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NEW YORK--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Zamansky & Associates today announces that high-producing brokers who departed Merrill Lynch when it merged with Bank of America should decide on a course of action after being left out of a proposed class-action settlement. On Friday, August 24, 2012, details of a proposed settlement were revealed. The deal would cover approximately 1,400 former Merrill Lynch brokers who left the company after it merged with Bank of America in September 2008, but only if they were producing less than $500,000 and did not sign retention agreements.

The approximately 2,000 higher-producing brokers who still have claims against Merrill Lynch may be best served by opting out of the pending class action and bringing individual arbitrations instead. A recent FINRA arbitration panel found that Merrill Lynch wrongfully denied two financial advisors their deferred stock and compensation and awarded them over $10 million. The FINRA panel ruled that the Merrill Lynch committee that decided issues of deferred compensation for departing brokers employed a ashama process that resulted in denials of vesting requests for all 3,000 brokers whose cases it reviewed.

Learn Your Rights

If you were a former Merrill Lynch financial advisor who left the firm after the Bank of America merger announcement either voluntarily or in a termination without cause, and you lost or forfeited deferred compensation, please contact our firm for an evaluation of your rights. You can contact Jake Zamansky by telephone at (212) 742-1414 or by email at [ jake@zamansky.com ].

About Zamansky & Associates

Zamansky & Associates is one of the leading law firms specializing in securities employment arbitration and class action litigation. Our practice is nationally recognized for our ability to aggressively prosecute cases and recover damages.

For information about us, please visit our website at [ www.zamansky.com ].