The President's Perspective
Greetings from South Florida,
Old Miamians say summer ends here on Columbus Day. So it did - the humidity eased up, daylight savings time expired, Thanksgiving is but three weeks off and its celebration will usher in the Christmas season. Tempus fugit…
Our website has evolved into much more than a picture window into SER, and monthly “hits” continue to grow. It is incumbent upon and behooves each member to keep his/her profile up to date to maximize your opportunity for inquiries. In addition, I encourage those of you who have published articles/essays/Op-eds to your credit to consider contributing such material to our website library (to access, log in and click on “member tools”).
Long-time member Jack Herrmann urges you to read a three-part series that ran on Oct 31, Nov 1 and 2, 2015 in The New York Times (“TNYT”). The titles of the three articles are: “Arbitration Everywhere, Stacking the Deck of Justice” (Part I); “In Arbitration, a ‘Privatization of the Justice System’” (Part II) and “In Religious Arbitration, Scripture is the Rule of Law” (Part III).
In Jack’s words, the series is “…critical of the expansion of arbitration clauses into many parts of the economy…and highlights the political power of plaintiff Attorneys.” He also reminds us that “…this year the South Carolina Supreme Court refused to overturn an appellate court decision that the arbitration clause in a broker-dealer account agreement was unenforceable. The securities case is scheduled for trial in SC state court in January.”
Founder member Rick Ryder adds: “I think it is worth noting…that the articles (despite the continual references to ‘Wall Street’) do not touch upon the securities and commodities businesses at all (because, among other things, they would have had to concede that the SEC regulates the process, class action waivers are outlawed and, on the commodities side, the investor had a free choice whether to opt for arbitration), and I think that’s big.”
Jack’s and Rick’s insights are examples of the depth and breadth of experience resident in our membership. To take full advantage of this wealth of expertise by networking with pros like Jack and Rick is one of many reasons to attend our annual meeting and conference. Next summer we return to New York City and the venerable Union League Club on Friday-Saturday, 22-23 July 2016. Mark your calendars. Details to follow when available. Contact President-Elect Jeffery Schaff with your agenda suggestions.
Lastly, new members are the plasma that re-invigorates SER’s lifeblood. The approval process has been streamlined, so please be on the lookout for qualified candidates. For membership questions, please contact our new membership chair, Past President Richard Leisner.
Respectfully, Bruce Foerster
Helpful Links
Website Statistics
October had the highest traffic this year in all three categories!
Members: To submit a news item to the Newsroom, first log in, then return to this page and press the button that will appear here.
