In his first job out of law school, John Tepedino, ’04, went to work for Debevoise & Plimpton, the New York firm where he had spent his 3L summer. It was a great experience that allowed him to immerse himself in the particulars of US and cross-border corporate investigations and securities litigation.
But after seven years, it was time for a change. So when an opportunity at Windels Marx arose, he made the move. The new job would open the door to bankruptcy litigation, a new area of practice for him, as well as a roster of compelling clients.
Among those clients was one that came with a striking backstory: the trustee for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. In other words, Tepedino would work on behalf of victims of one of the largest financial frauds in history.
The trustee for the liquidation, Irving Picard, is with BakerHostetler and has retained Windels as special counsel since 2009. As part of that arrangement, Tepedino has led several adversary proceedings for the victims of the fraud.
While the Madoff case is one for the history books, Tepedino says the work is essentially the same as the work he does for other clients.
“The nuts and bolts of it are like any other bankruptcy litigation. It’s recovery of estate assets to make creditors whole,” he says. But, he acknowledges, “my takeaway from this particular work is the very high-profile nature of it, the size of the fraud, and the large number of cases.”
John Tepedino, ’04I hadn’t done any bankruptcy work before I came to Windels. But as I talked to them about the position, it was clear that it was a litigation focus. There are different statutes involved and a different court, but it’s the same skill set. Part of my journey was learning how these sorts of cases work.
Starting out
Tepedino arrived at Michigan Law on track to becoming a litigator, and he followed that path to his first job at Debevoise & Plimpton. There, he was involved in corporate investigations, such as government or internal investigations, as well as securities litigations, unfair competition cases, and cases under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He often collaborated with a large team of lawyers, taking a specific slice of the overall work.
The firm also supported his pro bono interests, which included litigation concerning essential services denied to the hearing impaired and a schizophrenia patient as well as securing SSI disability benefits for indigent clients. Tepedino says these cases allowed for more direct client contact and responsibility than young lawyers typically experience on cases for paying clients.
When he joined Windels, a midsize firm with four offices in and around New York City, he expanded his practice to include bankruptcy litigation and began to take on more of a leadership role at the firm.
“One of the very attractive things about the job was that I could have more ownership over things,” Tepedino says of the firm, where he recently made partner. “The idea of litigating my own cases and being able to understand and learn every aspect of how to do that was an important step to take.”
Windels Marx was hiring bankruptcy litigators at the time because of the quantity of Madoff cases. Initially, Tepedino wasn’t sure he was a good fit for the job.
“I hadn’t done any bankruptcy work before I came to Windels,” he says. “But as I talked to them about the position, it was clear that it was a litigation focus. There are different statutes involved and a different court, but it’s the same skill set,” he says. “Part of my journey was learning how these sorts of cases work.”
Tepedino also works on other bankruptcy matters, including representing bankruptcy trustees or creditors, and other aspects of liquidations and reorganizations. In addition, he does straight commercial litigation, often in the New York Commercial Division in state court. While his clients at Windels are generally smaller than those he worked with at Debevoise, the work itself remains interesting and intellectually challenging.
“[Working on the Madoff cases has allowed me] to continue to progress as a litigator. I’ve learned much more about bankruptcy since I’ve been at Windels because it’s a very significant practice area for the firm.”
A historic case
When Tepedino started at Windels Marx in 2011, the firm had been working on the Madoff case for two years, following the financier’s 2008 arrest and Picard’s appointment as trustee under the Securities Investor Protection Act. One of the Windels Marx attorneys was appointed the Chapter 7 trustee for Madoff’s individual bankruptcy in 2009.
“As part of that initial entree, my firm was retained as special counsel,” says Tepedino. “So we work very closely with Mr. Picard’s main counsel, which is BakerHostetler.”
It isn’t unusual for a bankruptcy trustee in a large case to retain other attorneys for a variety of reasons, such as to avoid a conflict or needing a lawyer in a different country—something that has been required with a number of Madoff defendants around the world. And although Madoff died in 2021 while serving a 150-year prison sentence, the complex process of recovering funds for victims of his fraud remains ongoing.
“The actual amount of principal was about $17.5 billion,” says Tepedino. “And in terms of monies returned to investors by the Madoff trustee, I believe it’s just about $14 billion. For a Ponzi scheme, it is almost inconceivable to recover and return that amount of money. You get 10 or 15 percent, maybe, because it’s all been dissipated. It’s gone. But in terms of the effort overall, that is already an amazingly unusual and positive result, with more to be done. And it’s very rewarding to be a part of.”
While he knows his work in the Madoff case will eventually end, Tepedino says he is excited to see what comes next.
“I’ve done a lot of interesting work,” he says. “I spent my first summer in law school working in the family courts in the Bronx. I thought that was a highlight. Like any other career, you want to think the next thing is potentially the most interesting.”
