Financial Services

Koehler Fitzgerald provides a full array of legal services to the financial services industry.

James F. Koehler focuses on complex securities litigation and arbitration, financial institution litigation, regulatory investigations and inquiries, and broker-dealer liability defense, in which he represents brokers, broker-dealers, investment advisors, banks, and insurance companies in claims involving allegations of professional misconduct.

The firm’s lawyers regularly represent broker-dealers, registered investment advisors and associated persons in regulatory compliance and enforcement matters before FINRA, the S.E.C. and various state regulatory authorities. The firm also assists its clients in establishing, reviewing and auditing their compliance and anti-money laundering procedures.

Jim Koehler has decades of experience in defending FINRA Dispute Resolution arbitrations throughout the U.S. for wirehouses, bank-affiliated broker-dealers, and national and regional independent broker-dealers and their employees and agents in matters involving customer claims of fraud, unsuitability, selling-away, breach of fiduciary duty, and violations of federal securities and state blue-sky laws.

The firm’s lawyers have both defended and prosecuted securities class actions and derivative actions involving the 1933 and 1934 Acts, breach of fiduciary duty, and related matters. In addition, Jim Koehler was jointly selected by plaintiffs’ and defense counsel to conduct the administration of the settlement of a national class action involving fraud claims asserted against a large insurance company headquartered in Ohio.

Jim Koehler has represented clients in the preparation and filing of S.E.C. Form 10-Ks, proxy statements and other 1934 Act filings and prepare and counsel clients with respect to private placements and Reg. D filings.

Jim Koehler and Timothy J. Fitzgerald have a broad range of experience in the representation of insurance companies and their agents in coverage actions and in the defense of customer claims in federal and state courts. Tim Fitzgerald is regularly engaged to represent insurers on coverage matters before intermediate appellate courts and before the Ohio Supreme Court.