Law and legal issues

Merrill had sought a temporary restraining order to prevent members of a large Atlanta-based team who left last week from soliciting former clients for their new firm.

UBS contends a group of advisors who left this month to form an RIA inherited most of their clients from retired advisors who were counting on being paid from their former books of business.

Also this month in our disciplinary digest, a now-barred 'problem broker' for Stifel lands his former firm another hefty settlement, and an advisor is accused of fraud for trying to poach clients from his old firm.

In a lengthy court reply, advisors who left Merrill this week to form an RIA with Dynasty Financial Partners accuse Merrill of "bad faith" for putting them on administrative leave and failing to reinvest in their business.

Merrill accuses industry rivals of conspiring with a group of former employees to remove confidential client information and trade secrets for the formation of a new RIA.

Attorneys and other compliance experts say it's important that financial advisors greet any type of negative feedback with a thoughtful response — especially if it could turn into a legal matter.

In its third suit in as many months, JPMorgan is accusing a former advisor of using its banking referrals to build a book of business and then trying to abscond with those clients to a rival firm.

Raymond James accuses the widower of an advisor of using data stored on his wife's company-issued computer to solicit clients for a rival firm.

In an opinion sought by Morgan Stanley, the Department of Labor finds the firm's deferred compensation "appears to be a bonus program" used to reward loyalty and good behavior and not a retirement benefit.

Errors and omissions policies may not represent the most exciting aspect of launching an advisory firm, but experts say custodians often require firms to purchase this and other insurance.

Vanguard was accused of giving advisors incentives to enroll clients in certain financial service without disclosing how they were being compensated.

Citi wealth head Andy Sieg went on Fox Business to deny allegations about workplace misbehavior. Industry experts say that's a good sign he's going to stick around, at least for a while.

Also this month in our disciplinary digest, a frequent CNBC analyst is sentenced to five years in prison for defrauding investors, and a former Fidelity advisor faced charges after borrowing millions from clients.

Recruiters say firms routinely cover advisors' lost deferred compensation in offer packages. Those deals are complicating efforts by advisors who contend they're still owed backpay.

Stanley Tulin and his wife, Riki, say they were deprived of more than $19 million by a scam run by their former investment advisors. And JPMorgan, they argue in a lawsuit, could have prevented the whole thing.

The mega bank had tried to resist going before FINRA arbitrators by arguing its brokerage unit wasn't involved in an $8.4 million fraud scheme. The victim and a federal judge disagreed.

A group of former Ameriprise brokers argue they had no say in a court agreement requiring them to hand over their cell phones and other devices to a third-party forensic examiner.

The win for Morgan Stanley comes after a recent string of victories against brokers who left for rival firms. But as the outcome in the JPMorgan case shows, firms don't always prevail.

The SEC's $1.8B off-channel communications crackdown shows how paused protocols can lead to crisis.

Chuck Roberts, whose recommendations of structured notes landed the St. Louis firm a nearly $133 million arbitration award, was kicked out of the industry after ceasing to cooperate with a regulatory investigation.