Services

Thornapple provides expert witness services without predisposition toward either Claimant/Plaintiff or Respondent/Defendant. Any reservations as to the merits of a Client’s case are always conveyed to the Client and/or Counsel as a basis of evaluating both the advisability and basis of proceeding with trial or arbitration, and/or as a basis for determining potentially acceptable terms for mediation or settlement of the dispute.

 
 

Clientele:

    • Securities and Exchange Commission (S.E.C.)
    • Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.)
    • State Banking/Insurance/Securities Commissioners & Attorney General
    • Bankruptcy Trustees
    • Individual investors: foreign and U.S.
    • Broker-dealer firms
    • Corporations & LLC’s: both foreign and U.S.
    • Trusts and Estates
    • Beneficiaries, Heirs, Successor Trustees
    • Banks and Savings & Loans
    • Insurance companies: foreign and U.S.
    • Municipal Retirement Funds
    • ERISA pension & profit-sharing plans
    • Investment Advisors and Hedge Funds
    • Exchange Market-makers
    • Religious & charitable organizations

Issues in Dispute:

      • Suitability
      • Churning
      • Misrepresentations
      • Adequacy of risk disclosure
      • Unauthorized trading
      • Prime broker and other clearing arrangements
      • Failure to supervise
      • Abuse of discretion: formal and de facto
      • Fiduciary obligations of investment advisors/broker-dealers
      • Fiduciary matters involving trusts and estates
      • Portfolio management – including tax considerations
      • Trading out of approved strategies/guidelines
      • Options trading, strategies, “programs” and abuse
      • Reg. T, maintenance and porfolio margin
      • Reg. 9, account opening documents, annual review documents
      • Risk-arbitrage
      • Fixed income arbitrage – municipal and corporate
      • Market manipulation
      • Trade allocation and Ponzi schemes – stock, options & futures
      • Futures hedge/speculative margin determination
      • Broker-dealer operations and supervision
      • Derivative securities valuation
      • Failure to execute

Investment Instruments Covered:

      • Exchange listed options on stocks and stock indices
      • Options on financial futures and foreign currencies
      • Exchange-listed & over-the-counter (OTC) stocks
      • Preferred stocks – fixed, adjustable, variable, auction – U.S. and foreign
      • Stock subject to Rule 144 and/or lock-up agreements
      • Warrants, ISO’s and Unregistered Options
      • OTC “designer” options : digital (binary), kick-out (ratchet, knock-out)
      • Convertible Securities – bonds and preferred stock
      • Foreign Currencies: future, options and forward contracts, ISDA Swap agreements
      • Corporate and Government Bonds
      • Municipal Bonds and municipal bond arbitrage
      • Auction and remarketed Debt and Preferred Securities
      • Futures/Forward contracts – to include inter-bank forward currency contracts
      • OTC Collars, “Liquidity” Contracts, Prepaid Cash Forward Contracts
      • Limited Partnerships
      • Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (CMOs), CDOs
      • Commodities futures and options

Testimonial Forums:

    • FINRA Arbitration
    • New York Stock Exchange Arbitration
    • American Stock Exchange Arbitration
    • Chicago Board Options Exchange Arbitration
    • National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) Arbitration
    • American Arbitration Association (AAA)
    • JAMS (Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services)
    • National Futures Association
    • New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX)
    • United States Federal Court
    • United States Federal Bankruptcy Court
    • United States Tax Court
    • State Courts
    • S.E.C. Administrative Proceedings
    • NASD Disciplinary Hearing
    • New York Stock Exchange Disciplinary Hearing
    • Canadian Provincial Court