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In the immortal lyrics of "As Time Goes By," a kiss is just a kiss, but, as the 1940s gave way to the 2020s, I'm not quite sure that the sentiment still resonates. You could ask former Governor Andrew Cuomo for his take on the issue. Be that as it may, speaking about how once held beliefs change with time, we got a former UBS employee suing his former employer and co-worker. And there's the question of whether a kiss was just a kiss and what it means to be an at-will employee and if a breach of contract can occur notwithstanding the lack of a written contract and . . . gee, maybe the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world, but, who knows, someday you'll understand that, or maybe not, maybe you'll just be dazed and confused for all eternity.
There are times -- too many -- when FINRA's version of alternative dispute resolution seems little more than a cash register. What the public should expect from FINRA's version of mandatory customer arbitration is some minimal amount of disclosure replete with content and context so as to make a given case intelligible. If all the parties desire enhanced confidentiality, that's fine, but at least note that choice in an Award. In most FINRA arbitration cases, the presentation of the underlying facts raises more questions than answers, and the pronouncement of the Award often raises more doubts than explanations. See a recent FINRA public customer Award for an example.