Welcome and introductory remarks

Abstract

THE ELEVENTH ANNUAL ALBERT A. DESTEFANO LECTURE ON CORPORATE, SECURITIES & FINANCIAL LAW AT THE FORDHAM CORPORATE LAW CENTER[dagger] ARE FEDERAL JUDGES COMPETENT? DILETTANTES IN AN AGE OF ECONOMIC EXPERTISE LECTURER The Honorable Jed Rakoff** United States District Judge, Southern District of New York PROFESSOR KATSORIS: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of the DeStefano family, I'd like to welcome you here tonight. Unfortunately, they could not be with us, but they send their regrets and their best wishes. For those of you who have never met Al DeStefano, let me briefly describe him to you. He started at Fordham Law School as an evening student, worked during the day, still managed to make the Law Review, and graduated at the top of his class. He then went on to become a partner in the Becker firm, specializing in corporate matters, particularly mergers and acquisitions. In his spare time, he devoted himself to numerous charitable endeavors and, as an adjunct professor on our faculty, shared his enormous knowledge and experience with our students. In short, Al DeStefano was a symbol of what Fordham Law School was in the past, he is a symbol of what Fordham Law School still is, and he will remain a symbol of what Fordham Law School will be in the future. Since its inception about a decade ago, the DeStefano Lectures have covered a wide range of timely and diverse topics, such as: the need for market regulation, the demise of Enron and its auditor Arthur Andersen, strengthening the protection for investors, making our capital markets more transparent, the subprime mortgage meltdown, and last year, Corporate Accountability and Governance. Tonight we are in for another treat. Our Constitution was founded on the premise of the separation of powers - legislative, executive and judiciary. The only way that works is with an independent judiciary, and a shining example of such independence is our speaker here tonight who will discuss "Are Federal Judges Competent? - Dilettantes in an Age of Economic Expertise." Jed Rakoff was born in the City of Brotherly Love, the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence. He earned his BA in English literature from Swarthmore College with honors, received a Masters in Philosophy from Oxford, and graduated Cum Laude from Harvard Law School - a school at which his younger brother Todd is a faculty member. After law school, he clerked for the Honorable Abraham Freedman of the Third Circuit, spent two years practicing law at Debevoise, and moved on to become an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York where he spent seven years, the last two of which he was Chief of the Business & Securities Fraud Prevention Unit. After that he became a partner at Mudge Rose, and then Fried Frank, where he headed both firms' criminal defense and RICO sections. While learning and honing his legal skills, he nurtured a second career - that of a songwritcr. Indeed, the Huffington Post recently - in a feature article - suggested Jed Rakoff should become a member of the Supremes. Because of his dual interest in the law and songwriting, this caused a lot of confusion, because as you know the Supremes were a most successful female trio singing group with twelve number one records on Billboard's Hot 100 list. Rumor had it he sought to join the trio as its first male vocalist, but negotiations fell through when he refused to shave his beard. After careful analysis, however, it appears that the Huffington Post article intended instead to suggest that he should be appointed to the U. …