Attorney Profile

CARY S. LAPIDUS
Attorney at Law

Cary S. Lapidus is a San Francisco, California based attorney whose practice is concentrated in securities arbitration and business litigation. Mr. Lapidus is recognized as a leading attorney in the field of securities arbitration and litigation.  He has received the highest rating (A.V.) from the legal publication Martindale-Hubbell.  In addition, Mr. Lapidus has been quoted in Newsweek, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The San Jose Mercury News, TheStreet.com and other national publications.

Mr. Lapidus graduated with distinction from the University of Virginia in 1978, and obtained his Juris Doctorate degree from Boston University School of Law in 1981.  Mr. Lapidus was a staff attorney with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement and Division of Market Regulation from 1982 to 1986 where he prosecuted cases involving broker-dealer abuses, market manipulation, management and financial reporting fraud, ponzi schemes, and insider trading.

Since entering private practice in 1986, he has represented numerous investors in American Arbitration Association, Pacific Stock Exchange and NASD arbitrations against most of the nation's major securities brokerage firms.  The cases Mr. Lapidus has handled include matters involving market manipulation, churning, unsuitable recommendations, employee stock options, unauthorized trades, and misrepresentations and omissions of material facts.

Mr. Lapidus' practice also includes the representation of investment professionals in lawsuits against brokerage firms in cases involving compensation issues, wrongful termination and Form U-5 matters.   In addition, Mr. Lapidus has experience representing clients in business litigation involving partnership disputes, breach of contract and misrepresentations in securities related cases.

From 1995 to 1999, Mr. Lapidus served on the Board of Directors of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA), a national organization of attorneys who represent investors in arbitrations against securities brokerage firms.  In 1999, Mr. Lapidus was appointed to a 3-year term on the NASD's National Arbitration and Mediation Committee (NAMC) which is comprised of 14 leading securities attorneys and securities industry professionals from across the country.

For over 15 years, Mr. Lapidus has educated other attorneys and experts in a broad range of securities and arbitration issues.   In April and November 1990 Mr. Lapidus was a featured speaker for an American Arbitration Association seminar entitled "Evidence and Persuasion in Securities Arbitrations".  He followed this as a panelist for a June 1991 National Association of Securities Dealer seminar entitled "Punitive Damages in Arbitration", as a speaker in a December 1992 Bar Association of San Francisco seminar entitled "The Availability of Punitive Damages in Securities Arbitration", as a speaker at the 1993 NASD Fall Securities Conference in a seminar entitled "Damages in Arbitration - Arbitrator's Duty to Follow the Law" and as a panelist in a July 1996 Practising Law Institute seminar on Securities Arbitration for which he authored an article entitled "Should Arbitrators Apply New York Law In Face Of A New York Choice-Of-Law Provision".

Mr. Lapidus has served as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association, the Pacific Stock Exchange and the NASD and is an active participant in the training of arbitrators for securities disputes.  In that capacity, he is a co-author of the "Securities Arbitrator Training Role-Playing Scenarios" developed for the American Arbitration Association. 

In May 1994, Mr. Lapidus was invited to testify before the Securities Industry Conference On Arbitration on Representation Of Parties In Arbitration By Non-Attorneys and his views on this subject have been reported in the legal press.  He also testified before the Ruder Commission in May 1995. Mr. Lapidus was a member of the American Arbitration Association's National Securities Advisory Committee and the NASD Regional Arbitrator Recruitment Counsel.

Mr. Lapidus resides in Berkeley, California with his lovely wife Denise and his beautiful and wonderful daughters, Callie and Casey.