Carole H Aragon

I have a dual background as both a lawyer and licensed financial advisor.  I have been an active member of the State Bar of California since 1975.

This year (2015), I was invited to serve on the FINRA Roster of Mediators, and although based in Los Angeles, I am willing to travel to work with you in resolving your FINRA disputes.  In 2010, I became a FINRA Arbitrator.  Since 2011, I have served as a professional mediator specializing in securities (customer disputes) litigation, and other commercial disputes.  My success rate is over 92%.

This year (2015), I will earn my LL.M. in Dispute Resolution, with a specialty in Mediation, from the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University School of Law.  My capstone research paper (supervised by Prof. Robert Uhl, retired from Aidikoff, Uhl & Bakhtiari) is entitled, "Expungement:  We Can Fix This!"  After researching the history of expungement, especially since the 1999 moratorium was imposed, and after evaluating the myriad of problems which continue to plague the process, I have proposed a number of solutions which should work to resolve many of these issues.  Publication is expected in 2016.

From January 1998 - December 2001, I worked as a Financial Advisor with Morgan Stanley, becoming a Retirement Planning Specialist where I focused on working with older clients utilizing fixed income and balanced portfolio management theories.  I held Series 7, 31, 63 and 65 licenses, and was a licensed Insurance Agent for Variable and Fixed Annuities, Long-term Care, Health & Disability.

In 2002, I returned to the practice of law working as a consultant, advising plaintiffs' lawyers in their evaluation of customer complaints.  At the same time, I served as a Probate Trustee, specializing in trust litigation.  I also served on the California State Bar Committee on Rules of Civility for Lawyers. 

During my legal career, I was appointed to serve as a Deputy City Attorney with the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, prosecuting criminal cases where I handled over 50 jury trials and hundreds of court trials.  Prior to that, I worked as a civil litigator representing commercial clients in the fields of banking, real estate, antitrust, securities law and alternative energy.  For sixteen years, I served as in-house counsel (transactional and business affairs) for several major motion picture studios such as Walt Disney Productions, MGM/UA and Paramount Pictures.  At the same time, I taught legal writing and business communications skills as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Southwestern Law School.

I graduated from Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, in 1970, with a Bachelor of Arts in Art History, and double minors in Computer Science and Economics.  In 1969, I interned on Wall Street (Cantor Fitzgerald) as a securities analyst for the oil industry, working under the guidance of Joe Tovey.  While in law school, I clerked for the Court of Appeals, State of California, 2nd Judicial District, and interned with Maxwell Blecher.  I was a Member and Managing Editor of the Law Review, and co-published an article on land-use (SU Law. Rev., Vol. 6, Number 3 (1974)).

I am married to an expert technician in the motion picture industry, and work with dogs on a volunteer basis as a Certified Animal Assisted Therapy Dog Team handler.  I may be reached at , my direct line, or my cell.  I look forward to meeting you personally, and working with you as a FINRA mediator, and FINRA arbitrator.