SEC Virtual Outreach Event Highlights Students on the Frontlines of Investor Protection

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it will host a virtual event, entitled “Investor Advocacy Clinics: Students Fight for Investor Justice,” on Wednesday, March 29 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET. The event will highlight the important work of law school students who provide free legal representation and other resources to harmed investors engaged in disputes with their financial professionals.

Hosted by the SEC Office of the Ombudsman and the Division of Enforcement’s Retail Strategy Task Force, the event will be livestreamed at sec.gov.

After opening remarks by SEC Chair Gary Gensler, law students from investor advocacy clinics across the United States will discuss the origin of the clinics, the legal services they provide, the nature of mandatory broker-dealer arbitration, examples of cases handled on behalf of harmed investors, and challenges affecting the future of the clinics.

“When disputing with a broker-dealer, retail investors with limited income or with small dollar claims may not be able to hire a lawyer,” said Hane L. Kim, Chief of the SEC’s Retail Strategy Task Force. “Law school investor advocacy clinics help bridge the gap by providing important pro bono legal representation to aid retail investors.”

“The success of these investor advocacy clinics demonstrates the importance of continued clinic funding, so more investors may benefit from their services,” said Stacy A. Puente, the SEC Acting Ombudsman. “Our hope is that this program will increase public awareness of and support for the critical services these law students provide.”

The outreach event is part of the SEC’s Fourth Annual 2023 Investor Advocacy Clinic Summit, a daylong, non-public, program where the Commission and SEC staff engage with clinic students about the issues most affecting their retail investor clients. The summit will feature remarks from SEC Commissioners Hester Peirce, Caroline Crenshaw, Mark Uyeda, and Jaime Lizárraga, as well as remarks from SEC Investor Advocate Cristina Martin Firvida and Richard Berry, Director of FINRA Dispute Resolution.

Clinics from the following law schools will participate in the summit: Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Cornell University Law School, Fordham University School of Law, Howard University School of Law, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, New York Law School, Elizabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, St. John’s University School of Law, Seton Hall University School of Law, University of Miami School of Law, and University of Pittsburgh School of Law.