Lawyers From Over 20 Countries Create Global Group to Handle Madoff Cases
An alleged Ponzi scheme of unprecedented size has generated a global plaintiffs group of unprecedented scope.
Attorneys from law firms in more than 20 countries met for the first time yesterday, to exchange information and plan their strategy for pursuing some 22,200 possible claims related to the $50 billion fraud that Bernard Madoff is accused of operating under the guise of a hedge fund, according to the London Times and the Economic Times of India.
Representatives of the Madoff Case Global Alliance of Law Firms plan to meet next month with Mary Shapiro, the chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as several members of Congress, the London newspaper reports.
The lawyers represent banks, hedge funds, public bodies and individual investors, and are expected to focus most of their claims against third parties rather than Madoff or his companies.
The group is headed by Javier Cremades, who is president of a Spanish law firm, Cremades Calvo-Sotelo. The firm, with the help of local counsel, filed a class action in Florida last month against a Spanish bank that allegedly acted negligently when investing money from private banking clients with Madoff.
Says Cremades of the new alliance: “We find ourselves in an unprecedented situation in the profession: for the first time, lawyers from companies of differing sizes and from different continents have united to give a global response to a global problem,” the Times reports.
He adds: “This is especially important with a case like Madoff, which evades, by its very nature, national jurisdictions.”
Earlier ABAJournal.com coverage:
Are Banks Liable for Madoff Losses? Plaintiffs Say Yes, Argue Multiple Theories
Spanish Bank Seeks Settlement With Its Customers in Madoff-Related Case
