Unconventional Responses to Unique Catastrophes: Tailoring the Law to Meet the Challenges

Overview

• Speaker: Kenneth R. Feinberg

Attorney, author and one of the nation’s leading experts in mediation and alternative dispute resolution, Kenneth R. Feinberg is familiar with difficult, emotionally charged tasks. During the past 15 years, the federal government has solicited him to manage the victim compensation funds set up after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, BP’s Deep Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the General Motors’ faulty-ignition-switch settlement. His latest assignment is to design and administer the Volkswagen Diesel Emission Claims Program for an estimated 500,000 diesel-car owners.

Mr. Feinberg’s lecture will focus on these unique tragedies where policymakers decide that there ought to be a creative alternative to litigation when it comes to compensating innocent victims and their families. He will draw upon his real-life experiences to deliver a lively and thought-provoking address. Finally, CAIL’s most significant honor, its Award for Achievement in the Pursuit of Justice for All, will be presented at the event to Harry M. Reasoner of Vinson & Elkins LLP.

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• One (1) table of ten (10) at the Lecture, priority seating
• Sponsor listing displayed prominently at the registration desk
• Recognition on table number cards (one per guest)
• Recognition as Registration Sponsor on invitations, programs, slideshow during lunch and website

About the Speaker

Kenneth R. Feinberg
The Law Offices of Kenneth R. Feinberg, PC
Washington, D.C.

Mr. Feinberg was appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury to be Special Master of the Federal Kline-Miller Law overseeing reform of private multi-employer pension plans.  From 2009 to 2010 he also served Treasury as the Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation. In this capacity, he was responsible for determining annual compensation packages for senior corporate officials at companies that received the most taxpayer financial assistance.

He was previously designated by the Obama Administration and British Petroleum (BP) to serve as the Administrator of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility following the oil spill explosion in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

He was previously appointed by the Attorney General of the United States to serve as the Special Master of the Federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001.  In this capacity, he developed and promulgated the Regulations governing the administration of the Fund and administered all aspects of the program, including evaluating applications, determining appropriate compensation and disseminating awards. 

During 2014-2015, Mr. Feinberg was the Fund Administrator responsible for the design, implementation and administration of the claims process for the GM Ignition Switch Compensation Program.  He has also served as the Administrator of the compensation programs following the tragedies at Virginia Tech University, the Aurora, Colorado movie shootings, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, and the Boston Marathon bombings.

Mr. Feinberg was appointed in June of 2007 as the Distribution Agent In Re: United States Securities and Exchange Commission v. American International Group, Inc., responsible for the design and implementation of a Plan for the distribution of a Fair Fund settlement of $800 million to eligible claimants.  He has also served as Fund Administrator in other prominent settlements including: In Re:  United States of America v. Computer Associates International, Inc.  (responsible for the design and implementation of a restitution fund of $275 million); In Re: International Air Transportation Surcharge Antitrust Litigation (responsible for the design and administration of a $200 million fund); In Re: Zyprexa Product Liability Litigation (a $700 million settlement fund); and In Re: Latino Officers Association City of New York, Inc., et al., v The City of New York, et al.(a $17 million settlement fund).

Mr. Feinberg is an attorney and one of the nation’s leading experts in mediation and alternative dispute resolution.  He received his B.A. cum laude from the University of Massachusetts in 1967 and his J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1970, where he was Articles Editor of the Law Review.  He was a Law Clerk for Chief Judge Stanley H. Fuld, New York State Court of Appeals from 1970 to 1972; Assistant United States Attorney, Southern District of New York from 1972 to 1975; Special Counsel, United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary from 1975 to 1980; Chief of Staff to Senator Edward M. Kennedy from 1977 to 1979; Partner at Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Handler from 1980 to 1993; and founded The Feinberg Group, LLP in 1993.

Mr. Feinberg has been a Court-Appointed Special Settlement Master, mediator and arbitrator in thousands of disputes.  He was also one of three arbitrators selected in 1999 to determine the fair market value of the original Zapruder film of the Kennedy assassination and was one of two arbitrators selected to determine the allocation of legal fees in the Holocaust slave labor litigation.

Mr. Feinberg was a member of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Human Radiation Experiments from 1994 to 1998; the Presidential Commission on Catastrophic Nuclear Accidents from 1989 to 1990 and the Carnegie Commission Task Force on Science and Technology in Judicial and Regulatory Decision Making from 1989 to 1993.  He previously chaired the American Bar Association Special Committee on Mass Torts from 1988 to 1989.  He is also a national arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association.

Mr. Feinberg serves on the Board of the RAND Institute and is Chairman of the Board of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Foundation in Boston.  He is also the former President of the Washington National Opera.

He has had a distinguished teaching career as Adjunct Professor of Law at Harvard, Georgetown, The University of Pennsylvania, New York University, the University of Virginia and Columbia.  He has also taught as a visiting lecturer at various other law schools, including UCLA, Vanderbilt, and Duke.

Mr. Feinberg was designated “Lawyer of the Year” by the National Law Journal (December, 2004).  He is listed in “Profiles in Power:  The 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America” (National Law Journal,  May 2, 1988; March 25, 1991; April 4, 1994; June 12, 2000; June 19, 2006). He is the author of numerous articles and essays on mediation, mass torts and other matters and is the author of two books: What is Life Worth? The Unprecedented Effort to Compensate the Victims of 9/11 (Public Affairs 2005); Who Gets What:  Fair Compensation After Tragedy and Financial Upheaval (Public Affairs 2012).

About the Higginbotham Lecture Series

The Higginbotham Lecture Series was created in 2013 as a tribute to Judge Patrick E. Higginbotham, thanking him for the twelve years he spent at the helm of The Center for American and International Law’s (CAIL) Board of Trustees.

The Series provides meaningful commentary on current trends pertaining to the rule of law and brings together the biggest legal names for education and discussion. It also raises much-needed funds and awareness for CAIL.

Since its inception, the event has attracted over 700 attendees from the legal, business and judicial community.

The CAIL Award for Achievement in the Pursuit of Justice for All

The CAIL Award for Achievement in the Pursuit of Justice for All will be given to an individual or group whose life/lives and work embodies CAIL’s commitment to the rule of law. Just as CAIL is an international organization, the Award is not limited to people of one country or one region. Just as CAIL, through its lawyer and law enforcement programs, addresses the needs of the entire justice system, the Award may be presented to anyone who is part of that system.

In choosing the recipient, the Executive Committee will be guided by the candidate’s leadership, vision, courage and impact. Recognizing that, at its best, the justice system levels the playing field and provides access, protection and relief to all persons, the Award is intended for those whose work has most effectively promoted justice.

Harry M. Reasoner has been selected as the 2016 Honoree and will be accepting his Award at the event on April 20.

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