Robert S. Banks, Jr. Banks Law Office, P.C.

Contact Information

Suite 2135 Wells Fargo Tower
1300 SW Fifth Avenue
Portland, OR 97201

Phone: (503) 222-7475
Toll Free: (800) 647-8130
Fax: (503) 914-1444


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Professional Biography

Bob Banks has been practicing law for 28 years, and has dedicated his career to representing
investors for the last 25 years – a cause he remains passionate about. He and his law firm
represent investors in FINRA arbitrations and court to recover investment losses resulting from
a misrepresentation of risks, negligent portfolio management, and fraud from broker-dealers,
registered investment advisors, securities issuers, hedge funds, and lawyers and accountants who
assist bad actors in perpetrating fraudulent investment scams. His credentials tell the story both
of his dedication to fairness in investment advisory practices and the respect the legal community
has for his work.

Honors

• Selected for inclusion in Oregon Super Lawyers 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011—every year that it has existed in Oregon.
• Recipient, President’s Award, Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA) “For Leadership Efforts In Protecting Investors Throughout the Country”
• Recipient, Distinguished Service Award, Federal Bar Association, Oregon Chapter
• Included in Chambers Best Lawyers In America
• Recipient, Highest Rating, Martindale Hubbell Law Directory

Bar Leadership Positions

• Past President and 9 year board member, Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association
• Chair, Committees on NASAA, Membership for Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association
• Past Chair, Oregon State Bar Securities Regulation Section
• Past Chair, Oregon State Bar Alternative Dispute Resolution Section
• Past President, Federal Bar Association, Oregon Chapter
• Past Chair, FINRA Arbitrator Training Committee Task Force, 2008-2009

Current Board Memberships and Bar Committees

• Member, Board of Directors, American Constitution Society, Oregon Chapter
• Member, American Constitution Society National Federal Judicial Selection Committee
• Member. Amicus Brief Committee, PIABA
• Member, FINRA National Arbitration and Mediation Committee (NAMC)
• Chair, Rules and Procedures Subcommittee for FINRA NAMC

Selected Speaking Engagements

• Speaker, Oregon Trial Lawyers Association Business Litigation Section Meeting, Securities Arbitration Cases, February, 2011
• Guest Lecturer on Brokerage Firm Liability, Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College, Seminar on Advanced Business Law, January, 2011
• Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association 2010 Annual Meeting, Jacksonville, Florida – Selected Developments in Broker-Dealer Arbitration
• Northwest Securities Institute February, 2009 Portland, Oregon – “Recent Developments in Securities Arbitration and Broker Dealer Regulation”
• NASAA (North American Securities Administrators Association) Enforcement Conference, January, 2009 “Trends in Broker-Dealer and Investment Advisor Fraud From The Investor Attorney Perspective
• FINRA Fall Conference, Claimant Representative, Arbitration Panel moderated by FINRA Dispute Resolution President Linda Fienberg (Carlsbad, California October 23, 2008)
• Oregon Law Institute, The Changing Face of Commercial Arbitration, Arbitration DevelopmentsPanel (Portland, Oregon September 26, 2008)
• Oregon State Bar Securities Regulation Section, Portland, Oregon: Houston v. Seward & Kissel, LLP: A New Case On Oregon Blue Sky Laws (April, 2008)
• Oregon State Bar Securities Regulation Section: The Merger of the NASD and NYSE and What It Means For Securities Arbitration and Regulation (Portland, Oregon May, 2007)
• North American Securities Administrators Association: “Private Securities Lawyers and State Regulators Should Work Together” (NASAA Annual Enforcement Conference, Orlando, Florida, January, 2007)
• Practicing Law Institute, Securities Arbitration: Taking Responsibility (Faculty Member)(New York City, August, 2006)
• New York City Bar Association, Recent Developments in Securities Arbitration (West Coast Faculty Representative)(Summer, 2006)
• Oregon State Department of Finance and Corporate Securities, Salem, Oregon, Speaker, NASD Securities Arbitration (Spring, 2006)
• Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association California Mid-Year Meeting, Los Angeles, California “Common Brokerage Firm Defenses” (Spring, 2006)
• Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association Annual Meeting, La Costa, California “Multi Jurisdictional Arbitration Practice in light of Jevne v. Superior Court,” (October, 2005)
• Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association Annual Meeting, Tucson, Arizona, “Welcoming Address” and “NASD Code Rewrite” (October, 2006)

Selected Publications

• Practicing Law Institute, 1 Securities Arbitration 2006 at 225, The NASD’s Explained Awards Rule Filing
• Practicing Law Institute, 1 Securities Arbitration 2003 at 253, Clearing Firms and the 2002 Uniform Securities Act: What You Didn’t Know Could Have Hurt You
• Practicing Law Institute, Securities Arbitration 2001 at 565, Clearing Firms, The Uniform Securities Act, and Koruga v. Fiserv Correspondent Services, Inc.
• Practicing Law Institute, Securities Arbitration 2000 at 995, Investor Protection-Not! SIPC and The Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970
• Practicing Law Institute, Securities Arbitration 2008 (forthcoming) A Comment On the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s Proposed Rules On Motions To Dismiss.

Selected Court Decisions

• Amerivest v. Maloof, Oregon Court of Appeals, No. A144457 (Pending)(Representing North American Securities Administrators Association as Amicus Curiae)
• Boyer v. Salomon Smith Barney, Inc. 344 Ore. 583 (2008) Representing Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association as Amicus Curiae)
• Houston v. Seward & Kissel, LLP, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23914 (March 27, 2008) Marshall, et al. v. McCown DeLeeuw, 391 F. Supp. 2d 880 (D. Idaho 2005)
• Estate of Aguirre v. Koruga (II), 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 25234 (9th Cir. 2005)
• Estate of Aguirre v. Koruga (I) 2002 U.S. App. LEXIS 14632 (9th Cir. 2002)
• Koruga v. Fiserv Correspondent Services, Inc., 183 F. Supp.2d 1245 (D.Or. 2001), 2002 U.S. App. LEXIS 6439 (9th Cir. 2002)

Representative Clients

Represent a broad array of clients, organizations and groups, including physicians, teachers, gas
pipeline workers, attorneys, judges, investment advisors, accountants, NBA basketball players,
a former US Congressman, FINRA (opposing broker expungement), North American Securities
Administrators Association and Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (as amici curiae),
retirees, and many others who have been victims of negligent investment advice and fraudulent
conduct.

Educational Background

Reed College, B.A. 1977
University of Wisconsin Law School, J.D. 1982

Bar Memberships

Oregon, Massachusetts, Wisconsin. Practiced under pro hac vice rules with local counsel in
other states including Washington, Idaho, California, New York and Florida.

Community Service

Middle School Mock Trial Instructor
Youth Baseball Coach (2001-2009)

Personal

Grew up in New York and New Jersey, and based in Oregon for 20+ years; married 16 years to
Valerie Banks; two teenage sons; former marathon runner (2:46 PR), and current runner and
fly fisherman.