Legal News

From Odd to Odder: Madoff?s Lawyer Lands on Customer List

By Ashby Jones

One of the stranger names to appear on the Bernie Madoff customer list, aside from Phyllis George, Sandy Koufax, John Malkovich, and Mel Weiss: Ira Lee Sorkin, Madoff’s own criminal-defense attorney, who hangs his hat at Dickstein Shapiro.

Huh, we wondered, and set about calling up some legal-ethics folks to get the lowdown on this. Generally speaking, the experts say the appearance of Sorkin on the list raises questions about his representation of Madoff, but likely doesn’t violate any serious ethical considerations.

“It’s the sort of arrangement you see in Hollywood movies, not in real life,” says NYU’s Stephen Gillers. “But that doesn’t mean the representation is forbidden.”

Whether Sorkin or his family members lost money through Madoff is unclear. Sources close to the situation say that Sorkin’s father, Nathan, opened an IRA account with Madoff at some point in the 1990s. After Nathan Sorkin died in August of 2001, the account moved to Sorkin’s mother, Rosalie. For a period of time, sources say that Sorkin helped his mother with her financial affairs and was a signator on her bank account. When Ms. Sorkin died in March of 2007, the IRA account was divided up between Sorkin’s sons, Roger and Peter, and was later closed.

“I have never been an investor or customer of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities,” said Mr. Sorkin. When asked about his sons, Mr. Sorkin responded: “I’m not going to talk about my family members.”

Roger Sorkin, a Maryland filmmaker, declined to comment on the situation when reached by phone. Peter Sorkin could not be reached for comment.

Still, experts say that if money was lost, either by Ira Sorkin or his family members, it raises a conflict of interest. “On the one hand, Sorkin could have an interest in squeezing the defendant as much as possible to recoup his losses,” explains Gillers. “On the other, as his lawyer, he has a duty to protect Madoff.”

However, Gillers and others say that such a conflict can be excused by Madoff. “It’s a waivable conflict,” says Abbe Smith, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center. “And it’s up to Mr. Madoff. My guess is that they’ve hammered an agreement over this. ”

Still, Smith says it has the makings of a less-than-ideal situation. “A good, prudent lawyer has to search his or her soul and ask ‘can I represent this client zealously, or do I have hesitations?’ Perhaps Mr. Sorkin has, but it’s hard to know.”

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on February 05, 2009 (boomark / email).