"lawsuits will fly in every possible direction" ???
By whom? Investors who plunked down a few hundred bucks on a lotto play? Even those few investors, who are in this a little deeper, wouldn't create "lawsuits flying in every direction"
"Brokers want to be able to show that they were not only uninvolved but made a clear effort to dissuade their customers from making foolish mistakes"
Really? When I signed up with my broker, I had to sign a statement that the investment decisions I made were MY responsibility, not the broker's.
Also, my broker did not "make a clear effort to dissuade me...from making foolish mistakes". I asked several times why I had to phone in. The answer: We've had problems with people accessing our customer's accounts illegally. I wouldn't say that's telling me clearly that I may be making a foolish mistake.