MinnLawyer Blog

WestLegalEd Center is having a “moderated live” website  (i.e. a “repeat” in television lingo — but one that still counts for CLE credit) of an interesting sounding CLE program from last October entitled, “Con men, Charlatans, and Conspirators: Will Attorneys Soon See Their Own ‘Madoff’?” (Cick here for details.)  

Bernie Madoff, of course, ran a $50-billion Ponzi scheme that makes Tom Petters’ $3.65 billion-dollar fraud look like child’s play. So, if by the question the CLE is asking will anything of that scope be done by an attorney, the answer is almost certainly no.

Why, you ask? Is it because of ethical oversight? Self-regulation? The high morals of members of the profession?

Nope. No matter how much you try to weed them out, there are always going to be a few bad apples in the bunch. You can add as many rules and regulations as like, the unique talent of Madoff-like character is to find ways to circumvent them.

The reason no Madoff-sized crimes have been committed by practicing attorneys is entirely a byproduct of opportunity. Unlike hedge fund managers, lawyers are not entrusted with that much money for that much time. To steal a billion-plus dollars and not get caught right away takes some work and time. Lawyers don’t hold billions of dollars for a prolonged period of time. When was the last time you had a billion dollars parked in your IOLTA account?

Even here in Minnesota we’ve had million-dollar lawyer thefts. But, as lawyers long have known, the real money is in the business world, not in the legal world. If you want to steal a billion dollars, become a CEO or start a hedge fund, don’t go to law school.