September 29, 2017
I have been an Arbitrator since 2004. For the first eleven years with FINRA, I was classified as a Public Arbitrator because I did not work in the securities industry. In 2015 I was reclassified as a Non-Public Arbitrator due to the rule changes. This reclassification has significantly changed my activity in the selection process. I haven't been chosen for a case since then. I feel that the rule change has put me into the wrong grouping.
When I contacted FINRA about this change, I was advised that it was because I had worked over 31 years ago, briefly, for a brokerage firm.
Since then and for the past 30 years, I have maintained all of my education, employment and expertise in the field of law. But now, because less than 1% of my career has been outside the realm of Securities, I am being disqualified from working on a regular basis by not being allowed to be classified as a Public Arbitrator.
Please consider this at the public meeting on October 12.
Andrea Bailey
A33559