Ryan K. Bakhtiari

Mr. Bakhtiari represents clients in securities disputes before FINRA (NASD, NYSE), state and federal courts. In June 2019, Mr. Bakhtiari was nominated to serve as a public member of the Discovery Task Force Committee (DTFC) of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) which is the advisory group, established in conjunction with a directive from the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission that reviews substantive issues relating to discovery in arbitration proceedings that are conducted under the auspices of the FINRA Code of Arbitration Procedure.

In June 2013, Mr. Bakhtiari was named Chairman of the National Arbitration and Mediation Committee (“NAMC”) of FINRA. The NAMC is an advisory group that makes recommendations on rules, regulations and procedures governing FINRA arbitration, mediation and dispute resolution.

In June 2011, Mr. Bakhtiari was nominated to serve as a public member of the Nasdaq OMX BX Arbitration Committee, which is the advisory group that provides recommendations on rules, regulations and procedures governing arbitrations, mediations and dispute resolution for the Nasdaq and Boston Stock Exchanges.

In 2009, Mr. Bakhtiari was nominated to serve as a public member of the National Arbitration and Mediation Committee of FINRA.

Mr. Bakhtiari served on the Board of Directors of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA) from 2008 to 2013 and served as President for the 2011 to 2012 term. PIABA is a nationwide organization of securities lawyers that represent investors in disputes with the financial service industry.

Mr. Bakhtiari served on the faculty of the Practicing Law Institute (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020), the New York City Bar Association’s presentation of Securities Arbitration and Mediation Hot Topics (2012) and has spoken at the FINRA Annual Conference (2012 and 2014) on the topic of securities arbitration. Mr. Bakhtiari is a past member of the board of editors, managing editor of the PIABA Bar Journal and edited the “Recent Arbitration Awards” column covering significant NASD and NYSE arbitration awards. Mr. Bakhtiari has spoken at the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association annual meeting, California mid-year meeting, authored and co-authored several articles. He was a teaching assistant and extern to the Honorable James N. Barr, United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Central District of California and presently serves as a FINRA securities arbitrator.

In addressing investors right’s issues, Mr. Bakhtiari has been quoted by the press in publications that include the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, Reuters, Dow Jones Business News, NY Post, Los Angeles Business Journal, The American Banker and Cleveland Plains Dealer.

Mr. Bakhtiari was recognized from 2014 to 2024 as a Southern California Super Lawyer. Between 2005 and 2013 he was recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyer Rising Star. He has litigated the following cases which resulted in published opinions:

Hosier, et al. v. Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 146670 (D. Colo. December 21, 2011): Confirmation of $54.1 million arbitration award, including punitive damages and attorneys fees.
Maria Brezden, et al. v. Associated Securities Corp, et al., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49557 (C.D. Cal. 2009): Petition to Vacate $8.9 million arbitration award successfully denied.
Coutee v. Barington Capital Group, LP, 336 F.3d 1128 (9th Cir. 2003): Confirmation of arbitration award of punitive damages and attorneys fees.
Goodman v. CIBC Oppenheimer & Co., 131 F. Supp. 2d 1180 (C.D. Cal. 2001): Federal Arbitration Act does not provide an independent basis for federal subject matter jurisdiction.

Education

B.A. – University of California Los Angeles, 1995
J.D. – Southwestern University School of Law, 1998
Journal of Law and Trade in the Americas, Lead Articles Editor

Bar Admissions

California, 1998
United States District Court Central District California, 1998
District of Columbia, 1999
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 1999
United States District Court Northern District California, 2000
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2000
Texas, 2004
New York, 2005
United States District Court for the District of Colorado, 2011
United States District Court Eastern District of California, 2013
United States District Court Southern District of New York, 2015

Publications

Trends in Preventing Senior Financial Abuse: PLI Current: White Collar Practice Journal, Vol.2, No.1 (September 2019)
Post-Settlement Expungements: An Investor Protection Problem That Continues To Wait For a FINRA Solution: Practicing Law Institute Securities Arbitration Handbook (2017)
The 20-Day Exchange: Identification of Expert Witnesses: The Neutral Corner (Volume 2 – 2016)
The Use of Third Party Subpoenas to Determine a Brokerage Firm’s Pre-Hiring Due Diligence and Post-Hiring Supervision: Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (2015)
Confidentiality in the FINRA Forum: Practicing Law Institute Securities Arbitration Handbook (2015)
Market Adjusted Damages in the FINRA Forum: PIABA Bar Journal, Volume 21, No. 2 (2014), reprinted in the Consumer Attorneys Associations for Southern California Advocate (April 2016)
The Time for a Uniform Fiduciary Duty Is Now: St. John’s Law Review, Vol. 87: Iss. 2 & 3, 313 (2013)
FINRA Six-Year Eligibility Rule 12206: The Purchase Date is Often Not the Triggering “Occurrence or Event Giving Rise to a Claim.”: Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (2013)
Discoverability of Wells Submissions: What They Are And How To Get Them: Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (2012)
Discovery of Regulatory Documents: Debunking the Myth of the “SEC” Privilege in Securities Arbitration: Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (2011)
Arbitrators Misclassified: Looking Back to Move Forward: Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (2011)
The Prospectus Defense: Defeating It As A Matter of Fact and Law: Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (2009)
The Credit Crisis Glossary: Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (2008)
From Wall Street to Main Street: A Guide To Litigation Over Hedge Funds Sold by Brokerage Firms to Retail Investors: Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (2005)
Supervising Retail Customer Accounts: Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (2005)
Practice Pointers For Trying the Variable Annuity Case: Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (2004)
Governing Law Clauses in Customer Agreements: Public Investors Bar Association (2003)
Arbitration: Can It Be Waived?: Practicing Law Institute Securities Arbitration Handbook (2002)
2001: An Update On Best Execution and Suitability Standards For Online Trading: Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (2001)
Selective Recission and the Offset Defense in Securities Cases: A Survey of the Law: Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (2000)
Motion Practice in Securities Arbitration: A Claimant’s Point of View: Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (1999)
Why Shouldn’t Clearing Firms be Liable: Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (1998)
Clearing Firm Liability: A Forward Looking Analysis: Practicing Law Institute Securities Arbitration Handbook (1998)
Liability of Control Persons at Second Tier Firms: Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (1997)
Control Person Liability in the Securities Industry: A Legal Overview and Practical Applications: Practicing Law Institute Securities Arbitration Handbook (1997)