FORM 3

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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(Print or Type Responses)

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *   Stern Alexander F. 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year) 11/17/2008 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol Lazard Ltd [LAZ] (Last) (First) (Middle) C/O LAZARD LTD, 30 ROCKEFELLER PLAZA 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) _____ Director _____ 10% Owner __X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below) Chief Operating Officer 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year) (Street) NEW YORK, NY 10020 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line) _X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person ___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person (City) (State) (Zip) Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned

1.Title of Security (Instr. 4) 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4) 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5) 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)

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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
Class II Interests of LAZ-MD Holdings LLC	  (1)	  (1)	Class A Common Stock	169,174	$ (1)	D	Â
Restricted Stock Units	  (2)	  (2)	Class Common Stock	104,155	$ (3)	D	Â

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
Stern Alexander F. C/O LAZARD LTD 30 ROCKEFELLER PLAZA NEW YORK, NY 10020	Â	Â	  Chief Operating Officer	Â

Signatures

/s/ Alexander F. Stern		11/21/2008
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Explanation of Responses:

*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1)	The Class II Interests of LAZ-MD Holdings are exchangeable on a one for one basis for Class A comon stock of Lazard Ltd. By their terms 50% of these Class II Interests shall become exchangeable on May 10, 2009 and the other 50% shall become exchangeable on May 10, 2010.
(2)	Of the 104,155 Restricted Stock Units listed, 32,346 vest on March 31, 2010 and 71,809 vest on March 31, 2011.
(3)	Each Restricted Stock Unit represents a contingent right to receive one share of Class A common stock of Lazard Ltd.

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