Not every loss is a claim
Securities laws do not protect investors against losing money; they address misstatements, omissions, and certain kinds of misconduct by the people who sold or promoted the investment. A securities lawsuit usually needs a connection between something that was said or left out and the loss itself, and the facts behind that connection are often in the other side's hands. Investors in publicly traded stock frequently find that a class action has already been filed, and they may be class members without doing anything. Losses in an account handled by a broker usually go to FINRA arbitration rather than court, because most brokerage agreements require it.
Documents that tell the story
Gather account statements, trade confirmations, offering documents, subscription agreements, and any marketing material or presentations you were shown. Emails and texts with the person who recommended the investment are often the most useful evidence, especially if they describe risk differently from the formal documents. Once you have spoken with counsel, put together a timeline for your lawyer of when you first learned something was wrong and how. That date can matter, because securities claims carry time limits that can be short and that sometimes begin running before an investor realizes how large the problem is.
Choosing among the routes
In a first conversation we work out which route fits: staying in an existing class action, opting out to bring an individual claim, filing a FINRA arbitration, suing over a private offering, or reporting to regulators. Regulators such as the SEC can bring enforcement actions, but they do not act as your lawyer, and money they recover may or may not reach individual investors. We also look honestly at whether the people or entity responsible could pay a judgment, because a strong claim against an empty company may not be worth pursuing. Our aim is to give you a clear picture of the options before you commit to one.
