The exclamation mark is ours, but as of May 4 "FINRA Dispute Resolution Services," is the new formal name of what we knew as the “FINRA Office of Dispute Resolution," or "ODR" or "DR" in Washington-speak.
New Name Better Reflects Role
The change, according to Rick Berry, FINRA Executive Vice President and Director of Dispute Resolution, will hopefully reflect better to the outside world that his Office administers, rather than resolves, disputes -- an obvious distinction to those in arbitration practice, but one that can be confusing to others, including investors and, even, the general media (ed: How many times have we seen headlines, announcing "fines" by FINRA, when a large Award by independent arbitrators is the real subject?). Mr. Berry also told the Alert that we can expect to see a change in the FINRA Award template in coming days directed towards reinforcing the fact that party-selected neutrals, not FINRA, are the architects and authors of the Award decision. The new name is already reflected in the forum’s Website landing page
(ed: FINRA insiders (not Mr. Berry) also tell us that the name change aptly acknowledges, too, the many comments received from constituents about the service-oriented style and user-friendly attitude at the FINRA Unit. Incidentally, dropping the word "Office," we're told, implies no change at all regarding the new Unit's place within the FINRA organization. Mr. Berry's direct reports, the staff and the structure and responsibilities of the new Services Unit, remain the same.)
