Friday, January 29, 2010

FINRA Announces Grant to Establish Legal Clinics for Disadvantaged Investors

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has announced the award of $1 million in grants split among four law schools. Each $250,000 award will go towards launching legal clinics to provide aid to disadvantaged investors involved in securities disputes. Currently, many investors who file small claims find law firms unwilling or unable to represent them. However, even those that do find counsel sometimes hit with prohibitive hourly costs. The four new law clinics will work with such investors to fill this gap in legal services. Pepperdine University School of Law, a Los Angeles area school, is one such recipient of FINRA funds.

The four schools were chosen in part because of their willingness to not only launch this program, but to maintain the clinics past the three year grant period. Further, they have demonstrated a commitment to investor education and outreach in their respective communities. This is the third iteration of FINRA’s clinic grant program, the first recipient being Northwestern University School of Law in 2004 and the second recipient being an established clinic at Pace Law School in 2006.

To view the official press release, please click here.

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