Dear Clients, Colleagues, and Friends:
We wish you the very best for a joy-filled holiday season and health in the new year.
As this trying year ends, we wanted to take a moment to thank you for your support, encouragement, and trust. We couldn’t have launched our securities arbitration law firm without you. After helping investors recover investment losses in over 1,000 cases over the past decade, we decided to open our own law practice, Iorio Altamirano LLP, with one key goal in mind: to do things differently, better. To guide this journey, we committed to our core values of grit, integrity, and excellence. We put these traits to use with the belief that every client deserves to be represented zealously and ethically and that every colleague, opposing party, and client deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
Although 2020 brought many challenges, we will also remember it as a year of new beginnings and growth. A month after the launch of Iorio Altamirano LLP, we were blessed with the birth of August’s second son, Jackson. We, too, are forever grateful to the individuals and institutions that exhibited their trust and confidence in us by retaining our firm to help them recover investment losses.
The new year brings renewed hope and opportunities. We look forward to the new relationships we will forge in 2021, with clients and colleagues alike. One of our primary goals in 2021 is to grow and expand our attorney referral program as we continue to search for partners, collaborators, and co-counsel across the country. Our firm primarily represents investors nationwide who have suffered investment losses due to wrongful conduct by financial advisors and brokerage firms. We also represent employees or former employees in disputes against brokerage firms.
To read more about our firm’s achievements and personal life events in 2020, check out our latest blog post, Iorio Altamirano LLP 2020 Highlights, which includes interviews with Partners August Iorio and Jorge Altamirano.
Iorio Altamirano LLP’s 2020 Highlights:
- Firm Launch: After helping investors recover investment losses in over 1,000 cases over the past decade, partners August Iorio and Jorge Altamirano opened Iorio Altamirano LLP, a boutique law firm located in the heart of New York City, in September 2020.
- Aggrieved Investors Hire Iorio Altamirano LLP: Iorio Altamirano LLP’s primary focus is to help investors recover investment losses. Iorio Altamirano LLP has been hired by numerous individuals and institutions to help recover financial losses arising out of wrongful conduct by their financial advisors and brokerage firms.
- Employment Disputes: Iorio Altamirano LLP has also been retained by a financial advisor to represent him in a dispute with his past employer, a large broker-dealer.
- Attorney Referral Program: Iorio Altamirano LLP launched an attorney referral program in search of partners, collaborators, and co-counsel across the country to work with.
Partner Interviews:
Three Questions for Partner August Iorio:
Question: In many ways, 2020 has been a challenging year; how have you coped with the challenges?
Answer: This past year has been extremely challenging for most people, and I pray for a better 2021. For me, in 2020, I tried to focus on the things that I can control. To be honest, I probably did not make things easier on myself. Earlier this year, we purchased a house in the suburbs of New York City and made the transition from city life, or what was left of it at the time due to the Coronavirus pandemic, to life in the suburbs. We then spent months renovating the house, mostly by ourselves and with the help of family. Shortly after, we launched Iorio Altamirano LLP and welcomed our second son, Jackson. It has been quite a year!
Question: How did you become a lawyer who represents investors?
Answer: Luck? I do not know. I have always wanted to be a lawyer, and although I was always interested in litigation, I never thought that I would be a securities arbitration lawyer. To be honest, I knew nothing about the practice.
After I got my Bachelor of Science degree in finance from Pennsylvania State University, I moved to Seattle to work for The Boeing Company. While working for Boeing, first in finance roles and then in the law department, I attended law school in the evenings. After I graduated from law school, I decided it was the best time to move back East and applied for jobs as I studied for the bar exam. I was fortunate to find a job at a securities arbitration law firm in New York City. I worked hard, learned the practice, and enjoyed helping people.
I look forward to continuing that work with my partner Jorge Altamirano, and through our firm, Iorio Altamirano LLP.
Question: What are you most looking forward to in 2021?
Answer: Social interaction. I pray that we can beat this virus and get back to interacting with friends, loved ones, and strangers in person. Oh, and the Buffalo Bills winning the Super Bowl!
Three Questions for Partner Jorge Altamirano:
Question: What are the lessons from 2020?
Answer: The biggest lesson for me is that health, family, and friends are what matters most. The other lesson is to stay resilient and keep pushing forward. We have all been able to find some moments of joy in this challenging year by leaning on loved ones, but the reality is that everyone has had to adapt, and it has not been comfortable or easy for a lot of people.
As a firm, I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish in such a short period of time, and to say that we successfully launched our law firm in 2020, in the midst of a pandemic, is a badge of honor. On a personal level, I focused on my growth. I was happy to be accepted to a trial program with the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, perfected a couple of recipes, and read a few books. Living in Brooklyn through the worst of the pandemic, I enjoyed the renewed sense of community that you saw everywhere. Whole neighborhoods coming together every night at 7 PM to applaud from their windows and give thanks to healthcare workers and first responders was a highlight.
Question: How would you describe your law firm, and what sets you apart from others?
Answer: One word comes to mind: service. We are a client-focused law firm, and to me, this means going above and beyond for our clients. This is not limited to providing an update when they call but diligently working the case, and more importantly, providing each case the time and effort it deserves. Moreover, our work ethic and experience handling FINRA arbitration claims positions us to provide thoughtful, forward-thinking advice that is tailored to each client’s specific needs and interests. We aim to do this from the get-go. We recognize that we are the client’s partners – that they rely on our advice – and we are upfront about the process, objectives, and expectations early on.
I hope that our firm continues to live up to its core values as our practice continues to grow.
Question: What areas of the legal landscape are you most closely watching in 2021?
Answer: There have been interesting developments out of the SEC. First, I want to see what the $65 million Robinhood settlement with the SEC means for retail investors long term and whether it translates into more claims alleging issues related to payment for order flow.
I am also following the SEC enforcement action against Ripple over its alleged unregistered digital securities offering. FINRA’s own position is that the markets for cryptocurrencies remain highly volatile and risky, but there is no question that many retail and institutional investors are investing in these assets. I expect the Ripple action to have a broader impact on the cryptocurrency landscape for investors.
Finally, I am interested to see how the incoming Biden-Harris administration will refocus its enforcement of Reg BI. There will inevitably be a shift in priorities, and broker-dealers will have to adjust to them. I am curious to see whether it goes a step further, and there are revisions or repeals to the rule.