July 25, 2007
Public arbitrators should have no economic ties to the brokerage industry. Such persons are more appropriately classified as industry arbitrators. A judge sitting on a case against a securities broker would disqualify himself if he received fees from a securities broker. Ideally, you do not want the judge to receive fees from anyone except the judicial forum so as to insure neutrality. You must ban all traces of the securities industry from the public arbitrators in an effort to make the process fair.