Haselkorn & Thibaut Investment Fraud Lawyers Guide

Learn how Haselkorn & Thibaut helps investors recover losses from broker misconduct through FINRA arbitration. Free case review, no fee unless you recover.

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TL;DR: If broker misconduct, unsuitable products, or fraud damaged your account, your main recovery path is usually FINRA arbitration within a tight eligibility window. Haselkorn & Thibaut is a national investor-side firm led by former defense lawyers Jason Haselkorn and Matthew Thibaut, reporting strong firm-level results, contingency fees for most cases, and deep work in complex products. Verify licenses, gather statements, and get a specialist review before the six-year clock—or a shorter statute—runs out. No article replaces a case-specific legal consultation.

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You trusted a broker. The statements looked fine—until the balance dropped and no one could explain why. That sick feeling is familiar to thousands of investors every year. Market risk is one thing. Misconduct is another.

When unsuitable products, unauthorized trades, or outright fraud wipe out savings, the path back is rarely obvious. Most brokerage agreements push disputes into FINRA arbitration, not court. Deadlines are short. Defense firms know the playbook.

Haselkorn & Thibaut is a national securities litigation firm built for exactly these cases—former Wall Street defense lawyers who now fight for investors on a no-recovery, no-fee basis. This guide walks through what the firm does, how recovery works, and what you should check before you hire anyone.

Quick Answer

Haselkorn & Thibaut is a national investment fraud and securities litigation firm. Founding partners Jason Haselkorn and Matthew Thibaut are former Wall Street defense lawyers and previously licensed brokers. The firm reports an approximately 98% success rate across hundreds of FINRA arbitrations and court matters, more than 95 years of combined securities experience, and involvement in over $520 million in securities-related cases. Most investor cases run on contingency: no attorney fee unless funds are recovered.

What Is Haselkorn & Thibaut?

Haselkorn & Thibaut, P.A. (operating as Investment Fraud Lawyers) is a securities fraud and investment-loss recovery firm that represents individual investors, families, trusts, and entities against broker-dealers and financial advisors. The practice centers on FINRA arbitration and related litigation for broker misconduct, unsuitable recommendations, churning, unauthorized trading, breach of fiduciary duty, Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) failures, elder financial abuse, and complex product losses such as non-traded REITs, private placements, structured notes, variable annuities, and Ponzi-type schemes. Offices are in Florida, New York, Arizona, Texas, and North Carolina, with nationwide client representation.

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Who the Firm Is and Why Background Matters

Jason S. Haselkorn and Matthew R. Thibaut founded the firm after years on the defense side of securities matters and as licensed securities brokers. That dual background matters. They know how brokerage compliance departments document files, how supervisory failures get papered over, and how defense counsel attacks damages and suitability. Investors often hire plaintiff firms that have never sat on the other side of the table. Here, the reverse is the point.

Public materials describe roughly 95+ years of combined securities law experience, Super Lawyers recognition in securities litigation, Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent honors, top-2% peer-review ranking language, and 5-star client feedback patterns. The firm has been involved in more than $520 million in securities-related cases and cites an approximately 98% success rate across hundreds of FINRA arbitrations and court cases. Success rates are firm-reported; individual results always depend on facts, documents, and panel composition.

Recent public examples include a $1.28 million award against Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC involving structured notes (FINRA Case Nos. 24-00571 and 23-03560), and work connected to products and firms that later faced heavy regulatory or criminal scrutiny—such as GPB Capital-related investor losses and other complex private placements. Active dockets have included DST and other alternative-product matters. Case numbers, when cited, are generally verifiable through FINRA’s public arbitration tools.

Summary box: Former defense lawyers turned investor advocates; contingency model; multi-state offices; focus on FINRA and complex product losses. Verify any award or CRD detail yourself on FINRA and state bar sites.

Types of Cases They Handle

Investment losses alone do not create a claim. The legal theory usually rests on how the product was sold, supervised, or traded—not on market direction alone.

Common claim theories

• Unsuitable investments — Recommendations that ignored age, liquidity needs, risk tolerance, or concentration limits.
• Churning / excessive trading — High turnover mainly to generate commissions.
• Unauthorized trading — Buys or sells without consent.
• Breach of fiduciary duty / Reg BI violations — Putting firm or advisor interest ahead of the client.
• Failure to supervise — Broker-dealer ignored red flags in the advisor’s book.
• Misrepresentation or omission — Material facts about risk, fees, or liquidity left out.
• Elder financial abuse — High-risk products pushed on seniors.
• Ponzi and affinity schemes — Newer money used to pay earlier investors.

Products that show up often

Non-traded REITs, private placements, structured notes, variable annuities, BDCs, limited partnerships, promissory notes, and certain “alternative” income products. Illiquidity and opaque pricing make these fertile ground for suitability and disclosure fights.

Summary box: Market loss ≠ claim. Look for suitability failures, unauthorized activity, supervision gaps, and product opacity. Document statements, emails, and account forms early.

How FINRA Arbitration Works

Almost every retail brokerage agreement contains a pre-dispute arbitration clause. That means your path is usually FINRA Dispute Resolution Services, not a jury trial.

Core timeline facts

Stage	What happens	Typical timing
Filing	Statement of Claim + filing fees via DR Portal	Day 0
Answer	Respondent has 45 days to answer	~1.5 months
Panel selection	1 arbitrator (smaller claims) or 3	Weeks to months
Discovery	Document exchange, motions	Several months
Hearing or settlement	Evidence and testimony, or mediated deal	Settlements often ~12 months; hearings often ~12–16+ months
Award	Binding decision; narrow vacatur grounds	After hearing

FINRA states that if a case settles, arbitration often lasts around one year; if it goes to hearing, roughly 16 months is common. Firm materials sometimes describe many investor matters concluding in a 12–14 month window from filing—consistent with the middle of that range, case-by-case.

Eligibility clock

Under FINRA Rule 12206, a claim generally must be submitted within six years of the occurrence or event giving rise to the claim. Separate state statutes of limitations can be shorter and may still be raised as defenses. Filing in FINRA can toll court statutes while FINRA retains jurisdiction, but waiting is still the enemy.

You can proceed without counsel. Brokerage firms almost always appear with experienced defense counsel. FINRA itself does not recommend specific lawyers; it points investors to bar associations, PIABA, and securities arbitration clinics for smaller claims.

Summary box: Six-year FINRA eligibility rule; shorter state limits possible; most cases settle or resolve in roughly a year to 16 months; representation is optional but the other side will be lawyered up.

Red Flags of Investment Fraud

The SEC’s Investor.gov and FINRA materials repeat the same warning signs for a reason—they keep working on new victims.

• Promises of high returns with little or no risk
• Pressure to “act now” or secrecy
• Unregistered sellers or murky CRD / IAPD records
• Guaranteed returns or “everyone is buying it” pitches
• Complex products the advisor cannot explain in plain English
• Difficulty withdrawing money
• Unsolicited pitches, especially via social apps or gift-card / crypto funding requests
• Account activity you did not authorize

Due diligence steps regulators emphasize

1. Check the person and firm on BrokerCheck (FINRA) and the IAPD (SEC).
2. Confirm registration and disclosures match what you were told.
3. Read the Form CRS / relationship summary.
4. Keep copies of every statement, email, and IPA / subscription document.
5. Ask how the advisor is paid and whether the product pays higher commissions than alternatives.

Summary box: If it sounds risk-free and urgent, slow down. Verify licenses yourself. Save everything.

How to Choose a Securities Fraud Attorney

Hiring the wrong firm wastes the eligibility clock. Use a short, practical screen.

Questions worth asking on the first call

1. How are you paid? Contingency, hourly, hybrid? What costs are you responsible for if you lose?
2. How many FINRA customer cases have you handled—and how many have gone to hearing? Evaluation skill comes from trials and awards, not only settlements.
3. Who will actually handle my file—partners or junior staff?
4. Have you handled this product type (REIT, structured note, private placement, annuity)?
5. What is your realistic damages theory? Out-of-pocket, well-managed account, rescission-style measures—each fits different facts.
6. Any conflicts with the respondent firm?

Signals of a serious investor-side practice

• Deep FINRA arbitration docket, not generic personal injury marketing
• Willingness to explain weaknesses in your case
• Clear written fee agreement
• Ability to discuss supervision claims against the broker-dealer, not only the individual broker
• Verifiable bar status and public award history where available

Haselkorn & Thibaut’s public positioning matches several of these criteria: contingency for most investor cases, former defense experience, multi-office national reach, and product-specific work in alternatives and structured products. Still treat any firm—including this one—as something you verify, not something you assume.

Fee Structure and What “No Recovery, No Fee” Means

Most retail investor cases at plaintiff securities firms run on contingency: the firm’s attorney fee comes from a percentage of amounts recovered. If there is no recovery, you typically owe no attorney fee. That is the model Haselkorn & Thibaut describes for most investor matters, along with free initial case reviews.

Read the engagement letter carefully. Clarify:

• Percentage tiers (settlement vs award after hearing)
• Whether case costs (experts, filing fees, hearing expenses) are advanced and how they are repaid
• What happens if you reject a recommended settlement
• Whether hybrid or hourly options exist for unusual matters

“No recovery, no fee” does not mean the process is free of stress or time. It means the economic risk of attorney fees is aligned with outcome.

Model	When it appears	Investor cash outlay up front	Typical fit
Pure contingency	Most retail investor FINRA claims	Usually low / none for fees	Clear damages, collectible respondent
Hybrid	Complex or partial defense-side issues	Some fees + reduced contingency	Mixed risk cases
Hourly	Business disputes, unique litigation	Ongoing bills	Entities, non-standard forums

Summary box: Contingency aligns incentives. Always get the percentage, cost treatment, and termination terms in writing before signing.

What Most People Misunderstand

Community threads on investor forums and public Q&A keep circling the same misconceptions.

“The market went down, so I have no case.”
Wrong frame. Panels look at process: suitability, disclosure, authorization, and supervision. A declining market can magnify damages from a bad recommendation; it does not automatically erase misconduct.

“FINRA always sides with the industry.”
FINRA is an industry self-regulator, and that creates skepticism. Outcomes still turn on documents, credibility, and damages proof. Many customer cases settle; awards go both ways. Treating the forum as hopeless leads people to miss filing windows.

“I can wait until I feel ready.”
Rule 12206’s six-year eligibility limit and shorter state statutes do not care about emotional readiness. Statements get harder to reconstruct. Advisors change firms. Memories fade.

“Any lawyer who runs ads for investment loss is the same.”
Volume marketers and deep securities specialists are not interchangeable. Hearing experience, product knowledge, and damages modeling separate them.

“If I complain to the SEC or FINRA, they will get my money back.”
Regulatory tips can lead to enforcement, fines, or industry bars. They are not a private damages lawsuit. Recovery usually requires arbitration, mediation, court (when available), or, in limited situations, SIPC or restitution processes.

Common Mistakes

• Throwing away statements, emails, or risk questionnaires
• Confronting the advisor in a way that produces only self-serving “clarifications” without counsel
• Signing a release or “goodwill” settlement without understanding claim value
• Hiring based solely on billboard or PPC ads without checking BrokerCheck and bar records
• Focusing only on the individual broker and ignoring the firm’s failure-to-supervise angle
• Waiting for a criminal case to finish before filing a civil/arbitration claim
• Assuming “guaranteed” recovery percentages in marketing copy apply to every fact pattern

What Experienced Claimants Recommend

Across investor-advocate discussions and practitioner guidance, the consensus advice is practical:

• Pull your own BrokerCheck and account documents first.
• Get a second opinion if the first firm dismisses you in five minutes without reading statements.
• Prefer lawyers who talk about weaknesses as openly as strengths.
• Ask for a written case theory within a defined review period.
• Keep emotions out of the damages number; panels respond to records.
• If losses are small, look at FINRA simplified arbitration or law-school securities clinics.

Comparison: FINRA Arbitration vs Court Litigation

Factor	FINRA arbitration	Court litigation
Access	Usually required by customer agreement	Often blocked by arbitration clause
Decision-maker	1 or 3 arbitrators	Judge / jury
Speed	Often ~12–16 months	Often longer
Cost	Generally lower than full litigation	Higher discovery and motion practice
Privacy	More private; awards public in limited form	More public dockets
Appeal	Very limited	Broader appellate rights
Rules	FINRA Code of Arbitration Procedure	Federal/state rules of civil procedure

For most retail brokerage disputes, arbitration is not a choice—it is the forum. The skill is using that forum well.

People Also Ask

How long do I have to file a FINRA claim?

Generally six years from the occurrence or event under FINRA Rule 12206. State statutes of limitations may be shorter and can still be asserted. Contact counsel promptly; do not rely on the outer six-year edge.

Do I need a lawyer for FINRA arbitration?

Not required, but strongly advisable. Firms almost always appear with counsel. FINRA provides attorney-finding resources and clinic options for qualifying smaller claims.

What is the success rate for investment fraud cases?

There is no single industry-wide success rate. Outcomes depend on facts, documents, product type, respondent solvency, and panel. Haselkorn & Thibaut publicly cites an approximately 98% success rate across its own hundreds of matters; treat that as firm-reported, not a guarantee for your case.

Can I recover losses if my broker left the industry?

Often yes. Claims frequently name the broker-dealer that supervised the account. Individual brokers may still be respondents. Collectibility and insurance/supervision facts matter.

How much does an investment fraud lawyer cost?

Many investor firms, including Haselkorn & Thibaut for most client matters, work on contingency with no attorney fee unless there is a recovery. Always confirm cost advances and percentages in writing.

What documents should I gather before a free case review?

Account statements, new-account forms, IPS or risk questionnaires, emails/texts with the advisor, offering documents, confirmations of unauthorized trades, and a simple timeline of when you invested and when you learned of problems.

Is FINRA arbitration faster than court?

Usually yes. FINRA indicates settlements often around one year and hearings around 16 months, versus multi-year court tracks in many jurisdictions.

What if I only lost money because the market fell?

Pure market loss without misconduct is generally not recoverable. If the product was unsuitable, misrepresented, churned, or unsupervised, market decline can still sit on top of a viable claim.

FAQ

Key Takeaways

• FINRA Rule 12206 generally caps eligibility at six years; shorter statutes may apply.
• Most brokerage disputes belong in arbitration, not a jury trial.
• Unsuitability, churning, unauthorized trading, and failure to supervise are core theories—not “the market fell.”
• Contingency fees align cost with recovery; read cost provisions carefully.
• BrokerCheck and Investor.gov are free first-line tools.
• Former defense experience can be a real advantage in plaintiff FINRA work.
• Firm success rates are not guarantees for your facts.
• Save statements, emails, and offering docs before you confront anyone.

Investment losses hurt twice: once in the account, and again when you realize the “process” was stacked with fine print and industry procedure. The good news is that FINRA arbitration, used well, can be faster and more focused than court. The bad news is that deadlines and proof standards do not bend for hesitation.

A firm like Haselkorn & Thibaut exists for investors who need counsel that already understands how broker-dealers defend these files. Use the free review, ask hard questions, and measure any lawyer—including this one—by clarity, hearing experience, and written terms. Your next step is documentation and a timely call, not another month of hoping the statement rebounds on its own.