Broker Busting Lawyers Mark Tenth Anniversary.

Sept. 16, 2011 - PRLog -- The Cleveland, Ohio law firm of Hermann, Cahn & Schneider LLP took a big risk when it decided to cut ties with its long time financial advisory and broker-dealer clients. Today, it seems obvious the firm made the right choice. It’s securities litigation group, informally known in-house as the stockmarketloss group (named for its website, http://www.stockmarketloss.com) is celebrating the tenth anniversary of its decision to exclusively represent individual and institutional investors injured by stockbroker fraud and other financial misconduct. During the past decade, lawyers Anthony J. Hartman, Jay H. Salamon, and Hugh D. Berkson have championed the rights of hundreds of investors, recovering tens of millions of dollars in investment losses caused by stock brokers, investment advisors, and insurance agents who sell securities.

Prior to defecting from what they facetiously refer to as “the Dark Side,” HC&S’ securities litigators had long served as defense counsel to large national and regional investment firms whose stockbroker representatives had been accused of sales abuses. But whenever possible, the lawyers also represented investors seeking to recover losses due to broker incompetence or fraud. According to managing partner Hartman, “We always preferred helping people whose trust had been betrayed and whose life savings had been lost. But our brokerage firm clients were a steady source of revenues, so we held our noses and soldiered on.” That changed ten years ago when Hartman and Salamon decided they’d had enough.

Recalls Salamon, “We actually wrote letters to our brokerage firm clients saying thanks for your business but we’ve decided to represent only investors from now on and we may need to sue you in the future. One former brokerage client actually threatened to have us knocked off a case we brought against them, but we ended up getting a seven figure settlement for our client.”

According to the stockmarketloss lawyers, one of the biggest differences between defending brokerage firm clients and representing injured investors is that they now only handle matters they believe in and can turn down cases that don't have merit. "Brokerage firms pay by the hour and their lawyers know they’ll get paid, win or lose," explains Berkson. "These days, we work on a contingent fee basis, meaning we only get paid if our client recovers, but we sleep better at night and enjoy our work a lot more. The past ten years have been very rewarding and we expect the next ten to be even better.”

Hermann, Cahn & Schneider LLP is a 15-attorney law firm based in Cleveland, OH. The firm’s national securities arbitration and litigation practice is devoted exclusively to the representation of injured investors. The three lawyers who compose the securities practice have more than eighty years of combined securities litigation experience. For more information about the claimant-only investment lawyers of Hermann, Cahn & Schneider LLP, call Hugh D. Berkson at 216-781-5515 or toll free at 877-215-0593, or email him at hberkson@hcsattys.com. Visit http://www.stockmarketloss.com to learn more about investor rights, common abuses committed by financial professionals and companies, and methods of recovering investment losses.