PROFILE

Joan Protess founded the firm, Joan Protess & Associates (JP&A), in 1991. JP&A specializes in providing dispute resolution services, including mediation, in futures, securities, employment, and other commercial matters. Ms. Protess mediates cases telephonically, via Zoom and in person.

For over 30 years Ms. Protess has mediated successfully thousands of futures arbitration cases as part of the National Futures Association’s (“NFA’s”) fully subsidized mediation program. Ms. Protess also has mediated effectively numerous reparations cases filed at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, futures exchange arbitration disputes and foreign currency exchange (FOREX) matters.

Ms. Protess has mediated effectively hundreds of securities disputes filed at the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., and the New York Stock Exchange, now known as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, for the past 26 years. These cases have involved a broad range of investment vehicles, including derivatives.

The futures, securities, and FOREX investment matters that Ms. Protess has mediated have involved damage claims ranging from $1,000.00 to over $50 million. These cases involved a variety of diverse claims such as breach of contract; breach of fiduciary duty; churning; fraud; lack of suitability; margin trading; misrepresentation; negligence; unauthorized trading; undue concentration; violation of Blue Sky laws; and wrongful liquidation.

Ms. Protess also has resolved successfully numerous employment disputes, which have involved claims of breach of contract, age, gender and racial discrimination, wrongful termination, defamation, and other workplace issues. Ms. Protess also has mediated effectively contract, shareholder, partnership, corporate, and other commercial cases filed with the American Arbitration Association, and in various federal and state courts.

In addition to developing a national mediation practice, Ms. Protess also provides other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services, such as dispute prevention, negotiation, development of ADR programs and training in ADR methods.

Ms. Protess began her legal career as an associate at Sidley Austin, an international law firm with offices in Chicago. At Sidley Austin, Ms. Protess worked in a securities and futures litigation group where she became well versed in the various kinds of legal issues involving securities and futures firms.

While at Sidley Austin, Ms. Protess also received extensive training in alternative dispute resolution methods. Many of the firm’s clients were interested in conserving time and money and preserving business relationships with their legal adversaries. For that reason, they requested that Sidley Austin attorneys learn alternative dispute resolution techniques. As a result, Ms. Protess received formal training in the field at the Corporate Counsel Institute of Northwestern University School of Law, as well as training from Sidley Austin partners and management personnel of the law firm’s clients. While at Sidley Austin, Ms. Protess represented clients in negotiations, mediations, arbitrations, and state and federal litigation.

In 1985, Ms. Protess left Sidley Austin to pursue her interest in futures law as an attorney at the National Futures Association. During her five and one-half years at NFA, she was promoted to Assistant General Counsel and later to Associate General Counsel. At NFA, Ms. Protess was responsible for supervising all attorneys who prosecuted registration cases. In addition, Ms. Protess prosecuted both registration and disciplinary cases, worked with various NFA members on rulemaking endeavors, served as counsel to NFA’s Membership Committee and Central Regional Business Conduct Committee, represented NFA in negotiations involving outside litigation, conducted a firm-wide ethics training program, and worked on various special projects.

Ms. Protess is a 1980 graduate of Northwestern University School of Law, where she served as an editor of the Law Review. Ms. Protess’ undergraduate degree in Political Science is from Loyola University of Chicago, where she graduated summa cum laude in 1976.