Academic

It Appears That The Madoff Scam Was Not, Repeat Not, A Ponzi Scheme.

Posted on July 18, 2012
July 18, 2012It Appears That The Madoff Scam Was Not, Repeat Not, A Ponzi Scheme.From the time Bernie Madoff?s fraud was uncovered in December 2008 until today, a period of over 3½ years, his scam has been regarded as a Ponzi scheme.  I know of only one person, a brilliant lawyer named David Bernfeld, who did not concede it was a Ponzi scheme, but nobody accepted his view...

How The Current Situation In Legal Education Came To Pass. Part III

Posted on June 21, 2012
June 21, 2012How The Current Situation In Legal Education Came To PassPart III  In the mid 1990s the Department of Justice?s Antitrust Division threatened to bring a case against the ABA (after our school complained to the DOJ about the accreditors? anticompetitive activities)...

How The Current Situation In Legal Education Came To Pass. Part II

Posted on June 20, 2012
June 20, 2012How The Current Situation In Legal Education Came To Pass  Part II  The period 1923-1973 was preparation for developments of truly enormous importance in 1973 itself.  In that year leading legal educators were deeply concerned over the economic and professional status of law professors...

How The Current Situation In Legal Education Came To Pass. Part I

Posted on June 19, 2012
June 19, 2012How The Current Situation In Legal Education Came To PassPart I             A prior post discussed the unhappy state of legal education today.  So I have thought to now set forth a brief historical overview of how this situation came to pass...

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Law School Should Remain Accessible to All

Posted on June 13, 2012
June 7, 2012Law School Should Remain Accessible to All            The legal profession and, in roughly the last 110 years or so, law schools have always been a route to advancement in America.  At the presidential level, lawyers include, among others, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Lincoln, Cleveland, Franklin D...

THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES THE SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

Posted on March 14, 2012
THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICESTHE SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE(PDF of transcript)WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 2012 9:30 A.M.?INDEX EVENT PAGE PANEL I 20 THE HONORABLE DAVID VITTER 20 PANEL II 28 MR...

Petition for Rehearing En Banc

Posted on September 23, 2011
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALSFOR THE SECOND CIRCUITPETITION FOR REHEARING EN BANCPRELIMINARY STATEMENT Petitioner, Lawrence R. Velvel, is a customer and victim of Bernard Madoff. Velvel was an appellant in the above-referenced appeal and seeks a rehearing of the Court?s August 16, 2011 decision, annexed hereto as Exhibit 1...

Comments on the Second Circuit's Decision on Net Equity

Posted on August 23, 2011
COMMENTS ON THE SECOND CIRCUIT?S DECISION ON NET EQUITY August 23, 2011 I have been asked to state my views on the Second Circuit?s decision on net equity in the Madoff case. Some of the matters I shall discuss are relevant to a request for rehearing en banc to the Second Circuit and/or a subsequent petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court...

Amicus Curiae Brief of the Network For Investor Action and Protection

Posted on August 18, 2011
AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF OF THE NETWORK FOR INVESTOR ACTION AND PROTECTION STATEMENT The Network For Investor Action And Protection (?NIAP?) is a two year old organization with about 1,200 members which arose because of the Madoff debacle and seeks to protect against frauds that victimize investors...

AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF OF LAWRENCE

Posted on June 22, 2011
AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF OF LAWRENCE R. VELVEL ON THE APPLICATION HERE OF THE SUPREME COURT CASES --FROM TUMEY v. OHIO TO CAPERTON v. MASSEY COAL -- THAT BAR GOVERNMENTAL LEGAL DECISIONS FROM BEING MADE BY PERSONS WITH A FINANCIAL INTEREST IN THE DECISIONS...

Discursive Comments On The Oral Argument In The Court of Appeals In The Madoff Case On March 3, 2011. Part 5.

Posted on April 04, 2011
April 4, 2011Discursive Comments On The Oral Argument In The Court of Appeals In The Madoff Case On March 3, 2011.PART 5 Next up was Helen Chaitman for rebuttal. Before detailing her argument, let me describe some events that preceded the oral argument...

Discursive Comments On The Oral Argument In The Court of Appeals In The Madoff Case On March 3, 2011. Part 4

Posted on April 01, 2011
April 1, 2011Discursive Comments On The Oral Argument In The Court of Appeals In The Madoff Case On March 3, 2011.PART 4 The final opponent to argue was Michael Conley of the SEC. At inception Judge Jacobs asked him to distinguish the SEC?s position, to the extent it is distinguishable, from the position of SIPC or the Trustee...

Discursive Comments On The Oral Argument In The Court of Appeals In The Madoff Case On March 3, 2011. Part 3

Posted on March 31, 2011
March 31, 2011Discursive Comments On The Oral Argument In The Court of Appeals In The Madoff Case On March 3, 2011.PART 3 The next to argue for our opponents was the Trustee?s Counsel, David Sheehan, who has made himself the bête noire of many victims by what they consider his pit bull attitudes, insults, and sometimes outlandish comments (such as that no legislator would think the FSM should be used)...

Discursive Comments On The Oral Argument In The Court of Appeals In The Madoff Case On March 3, 2011. Part 2

Posted on March 30, 2011
March 30, 2011Discursive Comments On The Oral Argument In The Court of Appeals In The Madoff Case On March 3, 2011.PART 2 As readers know, I had originally intended to do this essay in two parts. But it is proving so long and difficult to do that I shall divide it into more parts, and shall post them as I do them...

Discursive Comments On The Oral Argument In The Court of Appeals In The Madoff Case On March 3, 2011. Part 1

Posted on March 24, 2011
March 24, 2011Discursive Comments On The Oral Argument In The Court of Appeals In The Madoff Case On March 3, 2011.PART 1 I was in Florida on March 3rd, when the oral argument was held in the Second Circuit, in the Madoff case, on the question of how to determine net equity...

The Effect Of The Garrett Bill On Indirects

Posted on February 21, 2011
Dear Colleagues: Allow me to make some points that, as far as I know, no one else has made with regard to the beneficial effect of the Garrett bill on indirects. These effects exist though the bill does not mention indirects. The indirects have, of course, invested through intermediaries - - through funds, banks, etc...

Comments On SIPC?s Answers Of January 24th To Questions Asked By Congressman Garrett.

Posted on February 11, 2011
February 11, 2011 A couple of people have asked for my reactions to SIPC?s January 24th answers to questions posed to it by Congressman Garrett. Because SIPC?s answers have now been made public, I am posting some slightly redacted comments I sent on January 28th to colleagues who are in or are working with NIAP...

Appellant Briefs and Addendums Filed in Second Circuit.

Posted on February 11, 2011
Below is the link to my appellant brief and reply brief and addendums which were filed in the Second Circuit.Larry Velvelhttp://goo.gl/QmW7t

The Trustee?s Complaint Against JP Morgan.

Posted on February 09, 2011
The Trustee?s Complaint Against JP Morgan Chase.February 9, 2011 A few days ago, when I was just beginning to read the Trustee?s complaint against JP Morgan Chase, I posted the fairly dramatic introduction to the complaint. Having now read the entire complaint, I would like to add a few comments...

Trustee's Complaint on JP Morgan

Posted on February 04, 2011
February 4, 2011Dear Colleagues: I have begun to read the newly unsealed complaint filed by the Trustee against JP Morgan Chase. When finished, I may or may not write about it -- I haven?t yet decided. But I do think that all of you should be given an opportunity to read the complaint?s (fairly dramatic) introduction, especially since the media seems to have missed (as usual) some significant aspects of it...

The President Who "Makes Nice" And Lacks Judgment.

Posted on November 04, 2010
November 4, 2010The President Who ?Makes Nice? And Lacks Judgment. For nearly two years the Madoff affair has made it very difficult for me to find time to write political blogs. That still remains true. But I shall write a short one here because of longstanding concerns, which can only become worse in view of the smashing victory for arch conservatism on November 2nd...

The Information Provided To Congress By SIPC. Part II.

Posted on September 24, 2010
September 24, 2010The Information Provided To Congress By SIPC.Part II. D. SIPC was not asked, and nowhere does it say, how much money was earned in interest from Treasuries and money market funds into which Madoff put the money in the Chase/JPMC account, or how much, if any interest, was earned from Chase and JPMC themselves...

September 23, 2010The Information

Posted on September 23, 2010
September 23, 2010The Information Provided To Congress By SIPC.Part I. As many of you know, this lawyer asked for discovery before Judge Lifland in the Bankruptcy Court. Lifland denied the requested discovery in terms that made clear he would allow no discovery on anything, although a complete denial of any and all discovery on what lawyers call a ?summary judgment? proceeding is, I think, unheard of -- literally unheard of...

Addendum to Post of September 21, 2010

Posted on September 22, 2010
ADDENDUM TO POST OFSEPTEMBER 21, 2010 I have just received, from the Syracuse Athletic Department, the figures on the points scored by and against Syracuse in 2008, the last year Greg Robinson, who now coaches Michigan?s defense, was Syracuse?s head coach...

The One (or Two) Dimensional Coach.

Posted on September 21, 2010
September 21, 2010The One (or Two) Dimensional Coach. Here is a trick question: How many Michigan quarterbacks are starters this year? The answer is at least three. There is, of course, the fabulous Dennard Robinson. But Steven Threet (speaking of three), who left Michigan after being a starter some of the time in Rich Rodriguez?s first year if memory serves, starts for the Arizona State team that just defeated Iowa, and the strong armed Ryan Mallett, who left Michigan as soon as Rodriguez was named its coach, starts for the Arkansas team that just defeated Georgia...

SIPC Task Force

Posted on June 23, 2010
June 23, 2010Dear Ron: Because of the major brouhaha raised by SIPC?s announcement of a special review committee, I have decided to put my initial views in writing. It seems to me that eight out of thirteen members of the review committee appointed by SIPC come from SIPC, the SEC or the industry, and should not be regarded as friends of the victimized investors...

The Foreign And Domestic Indirects.

Posted on March 30, 2010
March 30, 2010The Foreign And Domestic Indirects. The Trustee has moved for a hearing on who is a customer. In his Motion he said he had denied about 8,500 claims of people who did not have an account with Madoff in their own names (i.e., were indirects in one way or another) and that about 2,000 objections had been filed to his denials...

Judge Lifland's Opinion On Net Equity.

Posted on March 15, 2010
March 15, 2010Judge Lifland?s Opinion On Net Equity. Having spent time assessing Judge Lifland?s opinion of March 1st, I shall set forth some impressions of it. I shall not deal with the entire opinion, especially since so much of it is taken from the briefs of the Trustee and SIPC...

More On SIPC?S And The Trustee?s Bubbe Meisse. Plus: Can The Fact That SIPC And The Trustee Have Created A Bubbe Meisse Be Put Before Judge Lifland.

Posted on February 19, 2010
February 19, 2010More On SIPC?S And The Trustee?s Bubbe Meisse. Plus: Can The Fact That SIPC And The Trustee Have Created A Bubbe Meisse Be Put Before Judge Lifland At This Time? On Wednesday, February 17th, I wrote of the underlying theory invented from whole cloth by SIPC and Trustee -- on Wednesday I wrote of their bubbe meisse...

More On The Bubbe Meisse of SIPC and The Trustee

Posted on February 18, 2010
February 18, 2010More On The Bubbe Meisse of SIPC and The Trusteeby Lawrence R. Velvel Yesterday I posted quite a long set of comments on the hearing of February 2nd. It subsequently seemed to me that some of the most important points are in the last third or so of the essay, which discusses the basic underlying theory of SIPC and Picard and some of the major flaws in their theory...

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