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About the Book
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Revelations Inside Merrill Lynch In the true spirit of David and Goliath, rookie financial consultant Keith Schooley takes a stand to expose internal wrongdoing, including cheating and cover-ups of it at one of the country's most respected firms. In Merrill Lynch: The Cost Could Be Fatal—My War Against Wall Street's Giant, Schooley's initial excitement for a new career in finance with Merrill Lynch is clear.
The author shares, "My value system was, in fact, one of the reasons I was so delighted to be working at Merrill Lynch. When I joined the firm, I had the impression it was managed with impeccable integrity and the highest regard for ethics. That was definitely the kind of company I could fit into."
His enthusiasm is quickly overshadowed, however, by wrongdoing within this powerhouse firm. "Even before I had reached my one-year anniversary of employment with Merrill Lynch, it had become apparent to me its claims that it upheld the highest ethical standards were empty declarations and complete falsehoods," Schooley writes. "In a short amount of time I had witnessed numerous incidents of wrongdoing that management both participated in and sponsored, and had become painfully aware of the culture and mindset that permeated my work environment." Despite having more to gain career-wise by keeping quiet, Schooley is a man of conviction and principle who could not ignore what was happening.
The foreword—written by well-known Oklahoma attorney Stephen Jones, who represented Schooley in the initial rounds of his fight—sets the proper tone for what is to come: "Merrill Lynch is 'every man's broker.' Its reputation has, for the most part, been favorable, and it is the broker of Main Street, not Wall Street. Keith's story, however, sheds an entirely different light on what occurred and may offer an entirely different explanation for Merrill Lynch's success.... Keith's experiences set forth dramatically everything that is wrong, unwise, and indeed unhealthy and unfair, about arbitration proceedings," says Jones.
The first part of this well-documented book gives Schooley's background and employment at Merrill Lynch, outlining the questionable incidents encountered by the author. In a daring move, Schooley decides he cannot look the other way and writes a lengthy memo to Merrill Lynch management. Confident things will be put right, Schooley is shocked at the company's ensuing attempts to keep him quiet. His eventual dismissal and threat of a lawsuit by his boss are followed by further steps to keep him down.
The latter part of the book covers in detail Schooley's wrongful termination suit, which ends up going to arbitration. Skeptical he would get a fair hearing, Schooley appealed to all regulators possible that might be able to force Merrill Lynch to own up to its actions, including the New York Stock Exchange and the National Association of Securities Dealers. Despite having in his corner legal heavyweight attorney Stephen Jones and Professor Michael Rustad, the nation's leading authority on punitive damages who testified on Schooley's behalf, the result of the arbitration is a disappointment.
In the end, Schooley paid the ultimate price, not only losing a job but sacrificing his marriage as well. Finding strength in his faith, Schooley exhausted every motion and petition he could file with the courts before presenting his case in the court of public opinion.
Merrill Lynch: The Cost Could Be Fatal is a must for all investors; anyone employed in the area of securities, insurance, financial services, employment law, or human resources; as well as anyone with an association with Merrill Lynch.
—Sue Collier
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