Mr. Betts’s practice consists generally of representing clients in commercial litigation, business disputes and securities/investment-related matters, including FINRA arbitrations). Mr. Betts is also an experienced alternative dispute resolution (ADR) neutral. For more information about the ADR-related services offered by Mr. Betts and Betts Dispute Resolution Services, please visit www.bettsadr.com.
Mr. Betts has litigated a wide range of cases over his more than forty years of practice. Mr. Betts has substantial experience in the following types of matters, among others:
- Commercial litigation;
- Business disputes;
- Securities fraud;
- Insurance and annuity fraud;
- FINRA arbitrations (both industry and customer);
- FINRA investigations and expungement proceedings;
- Trade secret and restrictive covenant litigation; and
- Whistleblower/qui tam cases.
In his litigation practice Mr. Betts handles matters by drawing on his diverse experiences, having begun his career with a large law firm (Reed Smith Shaw & McClay, now Reed Smith LLP), where he became a full litigation partner, managing a “boutique” litigation firm and serving as in-house litigation counsel for one of the country’s largest banks. Mr. Betts has represented both plaintiffs and defendants and both corporations and individuals, with his business clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to family-held businesses.
Mr. Betts was born and raised in Indiana, Pennsylvania. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dickinson College in 1977, with a major in economics. Mr. Betts received his law degree in 1980 from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where he was a member of the Law Review.
Education
- University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - J.D. - 1980
Honors: Law Review; Cum Laude
- Dickinson College - B.A. - 1977
Major: Economics
Professional Associations
- American Arbitration Association (AAA)
National Roster of Arbitrators and Mediators - Commercial and Consumer Panels
- Federal Bar Association
Western District of Pennsylvania Chapter - Member of Alternative Dispute Resolution, Federal Litigation and Securities Law Sections
- FINRA Dispute Resolution
Approved Arbitrator and Mediator
- United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
Approved for Roster of Neutrals (Mediator; Arbitrator; Early Neutral Evaluator) and Roster of Approved E-Discovery Special Masters and Mediators