Irving Picard


Irving H. Picard is a partner in the law firm BakerHostetler. He is known for his recovery of funds from the Madoff investment scandal from investors, Bernie Madoff and his family, and their spouses and estates.

Early life

Picard was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, and is Jewish. His parents were Julius Picard and Claire Dreyfuss. In August 1938, Julius and Claire Picard immigrated with their children from Mainz in Nazi Germany to the United States. They settled in Fall River, where their third son, Irving, was born. Irving's uncle Moritz Cahn was a lawyer in Frankfurt/Main, Germany, who with his wife committed suicide in 1941 to escape incarceration in concentration camps.

Education and legal career

Picard graduated from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. degree in Economics, from Boston University School of Law with a J.D. degree, and from the New York University School of Law with an LL.M. degree . In the 1970s he was variously Assistant General Counsel, Acting Chief Counsel, and Trial Attorney in the Division of Corporate Regulation of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He was admitted to the New York Bar in 1982, and has been in private practice since then. He joined the law firm of BakerHostetler as a partner in 2008.

Recovery of funds from Madoff scandal

In 2008, U.S. District Judge of the Southern District of New York Lawrence McKenna appointed Picard trustee of assets seized by the court from Bernard Madoff. Since then, Picard has led the recovery of funds from the Madoff investment scandal. He and his team have been overseeing the liquidation of Bernard Madoff's firm in bankruptcy court, and have so far recovered over $13 billion—about 76 percent of approved claims—by suing those who profited from the scheme, whether they knew of the scheme or not. Kathy Bazoian Phelps, a lawyer at Diamond McCarthy, said "That kind of recovery is extraordinary and atypical,” as clawbacks in such schemes range from 5 percent to 30 percent, and many victims don't get anything. Picard has successfully pursued not only investors, but also spouses and estates of those who profited, such as the wife of Bernard Madoff, the widow and estate of the deceased Stanley Chais, and the widow and estate of the deceased Jeffry Picower, with whom he reached a $7.2 billion settlement. “You don’t take this job if you’re thin-skinned,” Picard said.