The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is taking new steps to address a longstanding problem: the financial exploitation of seniors.

U.S. residents aged 65 and over control a large share of the country’s total investable assets. Senior investors’ wealth, among other factors, makes them a target for financial abuse and exploitation. But surprisingly, knowledgeable investors may be victimized more than the financially illiterate.

1 in 5  seniors have been the victim of financial fraud.

As a growing number of states legalize marijuana for medicinal and recreational purposes, the “green gold rush” is luring investors with the promise of high returns.

Fraudsters are manipulating some marijuana stocks

A recent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) complaint against a marijuana company, however, highlights the potential risks involving investments in marijuana-related companies.

The concept that financial advisers should put their clients’ financial interests above their own doesn’t seem very controversial, but the financial industry has fought back against a Department of Labor fiduciary rule that would codify a stronger standard of care owed to retirement account investors by their advisers.

The rule protects investors against conflicted investments.

Business owners don’t need to be told the importance of protecting their tangible assets. However, there is often a knowledge gap concerning the protection of intangible assets such as intellectual property (IP).

Securing intellectual property is crucial for anyone who creates original works, products, or brands. Litigation frequently arises over copyright piracy, trademark counterfeiting, patent infringement, and other intellectual property disputes, especially in the modern context of the internet and global markets.

Federal procedural changes and market forces are reshaping legal norms, resulting in clients unbundling legal services and reduced attorney authority, according to a new academic paper.

Most lawsuits are complex and involve a great investment of time and resources to see through to completion. One of the most complex scenarios is deciding whether it is possible to file a lawsuit against an entity or individual that files for bankruptcy protection, or whether it is possible to continue to pursue an existing lawsuit.

The answer to that question varies, but it helps to first understand the processes involved in a bankruptcy proceeding.

Widespread financial adviser misconduct costs investors hundreds of millions of dollars per year, new research shows.

The first ever large-scale study of misconduct by financials advisers and financial advisory firms finds that bad behavior tends to cluster around repeat offenders at an individual and an organizational level, with many advisers who get fired for misconduct landing at large firms with high misconduct rates. This concentration, the authors suggest, is not the result of random mistakes, but of firms targeting vulnerable customers.

An increasing number of prevailing patent litigants are seeking—and receiving—attorneys’ fees due to a 2014 Supreme Court ruling that replaced a stricter fee-shifting (“loser pays”) requirement with a more discretionary standard. That same ruling is expected to also produce an uptick in fees awarded to trademark dispute winners.

Unfortunately, an all too common issue for contractors is what to do if they are not paid the full amount they are owed for their work—even when the contract was properly and fully performed.

On the surface, reneging on promises would appear to be bad business, not only from a conscientious standpoint, but also because burning bridges can make it difficult to conduct future business.

Businesspeople may renege on promises simply because they can get away with it.

In a society where legal arcana is creeping ever further into our everyday lives—with everything from credit card applications, to renter’s agreements, to employment contracts containing complex language that’s nearly impossible for non-lawyers to understand—access to legal representation is less a luxury than a necessity.