Public Investors Advocate Bar Association

Bios

• Adam Gana

  President

  Adam Gana is the managing partner of Gana Weinstein LLP. His practice focuses on all aspects of securities arbitration, complex commercial and business litigation. As a seasoned trial lawyer with over 20 years of experience, Mr. Gana has represented over 3,000 investors in the state and federal trial and appellate courts, AAA, JAMS, NFA and FINRA. Adam is recognized as an influential attorney in securities law. He has served as a part time adjunct professor for New York Law School in its clinical securities department and is the incoming president of the Public Investor Advocate Bar Association-a national bar association of attorneys that represent investors throughout the United States. He has also published in multiple peer reviewed journals, spoken at dozens of conferences, and is regularly quoted in prominent securities publications including Investment News, Financial News, the Wall Street Journal, and Financial Planning. Adam was named in the New York Super Lawyer and a RisingStars® for eight straight years (an honor given to the top 5% of attorneys), ranked AV®Preeminent™ by Martindale-Hubbell™(the highest honor offered), and ranked by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the Top 100 attorneys in New York state.

  Link: Adam Gana

• Michael Bixby

  EVP/President-Elect

  Michael C. Bixby is the founder and managing attorney of Bixby Law PLLC located in Pensacola, Florida. He dedicates his practice primarily on representing retirees and investors in securities and investment fraud litigation. Mr. Bixby has successfully represented over 1,000 investment fraud victims around the country recovering more than $150 million in verdicts and settlements in a variety of forums including arbitrations, and state and federal courts. Mr. Bixby is a member of the national securities bar, the Public Investors Advocate Bar Association (PIABA) where he serves on the PIABA Board of Directors and has served as Co-Chair of the PIABA Arbitration Committee. In 2021, he was honored to receive the PIABA Outstanding Service Award in recognition for his efforts protecting public investors. He regularly lectures for attorneys, paralegals, and investors around the country on topics ranging from basic introductions to securities litigation to complex securities litigation issues like clearing firm liability, broker theft investigations, and emerging securities litigation technologies. Mr. Bixby has been quoted in various national and local publications such as Reuters, Bloomberg, and Investment News. Mr. Bixby is a trial lawyer who takes pride in tirelessly fighting to achieve justice for his clients through litigation, mediation, or trials and arbitrations. His favorite part of the practice taking cases to trial or final arbitration hearing. Mr. Bixby’s broad experience in securities and investment fraud cases includes representing clients in claims involving suitability and sale of unsuitable investments, overconcentration, failure to supervise, violation of Regulation Best Interest (“Reg BI”), margin borrowing and leverage claims, breach of fiduciary duty, lack of due diligence, churning and excessive trading, fraud, selling away, theft, sale of unregistered securities, market manipulation, and ERISA 401(k) and retirement plan litigation. He has also represented clients in claims involving bonds, bond funds, stocks, private placements, non-traded Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), direct participation programs, non-traded BDCs (Business Development Companies), Limited Partnerships (LPs) and Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs), Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and inverse and leveraged ETFs, options strategies, hedge funds, and insurance products. Mr. Bixby has also represented clients in other complex claims including class actions, products liability claims, whistleblower litigation, interpleader matters, and personal injury claims.

  Link: Michael Bixby

• Joseph Wojciechowski

  VP

  Joe Wojciechowski has been a licensed attorney since November 2009 and been with Stoltmann Law Offices since March 2005. Prior to Stoltmann Law Offices, I had a short stint as a paralegal with a Chicago securities defense firm. I am currently managing partner at Stoltmann Law Offices and am responsible for the day to day operations of the firm, docket and case management. Personally, I handle all aspects of case management from potential client/case intake to trying the case. I have successfully briefed, argued, and defeated numerous motions to dismiss before dozens of FINRA arbitration panels and courts of law. I have successfully briefed motions to vacate arbitration awards before the Central District of California, Northern District of Illinois, and participated in appeals before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. I have appeared before FINRA arbitration panels in hundreds of cases and successfully mediated over one hundred investor cases. I also have experience appearing in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Circuit Court of DuPage County, Northern District of Illinois, American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) both under the Commercial Rules and Consumer Rules, and the Judicial Arbitration/Mediation Services (JAMS). My legal practice experience is almost exclusively in representation of investor interests, whatever the venue. I also do a small amount of commercial disputes and civl litigation work.

  Link: Joseph Wojciechowski

• Courtney M. Werning

  Secretary

  Courtney Werning devotes her practice to the representation of investors who have claims against their financial professionals, investment advisers, and brokerage firms. Her practice includes litigation in state and appellate courts and various alternative dispute resolution forums. She has tried arbitrations to verdict before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the National Futures Association, and the American Arbitration Association. Courtney excels at aggressively preparing from day one to take a case to trial, which strengthens the chance for a successful outcome for her clients. Courtney’s recent civil cases and arbitrations have involved allegations related to unsuitable investment strategies, fraud and misrepresentation, Ponzi schemes, legal malpractice, elder financial abuse, securities act claims, and securities class actions.

  Link: Courtney M. Werning

• Lance McCardle

  Treasurerhttps://piaba.org/leadership/

  Fishman Haygood partner Lance McCardle practices in the areas of securities arbitration and litigation, environmental law, and general commercial litigation. Lance regularly represents investors (both individuals and institutions) in claims against their brokers, investment advisors, and/or investment banks in court or in arbitration proceedings administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). Lance also represents several landowners in claims against oil and gas companies for damage and land loss caused by oil and gas operations. Lance is a fellow of the Louisiana Bar Foundation and a member of the Louisiana, Texas, Federal, American, and Public Investor Advocate Bar Associations. He serves on the editorial board of the PIABA Bar Journal and is a former Editor-in-Chief. Lance was recently appointed to the PIABA’s 2023 Board of Directors. He is also a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, an invitation-only trial lawyer honorary society. Lance has taught litigation skills classes at Loyola University College of Law and Media Law at Tulane University. He has represented criminal defendants on a pro bono basis, is a member of the St. Thomas More Inn of Court, a former Director of the Younger Lawyers Division of the New Orleans Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, and former member of the ABA Securities Law Committee. In 2024, Lance is recognized by Chambers and Partners as a leading lawyer (Band 1) in Securities Litigation and Mainly Plaintiffs Litigation, as well as Band 3 in Environment Litigation. He has also been named toThe Best Lawyers in America® since 2017 in the area of Securities, and he was recognized as the Best Lawyers® 2022 “Lawyer of the Year” in Securities Litigation (New Orleans). Lance has been named a top-rated Securities Litigation attorney by Super Lawyers since 2017, and he was a Super Lawyers“Rising Star” from 2012-2015.

  Link: Lance McCardle

• Joseph Peiffer

  Past President

  Joe Peiffer is the founding Partner of Peiffer Wolf Carr Kane Conway & Wise, LLP. Based in the firm’s New Orleans headquarters, Joe has a wide-ranging practice focusing on cases that change lives. His practice consists of representing individuals and institutions that have been harmed by investment banks, brokerage firms, insurance agents and other financial advisors, prosecuting ERISA class actions, representing families affected by IVF clinic malfeasance, representing victims of sexual assault, labor trafficking, unscrupulous drug companies and those who have suffered catastrophic injury. In his financial services practice, Joe represents investors and institutions in claims against their financial advisors. At the beginning of his career, he represented 32 Exxon retirees in a 90-day trial that resulted in a $22 million verdict – one of the largest ever awarded by a FINRA arbitration panel. Since then, he has gone on to represent thousands of investors, mostly retirees, who have been the victim of conflicted advice. His financial services practice also included representing approximately 25 municipalities and hospitals around the country in cases involving their issuance of auction rate securities. He also has litigated several ERISA class actions against large financial services firms regarding their imprudent investments of retirement money and conflicts of interest. Joe currently represents many families that have had their dreams of having biological children taken from them due to the carelessness of IVF clinics. He is passionate about this work and understands the devastation that this causes individuals and families, who have lost eggs or embryos due to the malfeasance of these clinics. Joe, who is a child sexual assault survivor, represents both childhood and adult victims of sexual assault. His firm was recently named co-lead in the MDL arising out of the numerous sexual assaults that take place in Ubers. Finally, Joe represents victims of human trafficking and labor exploitation. In one such case, his clients allege that the defendants have failed to pay overtime, improperly deducted for employee housing, and wrongfully held the plaintiffs’ passports while in the United States. He traveled extensively to the Philippines for this case and another involving a rig explosion. The co-author of a treatise published by Thompson West, Litigating Business and Commercial Tort Cases, which is updated yearly since 2011. Joe teaches and lectures extensively throughout the country. He created and/or taught law school classes ranging from The Basics of Arbitration and Trial Advocacy, to Storytelling and Advocacy. He has spoken at many national conventions on a variety of topics, including prosecuting large and multi-client claims, brokers’ deficient advice to retire, and voir dire and ERISA class actions and FINRA arbitration. Joe is frequently quoted by national and international publications. Joe has received various awards and accolades. He was named as one of the fifty Leaders in Law by New Orleans City Business Magazine. He is AV rated by Martindale Hubbel. And, he has been selected by his peers to appear in The Best Lawyers in America in the practice area of Commercial Litigation. Joe is a leader of several national bar associations. He twice served as the chairman of the Business Torts Section of the American Association for Justice. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Public Investors Advocate Bar Association (PIABA) – a nationwide bar association of lawyers. He was elected President of PIABA and served in that capacity from 2014-15 and again from 2023-24. He is only the second PIABA member to serve as President twice. Joe graduated from Tulane School of Law, cum laude, in 1999. While at Tulane, he served on the Tulane Law Review and was involved with the Tulane Legal Assistance Program. Prior to attending Tulane, he graduated from Bowling Green State University in 1996, with a major in communications. While at Bowling Green, he worked as the General Manager of the campus radio station and City Editor of the daily newspaper. Currently, Joe loves to spend time with his 11 year old daughter, CJay, who is the smartest, funniest kid on planet Earth. When Joe was building Peiffer Wolf, CJay accompanied Joe to press conferences, mediations and trials. So, in addition to being bright and funny, CJay has both the patience of a saint and a strong grasp on justice that will serve them well.

  Link: Joseph Peiffer