Practice Areas & Litigation
Securities Arbitration
The firm of Kevin T. Duffy Jr. – Attorneys at Law LLC is uniquely qualified to represent individuals’ claimants, as well as respondents in FINRA and AAA arbitrations. Mr. Duffy represented registered representatives and individuals associated with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith in hundreds of matters filed against that company. Perhaps more importantly, Mr. Duffy was a manager of one of Merrill Lynch’s largest offices in New York City where he held Series 7, 63, 9, 10 and 24 licenses. As such, Mr. Duffy has a deep knowledge of how markets work, and what should or should not happen at a registered broker dealer or investment advisor. Since going into private practice Mr. Duffy has represented scores of individuals and small companies in various claims they might have against their brokers or investment advisors. In one recent case Mr. Duffy successfully had an individual registered representative (stockbroker) permanently banned from the securities business by both FINRA and the SEC before the arbitration commenced. As a result, Mr. Duffy was able to secure a settlement in which his client received all out-of-pocket losses and attorney’s fees.
Employment Litigation and Arbitration
The firm of Kevin T Duffy, Jr. – Attorneys at Law LLC only handles plaintiff or claimant employment matters. The reason is simple. We prefer to represent individuals. Most of our clients in these cases have been either registered individuals (or those working for a registered entity) or medical professionals, primarily doctors or senior management of hospital or health care companies. We have a long history of success representing these types of clients, having filed both civil complaints and arbitrations on behalf of our individual clients.
Estate-Broker Claim
The firm’s principal Kevin T. Duffy, Jr. has represented both plaintiffs/claimants and defendants/respondents in hundreds of matters over the last quarter century. In particular, the firm has unique experience of having represented trusts and estates in actions against registered representatives of broker dealers. These cases have been brought both as arbitrations (usually FINRA) or as lawsuits. In one recent lawsuit, Mr. Duffy successfully represented two individuals’ heirs in an action which sought a pre-judgment remedy (“PJR”) in Connecticut state court against another heir which alleged the fraudulent transfer of assets through the use of a transfer upon death (TOD) document. After an eight-day trial, the court granted a prejudgment remedy in favor of the plaintiffs in the amount of $791,123.00. Chiappone v Brooks and Commonwealth Equity Services, FST CV 20 5023156 S (2020).
EB-5 and Immigration Litigation
The firms and its attorneys do not handle standard immigration matters but rather represent individuals who have been cheated by EB-5 promoters, or for individuals who need assistance in pushing along their EB-1, EB-2 or EB-3 applications, including filing claims in a United States District Court. EB-5 promoters are covered by the United States securities laws and regulations.
SEC Whistleblower
The firm successfully represented individual tipsters in applications for a whistleblower award. In one recent case the SEC awarded the tipster 1.1 million dollars. The matter involved providing a tip and evidence which showed that the tipster’s former employer misused funds to pay personal expenses from corporate funds of a publicly traded company.
White Collar Criminal
The firm’s principal has represented many individuals in cases involving fraud or other “white collar” criminal matters. In one recent notable case, the firm’s principal successfully represented an individual in a civil case arguing that he had received ineffective assistance of counsel in his criminal case. The defendant had been advised to plead guilty before the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, when in fact he had taken no money and received nothing from his actions. Mr. Duffy successfully argued that the implied losses that were attributed to the defendant were actually caused by ensuing activities of the defendant’s former partners. See United States v DiMenna 3:17cr00202 (VAB) District of Connecticut
In another recent matter Mr. Duffy represented an individual in a civil case filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and a companion criminal case filed by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut. Mr. Duffy successfully guided that case through sentencing where he received a sentence significantly below the US Sentencing Commission’s Guidelines range. See United States v Glenn 3:23 cr 171 (RNC) District of Connecticut
In yet another matter, our firm entered a Pro Hac Vice appearance in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey in a case in which a defendant, an attorney, had been advised to plead guilty in which she was accused of participating in bank fraud. Like several of Mr. Duffy’s past cases the defendant had taken no money, nor received any benefit from her purported crimes. Mr. Duffy and his co-counsel managed to convince a US District judge to give a sentence of time served. That defendant is now in the process of getting her law license back.