Early Case Assessment
Who We Help
Bates Group works with financial institutions, corporations, in-house counsel, outside counsel, and compliance teams seeking to understand potential legal, regulatory, or financial exposure before a matter progresses into formal proceedings.
What We Do
Bates Group provides early case assessment services that combine industry expertise, data analysis, and practical insight to evaluate complaints, identify risks, and quantify potential exposure. Our analyses deliver actionable information without the cost and complexity of developing full trial-ready damages models.
When Do Clients Call Bates Group?
Clients engage Bates Group when they receive a complaint, identify a potential compliance issue, or need to assess whether a matter may lead to litigation, arbitration, or regulatory scrutiny. Early assessment helps management and counsel make informed decisions before exposure grows.
How Clients Use Bates Group?
Clients use Bates Group to analyze facts, quantify potential exposure, evaluate risk, and assess the likelihood of future claims or regulatory action. Our findings help management and counsel develop response strategies, prioritize resources, and make informed decisions at the earliest stages of a matter.
Our Approach
Bates Group combines decades of financial services experience with analytical rigor to provide practical, actionable assessments tailored to each engagement. We build efficient analyses that can stand alone during early case evaluation and serve as a foundation if the matter later progresses into litigation, arbitration, or a regulatory investigation.
Regulatory & Litigation Case Examples
Mutual Funds
Bates Group was retained by the regulatory division of a major broker-dealer to respond to an SEC inquiry involving trading activity across 30 mutual funds and more than 1,200 customer accounts. Using proprietary analytics and in-house programming resources, we analyzed hundreds of thousands of transactions, isolated the activity at issue, and delivered a clear, defensible profit-and-loss analysis that enabled the client to respond effectively to the SEC.
Annuity Exchanges
Bates Group was retained by in-house counsel for a large independent broker-dealer and RIA custodian to assist with a state regulatory inquiry involving annuity exchanges. Our team conducted an independent review of each transaction and analyzed hypothetical contract values and living benefits to determine how customers may have performed had the original annuity contracts remained in force.