Among the former clients of Bernard Madoff now trying to push the Ponzi scheme king into personal bankruptcy is a retired Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson litigator whose career included some of the biggest hostile takeover battles of the 1980s.

Marc Cherno, 72, lost nearly $1.12 million in the con, according to papers filed in the Madoff bankruptcy proceedings Monday. Now the corporate defense lawyer is joining forces with plaintiffs firm Milberg in an effort to recoup investors’ money.