This has only a little bit to do with securities, litigation, investments or anything else.
But it made me smile and we all need to smile at least once before the year is out.
Have a safe, healthy, prosperous and Happy New Year.
That's the view from The Law Planet - Jupiter, Florida.
I have known Joel Beck for a number of years. First, I knew him as a regulatory attorney at the NASD (now FINRA). Joel went on his own a couple of years ago and writes a very useful blog.
Recently, Joel posted a list of things to consider when a broker is considering changing firms or going it on their own. The list can be found here. Most of the advice is common sense, but the benefit is that it is all in one place.
Changing firms is usually a traumatic experience, particularly if one firm is mad at the other. Having a lawyer in your corner can help.
That's the view from The Law Planet - Jupiter, Florida.
President-Elect Barack Obama has chosen Mary Schapiro to head an agency that is sure to be under scrutiny, the Securities and Exchange Commission. With the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme fresh in everyone's minds, people are looking at the SEC and wondering where that agency was through all of this. I don't know the answer to that.
But what I do know is that Ms. Schapiro is a graduate of my alma mater, Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa. The college, which is over 220 years old, is home to the "Diplomats." In these days of (GO!) Gators, Razorbacks, Hurricanes and Bulldogs, the mighty Diplomat seems a bit, shall we say, timid. But nevertheless, a number of Diplomats have gone on to fame and fortune, or at least they graduated without getting arrested.
Congratulations to Ms. Schapiro. Do the Blue and White proud.
That's the "diplomatic" view from The Law Planet - Jupiter, Florida.
OK folks, wake up! If someone tells you that they can make 8% in up markets and down markets, year in and year out - they are lying!!!. It's as simple as that.
Bernard Madoff, a formerly well-respected Wall Streeter with homes in New York and Palm Beach (and why not?) gave up his lengthy charade and announced that his investment fund was "one big lie." No kidding!
In our local paper, The Palm Beach Post, it was reported that some investors actually thought about their investment before making it. They actually hired someone to look at this unregulated investment scheme and one conclusion was that it was a Ponzi scheme. This occurred several years ago.
I've said this before and I'll say it again "If it looks to good to be true, it isn't true." It's that simple. If the allegations against him are true (and he has supposedly admitted them), Madoff was nothing more than a well-connected thief. He has hurt a lot of people while living the high life.
Another black eye for the financial world.
That's the view from The Law Planet - Jupiter, Florida.
Brian F. LaBovick, Esq.
Esther Uria LaBovick, Esq.
Marcie Dodson, J.D.
Rafael M. Diaz, Esq.
Mark R. Hanson, Esq.
Joseph R. Fields Jr., Esq.
Tara L. Kopp, Esq.
Warren Q. Peebles, Esq.
Joseph T. Zebrowski, J.D.