Samuel B. Edwards

Sam Edwards is a partner at SSEK and has developed a wide-ranging practice representing individuals and institutions from the United States and almost every continent in the world in investment and financial disputes. Over the last decade, that representation has included hundreds of clients who range from retirees that have lost their life savings, to community banks and credit unions who have been defrauded by Wall Street in investment schemes or bad products, to states and municipalities defrauded by investment banks.

The cases Mr. Edwards has worked on include claims for unsuitable investment recommendations, churning, misrepresentations and outright fraud. The investments involved have varied from simple stocks and bonds to more complicated annuities, options and futures to even extremely complex derivatives such as structured products, CMOs, IOs, Inverse IOs, CDOs, CLOs, synthetic CDOs, Credit Default Swaps and hedge funds. Mr. Edwards has represented clients before FINRA (previously NASD and the NYSE), AAA and JAMS arbitration panels, as well as state and federal courts all around the country.

Mr. Edwards is an active member of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (“PIABA”), working with attorneys across the nation to protect investor rights. He is currently a member of the PIABA Board of Directors and was the previous editor and chief of the PIABA Bar Journal where he is also a regular contributing author. Along with the PIABA Bar Journal, Mr. Edwards’ articles have been published in the Practicing Law Institute’s handbooks for securities and a number of other resources. Mr. Edwards is also a frequent lecturer on all issues related to investment disputes and securities law, helping to train attorneys nationwide to represent wronged investors.

Georgetown University Law Center

LL.M. (2015) | Securities Law & Financial Regulation

Honors: With distinction, Thomas B. Chetwood S.J. Prize

University of Houston Law Center

J.D. (2001)

Honors: cum laude

University of Texas - Austin

B.A. (1998) | Political Science & Government

Partner

Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

2001 - Current

USA Securities Fraud site

Past Editor & Chief

PIABA Bar Journal

Tips From Practitioners - What are common issues that come up in arbitration?, FINRA - Spring 2018 Neutral Workshop

2018

Handling Motions to Vacate, Eligibily Motions and Statutes of Limitations in FINRA Arbitration Cases and Related Court Proceedings, PIABA Annual Meeting, Austin, Texas

2019

10.0 Superb Rating

Avvo

2024

Super Lawyer

Super Lawyers

2023

2018-2023

500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers

Lawdragon

2022

Rising Star

Super Lawyers

2014

2008-2011, 2013-2104

Michigan State Bar  # P72583

Member

2009 - Current

California State Bar  # 237500

Member

2005 - Current

Public Investors Arbitration Association (PIABA)

Member

2002 - Current

Activities: Past President, Board of Directors; Former Editor-in-Chief of the PIABA Bar Journal

State Bar of Texas

Member

2001 - Current

California

Since 2005

Michigan

Since 2009

Texas

Since 2001

5th Circuit

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern & Southern Districts of Texas

• Free Consultation
• Contingent Fees

• Broker Misconduct

Q. I worked for a national company that lies to everyone. I have an arbitration clause in my contract. Can I do anything?

June 29, 2023

A: Where the arbitration agreement in your employment contract is an impediment depends on what you want to do. To the extent you want to sue the company for back wages or any other employment issue, the arbitration agreement would likely require that the claims be asserted in arbitration, rather than in court. However, that would depend on the actual language in the arbitration agreement and what it covers. To the extent you wanted to help customers/former customers bring claims, the arbitration agreement likely would not have any impact on those cases as most arbitration agreements only bind you to bring claims that you assert on your behalf in arbitration, rather than court. They do not impact the claims of others who did not sign the arbitration agreement. There could be other limiting agreements that you have, such as some sort of a non-disclosure agreement, that could impact your ability to help others bring claims. But, those agreements are not typically enforceable if fraud is involved. ... Read More

Q. Why are financial advisors still able to steal an elderly persons money and victims are not encouraged to press charges

February 26, 2023

A: Financial advisors are certainly not allowed to steal or wrongfully lose their client's money. There is currently a big emphasis on trying to protect elderly investors, who are often the target of scam artists. There are potentially a number of criminal violations that could apply to your mother's situation, but none of those are likely to help recover your mother's money. At best, that puts the wrongdoer in jail, but criminal authorities almost never do anything to recover wrongful losses. If the goal is to help your mother recover money and help provide for her retirement (and possibly your inheritance), I would recommend your mother seek a civil remedy. That is, she needs to sue the advisor and his or her firm (there could also be some other third parties that have potential liability) for damages. If the advisor truly stole the money, rather than just making bad investments, the advisor rarely has money and assets you can use to collect and insurance almost surely will not help either, so knowing who you can try to recover from is vitally important. There are also often limitations on the forum where an investor can sue their financial advisor, which makes a big difference as suing someone in court versus suing in a specialized forum for investor complaints is entirely different. My firm focusses exclusively on representing investors against financial advisors, brokerage firms and other financial institutions. We would be happy to review your mother's situation and let you know the best options. I am licensed to practice law in California, but my firm and I represent investors all across the nation.

Please reach out to me for a free consultation if you want to talk about options for your mothers.

Sam ... Read More

Q. My dominant hand and about a quarter of my forearm was cut off at work. How much of a settlement should I expect ?

November 28, 2022

A: I am very sorry to hear about your terrible injury. The answer as to the value of a personal injury case like this is very fact dependent and absolutely not something you should try and negotiate on your own. I would not submit to an arbitration or a mediation without an attorney as you will be at an extreme disadvantage. Your situation is serious enough that you absolutely should have a qualified attorney willing to help you with no upfront cost and a reasonable contingency. If you would like to discuss, please reach out to me and I will do my best to guide you in the right direction.