WASHINGTON, DC – January 13, 2014 – Stephen Harbeck, president of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which maintains a special reserve fund authorized by Congress to help investors at failed brokerage firms, issued the following statement today on the passing of U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Burton R. Lifland:
�We express our condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Judge Lifland. He was an extraordinary jurist. His knowledge of bankruptcy was encyclopedic. He also never forgot the human consequences of the bankruptcy process, and that was reflected in his extensive writings.
Judge Lifland handled a number of cases under the Securities Investor Protection Act, including, of course, the Madoff case. His opinions in that case will be studied by anyone interested in the application of complex statutes situations deeply affecting the lives of many. He will be remembered as a fine judge and a fine man.�