When you open up a brokerage account, you will be likely be required to sign some type of customer agreement. Your customer agreement will control some aspects of any dispute that you might have against your broker, advisor or firm. Most importantly, the vast majority of modern customer agreements contain a mandatory arbitration clause. A pre-dispute arbitration provision will require you to resolve any claim you have against your broker or brokerage through FINRA’s dispute resolution process. As your dispute will be forced into arbitration, it is imperative that you have a basic understanding of FINRA’s arbitration proceedings so that you can file your claim in an efficient and effective manner.