Nearly every US brokerage agreement contains a predispute arbitration clause. If you have a claim against the firm for unauthorised trading, unsuitable recommendations, churning, or failure to supervise, it is heard in the FINRA forum, not a courtroom. Claims are filed, a panel is selected from a list, there is limited discovery, and a hearing follows.
Awards are final in practice. Courts vacate arbitration awards only on narrow grounds such as evident partiality or arbitrators exceeding their powers, so there is effectively no appeal on the merits. Panels are not required to explain their reasoning unless both sides ask.
Small claims below a threshold can be decided on documents alone. Whatever the size, the clock runs: FINRA has a six year eligibility rule measured from the events in dispute.
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