March 3 (Bloomberg) -- Bernard Madoff, who is accused of defrauding investors of $50 billion, will appear in Manhattan federal court tomorrow so a judge can find out whether he will waive his lawyer’s possible conflict of interest.

U.S. District Judge Leonard Sand is to explore whether the defense attorney, Ira Sorkin, who has represented Madoff since his Dec. 11 arrest, has a conflict. Sorkin’s now-deceased father had an account with Madoff, and in 1992 the lawyer represented a Florida investment firm, Avellino & Bienes, that invested with Madoff.

The hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m., according to a court clerk who declined to be named. Sorkin will probably be free to remain in the case if Madoff acknowledges he understands the possibility that his attorney has a conflict of interest. The decision will be up to the judge.

Sorkin, 65, declined to comment today. Last month, asked about the possible conflict, he said, “It’s not an issue.”

“No living relative of mine today has ever had an account -- as a customer, client, investor -- or a beneficial interest in any account at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC,” Sorkin, a lawyer with Dickstein Shapiro LLP in New York, added in an interview.

The investment by Sorkin’s father came to light last month with the filing of a list of Madoff clients in federal court. The elder Sorkin opened an individual retirement account that he left to the attorney’s mother in 2001, Sorkin said. When Sorkin’s mother died in 2007, the IRA was cashed out.

Madoff’s alleged Ponzi scheme, which would be the largest in history, went back at least to the 1970s, according to people familiar with the case.

Florida Firm

Sorkin represented Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Avellino & Bienes in 1992 after it was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The unregistered firm invested more than $441 million in client money with Madoff, according to court papers. The firm agreed to close the business and refund the money, the SEC said.

Rebekah Carmichael, a spokeswoman for acting U.S. Attorney Lev Dassin, declined to comment.

Madoff is charged with one count of securities fraud for running a massive scheme that paid off new investors with money from previous investors. He faces as much as 20 years in prison if convicted. Madoff hasn’t formally responded to the charge.

Sorkin said in the interview last month that he met Madoff in the 1980s through one of Madoff’s longtime friends, Howard Squadron, the founding partner of New York law firm Squadron Ellenoff Plesent & Sheinfeld LLP. The firm hired Sorkin in 1977 and again in 1997.

Sorkin was director of the SEC’s New York regional office from 1984 to 1986.

The case is SEC v. Madoff, 08-10791, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

To contact the reporters on this story: David Glovin in New York federal court at dglovin@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 3, 2009 17:41 EST