on you may minimize your injury.

The other problem is a lot of these out-of-town lawyers either have their clients travel long distances to receive medical care, or they “import” doctors from other counties to treat their clients.

Is there a problem with this? Yes, there is. Insurance companies know where doctors are from and how much of their practice involves traveling around to treat patients involved in accidents outside the provider’s region. This is a red flag for insurance companies.

So, what your best course of action? If you get injured in an automobile accident, hire a local law firm like ours and obtain treatment from local medical providers who are well known in the community. This will give you your best chance to make a full recovery in your case, both medically and financially.

“We have been in our current location for more than 30 years and the new location will provide us with equally high visibility and a central location to serve our clients,” said managing partner Mike Crary.

The new office will be designed to meet the law firm’s current and future space and technology needs, Crary said.

Crary Buchanan will stay open during the relocation, which is scheduled for August, Crary said. The law firm’s phone lines, whose numbers will remain the same, and e-mail will operate as usual. The Port St. Lucie office will be unaffected.

Crary Buchanan will occupy one-half of the first floor of the Royal Palm Financial Center Building III building at 759 U.S. 1 South, with offices for all attorneys, work areas for staff and five conference rooms.

The new space, which is one-half mile away from the current office, will also accommodate the law firm’s recent growth. Scott Turnbull joined Crary Buchanan as a partner in February. Elysse A. Elder and Karen Dobbins joined the firm as of counsel during 2009.

Preferred stocks are a class of ownership in a corporation that has a higher claim on the assets and earnings than common stock. Preferred stock generally has a dividend that must be paid out before dividends to common stockholders and the shares usually do not have voting rights. Technically, they are equity securities, but they share many characteristics with debt instruments. There are different types of preferred stocks such as preferred trusts, cumulative preferred stocks, callable preferred stocks, and others. As with any securities, there are advantages and disadvantages and differing types of risk associated with preferred stocks.

Many times preferred stocks are sold as a safe, stable fixed-income investment. For example, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred shares were touted as suitable for retired individuals who wanted an investment designed to generate income. However, the risks associated with preferred shares were not disclosed or understood by many retired investors.

Just because an account or an individual investment has decreased in value does not necessarily mean that a financial adviser has acted inappropriately. At Crary Buchanan, we provide consultations concerning negligence arising from improper financial advice. If you experienced substantial losses as a result of overconcentration in a preferred stock such as Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or were not advised about the risks of investing in preferred shares, we invite you to call us to discuss your rights and remedies under the law.

Most investors think of risk in terms of what is the possibility that I will lose some of my money over time after purchasing an investment. Risk and return tend to work together. The higher the level of risk that greater potential return on the investment and the lower the level of risk generally equates with the lower rate of return.

An investor’s risk tolerance varies based upon age, investment experience, net worth, income, age, investment time frame, investment objective, liquidity needs, and other factors. Risk tolerance tends to be viewed in categories such as conservative, moderate, or aggressive. Generally, investors with a conservative risk tolerance are adverse to loss of principal and tend to have high need for liquidity in their investments. For example, many retirees have a conservative risk tolerance because they have limited resources for income, need to access funds for health care and other living expenses, and generally do not have time to recover from large losses sustained in their retirement account.

There are many risk tolerance questionnaires available from financial advisors and on the Internet. When establishing an investment or retirement account, you and your advisor should have a discussion about your risk tolerance and how to manage risk in your account.

Properly assessing risk tolerance can reduce the risks associated with investing in securities.  Just because an account or an individual investment has decreased in value does not necessarily mean that a financial adviser has acted inappropriately. At Crary Buchanan, we provide consultations concerning negligence arising from improper financial advice. We invite you to call us to discuss your rights and remedies under the law.

Turnbull is a business, securities, and trust litigator who advocates land conservation and preservation of South Florida’s history.

“We are excited to bring Scott on board, said Chuck Barrowclough, executive director of Treasured Lands Foundation. “The combination of his legal background and environmental interest brings something new to the Foundation that I think will be highly beneficial”.

Turnbull takes much of his conservation ethic from President Roosevelt’s efforts to protect and preserve America’s natural resources such as the national wildlife refuges in Florida at Pelican Island, Passage Key, and Island Bay. Like these refuges, Martin County has lands for continued conservation and wildlife protection.

Appreciating nature through hiking, kayaking, camping, birding and hunting, Turnbull sees continued opportunities to preserve South Florida’s history while conserving Martin County’s natural resources.

“We have a lot of exciting opportunities ahead of us at Treasured Lands and we know Scott will be a great asset”, said Barrowclough.

Drawing on community involvement and partnerships, Treasured Lands Foundation helps preserve Martin County’s natural resources, protect its wildlife habitats and encourage passive and active outdoor recreation by supporting public land conservation efforts and contributing to the creation of additional diverse and vibrant parks programming. To learn more visit treasuredlands.org.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) compiles car crash data every year. In 2007, more than 41,000 people died on our roads. In 2008, that number dropped to 25,351. That represents a 39 percent decrease in just one year.

The 2008 figure is the lowest since 1975 when NHTSA began collecting fatality data. You can have a look at the NHTSA numbers by visiting its website.

Even so, 25,351 is a HUGE number of lives lost. If that many people in the U.S. were dying each year from terrorist attacks or other grievous causes, the government would declare a national emergency and we’d probably be living under martial law. Traffic fatalities are devastating, but they a something that we as a society have come to accept as a natural consequence of driving. You get behind the wheel and you hope for the best.

It may not be possible to control the behavior of other drivers, but you can control yours and at least minimize the chance of you being the cause of an accident. One easy way to decrease that likelihood is to limit any distractions while you are driving.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles publishes an annual report on distracted driving. In spite of all the attention given to cell phone use and texting, the report details numerous other causes of distracted driving including food, drink, and moving objects such as a pet or insect.

The report and the causes of distracted driving make you aware of how your own behavior can put you in danger. That’s why when you get behind the wheel, your sole task should be to drive the car. Many of us take driving for granted, but when you become aware of all the types of distractions, you can minimize your chances of being caught off guard.

That also means that there are drivers on the road who don’t have insurance in case they hurt you. You are only required to carry personal injury protection (PIP), which pays up to $10,000 in medical care or lost wages if you get hurt and $10,000 in property damage in case you damage someone’s property, usually another vehicle.

So what can you do to protect against someone who crashes a vehicle into you and injures you, but doesn’t have any insurance? You can write your state legislator and ask for the law to be changed, or you can purchase uninsured motorist coverage, known by the initials “UM.” It’s available to anyone who purchases bodily injury liability coverage, also called  “BI.”

BI is optional.  If you want UM, you have to buy BI. Insurance isn’t cheap, but is worth having if someone else injures you and doesn’t have coverage.  Even if the other person has coverage, it may not be enough to cover your injuries, so in that case, you can use your UM.

It doesn’t look like the state legislature is going to make BI mandatory. If you can afford them, BI and UM are valuable coverages you should have on your car or truck.  You should have them if you own a motorcycle too.  If you get into a motor vehicle crash, either way, you’re covered.

If you have any questions or comments about this, I’ll be glad to discuss them with you.

Board member Larry Crary, student liaison Sarah Woods, and Evans Crary Jr., a founding board member and revered, retired firm partner, participated in the awards ceremony. Evans Crary, a trustee of the Frances Langford Foundation, announced a $100,000 grant to Nina Haven for scholarships in the arts.

Firm partner Larry Crary helped award Nina Haven Charitable Foundation scholarships to 33 Martin County high school students in May. Crary is a board member of the foundation.

At a ceremony that month, Crary and other board members, including retired partner Evans Crary Jr., officially welcomed the students into the Nina Haven Circle of Scholars. They joined the 1,000 former recipients of Nina Haven scholarships inducted since the fund was established in 1961.

The average GPA of this year’s scholarship recipients is 3.7 on a four-point scale, with four of the students receiving AA degrees at the same time that they receive their high school diplomas this spring. Members of the Circle of Scholars will serve as mentors as the students begin college in the fall.

“One of the hallmarks of a Nina Haven scholarship,” says Judith Weber, President of the Nina Haven Charitable Foundation, “is the personal interest we take in our scholarship recipients. We provide mentors, guide them through the early days of the college experience, and help open doors to them when they graduate.”

Nina Haven scholarships, heavily based on financial need, grant up to $2,500 a year to students graduating from a Martin County high school and entering a two or four year college program. This year marks the 49th year of the program, and its prior recipients include many current community leaders.

“As a Nina Haven scholar myself,” says Weber, “I can attest to the power of these scholarships. They open doors to college, and they assure young people that an entire community of individuals is behind them, believing in them, and ready to assist if needed.”

The Nina Haven Foundation has established “Sector Scholarships” for next year in addition to current academic scholarships.  Sector scholarships in alternative energy, life sciences and health, information technology and digital media, environmental studies, education and the arts will help students take up professions that will enable them to return to the Treasure Coast and contribute to the local economy and quality of life.

Once you have a lawyer on your side, you can go about your business and not worry about the insurance company trying to damage to your case, right? Wrong! Even though you have a lawyer, the insurance adjuster will still try to get information from you or your friends that can help the insurance company and hurt you.

How does the adjuster do this? He or she uses a computer to search the Internet to for information about you.  The most common searches are on social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and the other sites where people share information about their lives.

You probably have registered and posted personal information on one or more websites as a way to keep in touch with your friends. Some sites allow anyone to view your information; others afford some privacy. Either way, any information you post on these types of social networking sites could end up in the hands of an insurance company and used against you.

Consider a simple photograph. If you have been injured and you post a picture of yourself at a party, laughing or dancing, and the  insurance adjuster obtains the image, it will be used to prove that your life hasn’t changed since your injury. A video of you having a good time is even more powerful in the hands of an insurance company fighting your claim.

If you want to share personal information with your friends, don’t do it online. And don’t discuss your case with your friends. The insurance adjuster can’t talk to you without me present, but this rule doesn’t apply to your friends.  An experienced adjuster knows how to get your friends to reveal what you told them in confidence. If your friends want to know about your case, politely tell them your lawyer told you not to talk about it.