Podcasts about victim compensation fund

“You can't put a price on life!” say politicians, pretending to be compassionate, spending other people's money.But Kenneth Feinberg, Special Master of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, says you CAN put a price on life. He's distributed funds to the victims of 9/11, the Pulse nightclub shooting, the Boston Marathon, the Deepwater Horizon spill, the Virginia Tech shooting, the Aurora movie theater shooting, and now the LA wildfires.In this podcast he explains how he does it, why it's important, but also why (despite the success of the 9/11 fund) paying out money to victims should not be something that government does.

Welcome to Original Jurisdiction, the latest legal publication by me, David Lat. You can learn more about Original Jurisdiction by reading its About page, and you can email me at davidlat@substack.com. This is a reader-supported publication; you can subscribe by clicking here.Yesterday, Southern California Edison (SCE), the utility whose power lines may have started the devastating Eaton Fire, announced its Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program. Under the program, people affected by the fire can receive hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in compensation, in a matter of months rather than years—but in exchange, they must give up their right to sue.It should come as no surprise that SCE, in designing the program, sought the help of Kenneth Feinberg. For more than 40 years, often in the wake of tragedy or disaster, Feinberg has helped mediate and resolve seemingly intractable crises. He's most well-known for how he and his colleague Camille Biros designed and administered the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. But he has worked on many other headline-making matters over the years, including the Agent Orange product liability litigation, the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trust, the multidistrict litigation involving Monsanto's Roundup weed killer—and now, of course, the Eaton Fire.How did Ken develop such a fascinating and unique practice? What is the most difficult aspect of administering these giant compensation funds? Do these funds represent the wave of the future, as an alternative to (increasingly expensive) litigation? Having just turned 80, does he have any plans to retire?Last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ken—the day after his 80th birthday—and we covered all these topics. The result is what I found to be one of the most moving conversations I've ever had on this podcast.Thanks to Ken Feinberg for joining me—and, of course, for his many years of service as America's go-to mediator in times of crisis.Show Notes:* Kenneth Feinberg bio, Wikipedia* Kenneth Feinberg profile, Chambers and Partners* L.A. Fire Victims Face a Choice, by Jill Cowan for The New York TimesPrefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.Sponsored by:NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email careerdevelopment@nexfirm.com.Three quick notes about this transcript. First, it has been cleaned up from the audio in ways that don't alter substance—e.g., by deleting verbal filler or adding a word here or there to clarify meaning. Second, my interviewee has not reviewed this transcript, and any errors are mine. Third, because of length constraints, this newsletter may be truncated in email; to view the entire post, simply click on “View entire message” in your email app.David Lat: Welcome to the Original Jurisdiction podcast. I'm your host, David Lat, author of a Substack newsletter about law and the legal profession also named Original Jurisdiction, which you can read and subscribe to at davidlat.substack.com. You're listening to the eighty-fourth episode of this podcast, recorded on Friday, October 24.Thanks to this podcast's sponsor, NexFirm. NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email careerdevelopment@nexfirm.com. Want to know who the guest will be for the next Original Jurisdiction podcast? Follow NexFirm on LinkedIn for a preview.I like to think that I've produced some good podcast episodes over the past three-plus years, but I feel that this latest one is a standout. I'm hard-pressed to think of an interview that was more emotionally affecting to me than what you're about to hear.Kenneth Feinberg is a leading figure in the world of mediation and alternative dispute resolution. He is most well-known for having served as special master of the U.S. government's September 11th Victim Compensation Fund—and for me, as someone who was in New York City on September 11, I found his discussion of that work profoundly moving. But he has handled many major matters over the years, such as the Agent Orange product liability litigation to the BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster Victim Compensation Fund. And he's working right now on a matter that's in the headlines: the California wildfires. Ken has been hired by Southern California Edison to help design a compensation program for victims of the 2025 Eaton fire. Ken has written about his fascinating work in two books: What Is Life Worth?: The Unprecedented Effort to Compensate the Victims of 9/11 and Who Gets What: Fair Compensation after Tragedy and Financial Upheaval. Without further ado, here's my conversation with Ken Feinberg.Ken, thank you so much for joining me.Ken Feinberg: Thank you very much; it's an honor to be here.DL: We are recording this shortly after your 80th birthday, so happy birthday!KF: Thank you very much.DL: Let's go back to your birth; let's start at the beginning. You grew up in Massachusetts, I believe.KF: That's right: Brockton, Massachusetts, about 20 miles south of Boston.DL: Your parents weren't lawyers. Tell us about what they did.KF: My parents were blue-collar workers from Massachusetts, second-generation immigrants. My father ran a wholesale tire distributorship, my mother was a bookkeeper, and we grew up in the 1940s and ‘50s, even the early ‘60s, in a town where there was great optimism, a very vibrant Jewish community, three different synagogues, a very optimistic time in American history—post-World War II, pre-Vietnam, and a time when communitarianism, working together to advance the collective good, was a prominent characteristic of Brockton, and most of the country, during the time that I was in elementary school and high school in Brockton.DL: Did the time in which you grow up shape or influence your decision to go into law?KF: Yes. More than law—the time growing up had a great impact on my decision to give back to the community from which I came. You've got to remember, when I was a teenager, the president of the United States was John F. Kennedy, and I'll never forget because it had a tremendous impact on me—President Kennedy reminding everybody that public service is a noble undertaking, government is not a dirty word, and especially his famous quote (or one of his many quotes), “Every individual can make a difference.” I never forgot that, and it had a personal impact on me and has had an impact on me throughout my life. [Ed. note: The quotation generally attributed to JFK is, “One person can make a difference, and everyone should try.” Whether he actually said these exact words is unclear, but it's certainly consistent with many other sentiments he expressed throughout his life.]DL: When you went to college at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, what did you study?KF: I studied history and political science. I was very interested in how individuals over the centuries change history, the theory of historians that great individuals articulate history and drive it in a certain direction—for good, like President Kennedy or Abraham Lincoln or George Washington, or for ill, like Adolf Hitler or Mussolini. And so it was history that I really delved into in my undergraduate years.DL: What led you then to turn to law school?KF: I always enjoyed acting on the stage—theater, comedies, musicals, dramas—and at the University of Massachusetts, I did quite a bit of that. In my senior year, I anticipated going to drama school at Yale, or some other academic master's program in theater. My father gave me very good advice. He said, “Ken, most actors end up waiting on restaurant tables in Manhattan, waiting for a big break that never comes. Why don't you turn your skills on the stage to a career in the courtroom, in litigation, talking to juries and convincing judges?” That was very sound advice from my father, and I ended up attending NYU Law School and having a career in the law.DL: Yes—and you recount that story in your book, and I just love that. It's really interesting to hear what parents think of our careers. But anyway, you did very well in law school, you were on the law review, and then your first job out of law school was something that we might expect out of someone who did well in law school.KF: Yes. I was a law clerk to the chief judge of New York State, Stanley Fuld, a very famous state jurist, and he had his chambers in New York City. For one week, every six or seven weeks, we would go to the state capitol in Albany to hear cases, and it was Judge Fuld who was my transition from law school to the practice of law.DL: I view clerking as a form of government service—and then you continued in service after that.KF: That's right. Remembering what my father had suggested, I then turned my attention to the courtroom and became an assistant United States attorney, a federal prosecutor, in New York City. I served as a prosecutor and as a trial lawyer for a little over three years. And then I had a wonderful opportunity to go to work for Senator Ted Kennedy on the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington and stayed with him for about five years.DL: You talk about this also in your books—you worked on a pretty diverse range of issues for the senator, right?KF: That's right. For the first three years I worked on his staff on the Senate Judiciary Committee, with some excellent colleagues—soon-to-be Supreme Court justice Stephen Breyer was with me, noted litigator David Boies was in the office—and for the first three years, it was law-related issues. Then in 1978, Senator Kennedy asked me to be his chief of staff, and once I went over and became his chief of staff, the issues of course mushroomed. He was running for president, so there were issues of education, health, international relations—a wide diversity of issues, very broad-based.DL: I recall that you didn't love the chief of staff's duties.KF: No. Operations or administration was not my priority. I loved substance, issues—whatever the issues were, trying to work out legislative compromises, trying to give back something in the way of legislation to the people. And internal operations and administration, I quickly discovered, was not my forte. It was not something that excited me.DL: Although it's interesting: what you are most well-known for is overseeing and administering these large funds and compensating victims of these horrific tragedies, and there's a huge amount of administration involved in that.KF: Yes, but I'm a very good delegator. In fact, if you look at the track record of my career in designing and administering these programs—9/11 or the Deepwater Horizon oil spill or the Patriots' Day Marathon bombings in Boston—I was indeed fortunate in all of those matters to have at my side, for over 40 years, Camille Biros. She's not a lawyer, but she's the nation's expert on designing, administering, and operating these programs, and as you delve into what I've done and haven't done, her expertise has been invaluable.DL: I would call Camille your secret weapon, except she's not secret. She's been profiled in The New York Times, and she's a well-known figure in her own right.KF: That is correct. She was just in the last few months named one of the 50 Women Over 50 that have had such an impact in the country—that list by Forbes that comes out every year. She's prominently featured in that magazine.DL: Shifting back to your career, where did you go after your time in the Senate?KF: I opened up a Washington office for a prominent New York law firm, and for the next decade or more, that was the center of my professional activity.DL: So that was Kaye Scholer, now Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer. What led you to go from your career in the public sector, where you spent a number of your years right out of law school, into so-called Biglaw?KF: Practicality and financial considerations. I had worked for over a decade in public service. I now had a wife, I had three young children, and it was time to give them financial security. And “Biglaw,” as you put it—Biglaw in Washington was lucrative, and it was something that gave me a financial base from which I could try and expand my different interests professionally. And that was the reason that for about 12 years I was in private practice for a major firm, Kaye Scholer.DL: And then tell us what happened next.KF: A great lesson in not planning too far ahead. In 1984, I got a call from a former clerk of Judge Fuld whom I knew from the clerk network: Judge Jack Weinstein, a nationally recognized jurist from Brooklyn, the Eastern District, and a federal judge. He had on his docket the Vietnam veterans' Agent Orange class action.You may recall that there were about 250,000 Vietnam veterans who came home claiming illness or injury or death due to the herbicide Agent Orange, which had been dropped by the U.S. Air Force in Vietnam to burn the foliage and vegetation where the Viet Cong enemy might be hiding. Those Vietnam veterans came home suffering terrible diseases, including cancer and chloracne (a sort of acne on the skin), and they brought a lawsuit. Judge Weinstein had the case. Weinstein realized that if that case went to trial, it could be 10 years before there'd be a result, with appeals and all of that.So he appointed me as mediator, called the “special master,” whose job it was to try and settle the case, all as a mediator. Well, after eight weeks of trying, we were successful. There was a master settlement totaling about $250 million—at the time, one of the largest tort verdicts in history. And that one case, front-page news around the nation, set me on a different track. Instead of remaining a Washington lawyer involved in regulatory and legislative matters, I became a mediator, an individual retained by the courts or by the parties to help resolve a case. And that was the beginning. That one Agent Orange case transformed my entire professional career and moved me in a different direction completely.DL: So you knew the late Judge Weinstein through Fuld alumni circles. What background did you have in mediation already, before you handled this gigantic case?KF: None. I told Judge Weinstein, “Judge, I never took a course in mediation at law school (there wasn't one then), and I don't know anything about bringing the parties together, trying to get them to settle.” He said, “I know you. I know your background. I've followed your career. You worked for Senator Kennedy. You are the perfect person.” And until the day I die, I'm beholden to Judge Weinstein for having faith in me to take this on.DL: And over the years, you actually worked on a number of matters at the request of Judge Weinstein.KF: A dozen. I worked on tobacco cases, on asbestos cases, on drug and medical device cases. I even worked for Judge Weinstein mediating the closing of the Shoreham nuclear plant on Long Island. I handled a wide range of cases where he called on me to act as his court-appointed mediator to resolve cases on his docket.DL: You've carved out a very unique and fascinating niche within the law, and I'm guessing that most people who meet you nowadays know who you are. But say you're in a foreign country or something, and some total stranger is chatting with you and asks what you do for a living. What would you say?KF: I would say I'm a lawyer, and I specialize in dispute resolution. It might be mediation, it might be arbitration, or it might even be negotiation, where somebody asks me to negotiate on their behalf. So I just tell people there is a growing field of law in the United States called ADR—alternative dispute resolution—and that it is, as you say, David, my niche, my focus when called upon.DL: And I think it's fair to say that you're one of the founding people in this field or early pioneers—or I don't know how you would describe it.KF: I think that's right. When I began with Agent Orange, there was no mediation to speak of. It certainly wasn't institutionalized; it wasn't streamlined. Today, in 2025, the American Bar Association has a special section on alternative dispute resolution, it's taught in every law school in the United States, there are thousands of mediators and arbitrators, and it's become a major leg in law school of different disciplines and specialties.DL: One question I often ask my guests is, “What is the matter you are most proud of?” Another question I often ask my guests is, “What is the hardest matter you've ever had to deal with?” Another question I often ask my guests is, “What is the matter that you're most well-known for?” And I feel in your case, the same matter is responsive to all three of those questions.KF: That's correct. The most difficult, the most challenging, the most rewarding matter, the one that's given me the most exposure, was the federal September 11 Victim Compensation Fund of 2001, when I was appointed by President George W. Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft to implement, design, and administer a very unique federal law that had been enacted right after 9/11.DL: I got chills as you were just even stating that, very factually, because I was in New York on 9/11, and a lot of us remember the trauma and difficulty of that time. And you basically had to live with that and talk to hundreds, even thousands, of people—survivors, family members—for almost three years. And you did it pro bono. So let me ask you this: what were you thinking?KF: What triggered my interest was the law itself. Thirteen days after the attacks, Congress passed this law, unique in American history, setting up a no-fault administrator compensation system. Don't go to court. Those who volunteer—families of the dead, those who were physically injured at the World Trade Center or the Pentagon—you can voluntarily seek compensation from a taxpayer-funded law. Now, if you don't want it, you don't have to go. It's a voluntary program.The key will be whether the special master or the administrator will be able to convince people that it is a better avenue to pursue than a long, delayed, uncertain lawsuit. And based on my previous experience for the last 15 years, starting with Agent Orange and asbestos and these other tragedies, I volunteered. I went to Senator Kennedy and said, “What about this?” He said, “Leave it to me.” He called President Bush. He knew Attorney General John Ashcroft, who was his former colleague in the U.S. Senate, and he had great admiration for Senator Ashcroft. And so I was invited by the attorney general for an interview, and I told him I was interested. I told him I would only do it pro bono. You can't get paid for a job like this; it's patriotism. And he said, “Go for it.” And he turned out to be my biggest, strongest ally during the 33 months of the program.DL: Are you the managing partner of a boutique or midsize firm? If so, you know that your most important job is attracting and retaining top talent. It's not easy, especially if your benefits don't match up well with those of Biglaw firms or if your HR process feels “small time.” NexFirm has created an onboarding and benefits experience that rivals an Am Law 100 firm, so you can compete for the best talent at a price your firm can afford. Want to learn more? Contact NexFirm at 212-292-1002 or email betterbenefits@nexfirm.com.You talk about this in your books: you were recommended by a very prominent Democratic politician, and the administration at the time was Republican. George W. Bush was president, and John Ashcroft was the attorney general. Why wouldn't they have picked a Republican for this project?KF: Very good question. Senator Kennedy told both of them, “You better be careful here. This is a very, very uncertain program, with taxpayer money used to pay only certain victims. This could be a disaster. And you would be well-advised to pick someone who is not a prominent friend of yours, who is not perceived as just a Republican arm of the Justice Department or the White House. And I've got the perfect person. You couldn't pick a more opposite politician than my former chief of staff, Ken Feinberg. But look at what he's done.” And I think to Senator Kennedy's credit, and certainly to President Bush and to John Ashcroft's, they selected me.DL: As you would expect with a program of this size and complexity, there was controversy and certainly criticism over the years. But overall, looking back, I think people regard it widely as a huge success. Do you have a sense or an estimate of what percentage of people in the position to accept settlements through the program did that, rather than litigate? Because in accepting funds from the program, they did waive their right to bring all sorts of lawsuits.KF: That's correct. If you look at the statistics, if the statistics are a barometer of success, 5,300 applicants were eligible, because of death—about 2,950, somewhere in there—and the remaining claims were for physical injury. Of the 5,300, 97 percent voluntarily accepted the compensation. Only 94 people, 3 percent, opted out, and they all settled their cases five years later. There was never a trial on who was responsible in the law for 9/11. So if statistics are an indication—and I think they are a good indication—the program was a stunning success in accomplishing Congress's objective, which was diverting people voluntarily out of the court system.DL: Absolutely. And that's just a striking statistic. It was really successful in getting funds to families that needed it. They had lost breadwinners; they had lost loved ones. It was hugely successful, and it did not take a decade, as some of these cases involving just thousands of victims often do.I was struck by one thing you just said. You mentioned there was really no trial. And in reading your accounts of your work on this, it seemed almost like people viewed talking to you and your colleagues, Camille and others on this—I think they almost viewed that as their opportunity to be heard, since there wasn't a trial where they would get to testify.KF: That's correct. The primary reason for the success of the 9/11 Fund, and a valuable lesson for me thereafter, was this: give victims the opportunity to be heard, not only in public town-hall meetings where collectively people can vent, but in private, with doors closed. It's just the victim and Feinberg or his designee, Camille. We were the face of the government here. You can't get a meeting with the secretary of defense or the attorney general, the head of the Department of Justice. What you can get is an opportunity behind closed doors to express your anger, your frustration, your disappointment, your sense of uncertainty, with the government official responsible for cutting the checks. And that had an enormous difference in assuring the success of the program.DL: What would you say was the hardest aspect of your work on the Fund?KF: The hardest part of the 9/11 Fund, which I'll never recover from, was not calculating the value of a life. Judges and juries do that every day, David, in every court, in New Jersey and 49 other states. That is not a difficult assignment. What would the victim have earned over a work life? Add something for pain and suffering and emotional distress, and there's your check.The hardest part in any of these funds, starting with 9/11—the most difficult aspect, the challenge—is empathy, and your willingness to sit for over 900 separate hearings, me alone with family members or victims, to hear what they want to tell you, and to make that meeting, from their perspective, worthwhile and constructive. That's the hard part.DL: Did you find it sometimes difficult to remain emotionally composed? Or did you, after a while, develop a sort of thick skin?KF: You remain composed. You are a professional. You have a job to do, for the president of the United States. You can't start wailing and crying in the presence of somebody who was also wailing and crying, so you have to compose yourself. But I tell people who say, “Could I do what you did?” I say, “Sure. There are plenty of people in this country that can do what I did—if you can brace yourself for the emotional trauma that comes with meeting with victim after victim after victim and hearing their stories, which are...” You can't make them up. They're so heart-wrenching and so tragic.I'll give you one example. A lady came to see me, 26 years old, sobbing—one of hundreds of people I met with. “Mr. Feinberg, I lost my husband. He was a fireman at the World Trade Center. He died on 9/11. And he left me with our two children, six and four. Now, Mr. Feinberg, you've calculated and told me I'm going to receive $2.4 million, tax-free, from this 9/11 Fund. I want it in 30 days.”I said to Mrs. Jones, “This is public, taxpayer money. We have to go down to the U.S. Treasury. They've got to cut the checks; they've got to dot all the i's and cross all the t's. It may be 60 days or 90 days, but you'll get your money.”“No. Thirty days.”I said, “Mrs. Jones, why do you need the money in 30 days?”She said, “Why? I'll tell you why, Mr. Feinberg. I have terminal cancer. I have 10 weeks to live. My husband was going to survive me and take care of our two children. Now they're going to be orphans. I have got to get this money, find a guardian, make sure the money's safe, prepare for the kids' schooling. I don't have a lot of time. I need your help.”Well, we ran down to the U.S. Treasury and helped process the check in record time. We got her the money in 30 days—and eight weeks later, she died. Now when you hear story after story like this, you get some indication of the emotional pressure that builds and is debilitating, frankly. And we managed to get through it.DL: Wow. I got a little choked up just even hearing you tell that. Wow—I really don't know what to say.When you were working on the 9/11 Fund, did you have time for any other matters, or was this pretty much exclusively what you were working on for the 33 months?KF: Professionally, it was exclusive. Now what I did was, I stayed in my law firm, so I had a living. Other people in the firm were generating income for the firm; I wasn't on the dole. But it was exclusive. During the day, you are swamped with these individual requests, decisions that have to be made, checks that have to be cut. At night, I escaped: opera, orchestral concerts, chamber music, art museums—the height of civilization. During the day, in the depths of horror of civilization; at night, an escape, an opportunity to just enjoy the benefits of civilization. You better have a loving family, as I did, that stands behind you—because you never get over it, really.DL: That's such an important lesson, to actually have that time—because if you wanted to, you could have worked on this 24/7. But it is important to have some time to just clear your head or spend time with your family, especially just given what you were dealing with day-to-day.KF: That's right. And of course, during the day, we made a point of that as well. If we were holding hearings like the one I just explained, we'd take a one-hour break, go for a walk, go into Central Park or into downtown Washington, buy an ice cream cone, see the kids playing in playgrounds and laughing. You've got to let the steam out of the pressure cooker, or it'll kill you. And that was the most difficult part of the whole program. In all of these programs, that's the common denominator: emotional stress and unhappiness on the part of the victims.DL: One last question, before we turn to some other matters. There was also a very large logistical apparatus associated with this, right? For example, PricewaterhouseCoopers. It wasn't just you and Camille trying to deal with these thousands of survivors and claimants; you did have support.KF: That's right. Pricewaterhouse won the bid at the Justice Department. This is public: Pricewaterhouse, for something like around $100 million, put 450 people to work with us to help us process claims, appraise values, do the research. Pricewaterhouse was a tremendous ally and has gone on, since 9/11, to handle claims design and claims administration, as one of its many specialties. Emily Kent, Chuck Hacker, people like that we worked with for years, very much experts in these areas.DL: So after your work on the 9/11 Fund, you've worked on a number of these types of matters. Is there one that you would say ranks second in terms of complexity or difficulty or meaningfulness to you?KF: Yes. Deepwater Horizon in 2011, 2012—that oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico blew up and killed about, I don't know, 15 to 20 people in the explosion. But the real challenge in that program was how we received, in 16 months, about 1,250,000 claims for business interruption, business losses, property damage. We received over a million claims from 50 states. I think we got probably a dozen claims from New Jersey; I didn't know the oil had gotten to New Jersey. We received claims from 35 foreign countries. And the sheer volume of the disaster overwhelmed us. We had, at one point, something like 40,000 people—vendors—working for us. We had 35 offices throughout the Gulf of Mexico, from Galveston, Texas, all the way to Mobile Bay, Alabama. Nevertheless, in 16 months, on behalf of BP, Deepwater Horizon, we paid out all BP money, a little over $7 billion, to 550,000 eligible claimants. And that, I would say, other than 9/11, had the greatest impact and was the most satisfying.DL: You mentioned some claims coming from some pretty far-flung jurisdictions. In these programs, how much of a problem is fraud?KF: Not much. First of all, with death claims like 9/11 or the Boston Marathon bombings or the 20 first-graders who died in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, at the hands of a deranged gunmen—most of the time, in traumatic death and injury, you've got records. No one can beat the system; you have to have a death certificate. In 9/11, where are your military records, if you were at the Pentagon? Where are the airplane manifests? You've got to be on the manifest if you were flying on that plane.Now, the problem becomes more pronounced in something like BP, where you've got over a million claims, and you wonder, how many people can claim injury from this explosion? There we had an anti-fraud unit—Guidepost, Bart Schwartz's company—and they did a tremendous job of spot-checking claims. I think that out of over a million claims, there may have been 25,000 that were suspicious. And we sent those claims to the Justice Department, and they prosecuted a fair number of people. But it wasn't a huge problem. I think the fraud rate was something like 3 percent; that's nothing. So overall, we haven't found—and we have to be ever-vigilant, you're right—but we haven't found much in the way of fraud.DL: I'm glad to hear that, because it would really be very depressing to think that there were people trying to profiteer off these terrible disasters and tragedies. Speaking of continuing disasters and tragedies, turning to current events, you are now working with Southern California Edison in dealing with claims related to the Eaton Fire. And this is a pending matter, so of course you may have some limits in terms of what you can discuss, but what can you say in a general sense about this undertaking?KF: This is the Los Angeles wildfires that everybody knows about, from the last nine or ten months—the tremendous fire damage in Los Angeles. One of the fires, or one of the selected hubs of the fire, was the Eaton Fire. Southern California Edison, the utility involved in the litigation and finger-pointing, decided to set up, à la 9/11, a voluntary claims program. Not so much to deal with death—there were about 19 deaths, and a handful of physical injuries—but terrible fire damage, destroyed homes, damaged businesses, smoke and ash and soot, for miles in every direction. And the utility decided, its executive decided, “We want to do the right thing here. We may be held liable or we may not be held liable for the fire, but we think the right thing to do is nip in the bud this idea of extended litigation. Look at 9/11: only 94 people ended up suing. We want to set up a program.”They came to Camille and me. Over the last eight weeks, we've designed the program, and I think in the last week of October or the first week of November, you will see publicly, “Here is the protocol; here is the claim form. Please submit your claims, and we'll get them paid within 90 days.” And if history is an indicator, Camille and I think that the Eaton Fire Protocol will be a success, and the great bulk of the thousands of victims will voluntarily decide to come into the program. We'll see. [Ed. note: On Wednesday, a few days after Ken and I recorded this episode, Southern California Edison announced its Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program.]DL: That raises a question that I'm curious about. How would you describe the relationship between the work that you and Camille and your colleagues do and the traditional work of the courts, in terms of in-the-trenches litigation? Because I do wonder whether the growth in your field is perhaps related to some developments in litigation, in terms of litigation becoming more expensive over the decades (in a way that far outstrips inflation), more complicated, or more protracted. How would you characterize that relationship?KF: I would say that the programs that we design and administer—like 9/11, like BP, plus the Eaton wildfires—are an exception to the rule. Nobody should think that these programs that we have worked on are the wave of the future. They are not the wave of the future; they are isolated, unique examples, where a company—or in 9/11, the U.S. government—decides, “We ought to set up a special program where the courts aren't involved, certainly not directly.” In 9/11, they were prohibited to be involved, by statute; in some of these other programs, like BP, the courts have a relationship, but they don't interfere with the day-to-day administration of the program.And I think the American people have a lot of faith in the litigation system that you correctly point out can be uncertain, very inefficient, and very costly. But the American people, since the founding of the country, think, “You pick your lawyer, I'll pick my lawyer, and we'll have a judge and jury decide.” That's the American rule of law; I don't think it's going to change. But occasionally there is a groundswell of public pressure to come up with a program, or there'll be a company—like the utility, like BP—that decides to have a program.And I'll give you one other example: the Catholic Church confronted thousands of claims of sexual abuse by priests. It came to us, and we set up a program—just like 9/11, just like BP—where we invited, voluntarily, any minor—any minor from decades ago, now an adult—who had been abused by the church to come into this voluntary program. We paid out, I think, $700 million to $800 million, to victims in dioceses around the country. So there's another example—Camille did most of that—but these programs are all relatively rare. There are thousands of litigations every day, and nothing's going to change that.DL: I had a guest on a few weeks ago, Chris Seeger of Seeger Weiss, who does a lot of work in the mass-tort space. It's interesting: I feel that that space has evolved, and maybe in some ways it's more efficient than it used to be. They have these multi-district litigation panels, they have these bellwether trials, and then things often get settled, once people have a sense of the values. That system and your approach seem to have some similarities, in the sense that you're not individually trying each one of these cases, and you're having somebody with liability come forward and voluntarily pay out money, after some kind of negotiation.KF: Well, there's certainly negotiation in what Chris Seeger does; I'm not sure we have much negotiation. We say, “Here's the amount under the administrative scheme.” It's like in workers' compensation: here's the amount. You don't have to take it. There's nothing to really talk about, unless you have new evidence that we're not aware of. And those programs, when we do design them, seem to work very efficiently.Again, if you ask Camille Biros what was the toughest part of valuing individual claims of sexual-abuse directed at minors, she would say, “These hearings: we gave every person who wanted an opportunity to be heard.” And when they come to see Camille, they don't come to talk about money; they want validation for what they went through. “Believe me, will you? Ken, Camille, believe me.” And when Camille says, “We do believe you,” they immediately, or almost immediately, accept the compensation and sign a release: “I will not sue the Catholic diocese.”DL: So you mentioned there isn't really much negotiation, but you did talk in the book about these sort of “appeals.” You had these two tracks, “Appeals A” and “Appeals B.” Can you talk about that? Did you ever revisit what you had set as the award for a particular victim's family, after hearing from them in person?KF: Sure. Now, remember, those appeals came back to us, not to a court; there's no court involvement. But in 9/11, in BP, if somebody said, “You made a mistake—you didn't account for these profits or this revenue, or you didn't take into account this contract that my dead firefighter husband had that would've given him a lot more money”—of course, we'll revisit that. We invited that. But that's an internal appeals process. The people who calculated the value of the claim are the same people that are going to be looking at revisiting the claim. But again, that's due process, and that's something that we thought was important.DL: You and Camille have been doing this really important work for decades. Since this is, of course, shortly after your 80th birthday, I should ask: do you have future plans? You're tackling some of the most complicated matters, headline-making matters. Would you ever want to retire at some point?KF: I have no intention of retiring. I do agree that when you reach a certain pinnacle in what you've done, you do slow down. We are much more selective in what we do. I used to have maybe 15 mediations going on at once; now, we have one or two matters, like the Los Angeles wildfires. As long as I'm capable, as long as Camille's willing, we'll continue to do it, but we'll be very careful about what we select to do. We don't travel much. The Los Angeles wildfires was largely Zooms, going back and forth. And we're not going to administer that program. We had administered 9/11 and BP; we're trying to move away from that. It's very time-consuming and stressful. So we've accomplished a great deal over the last 50 years—but as long as we can do it, we'll continue to do it.DL: Do you have any junior colleagues who would take over what you and Camille have built?KF: We don't have junior colleagues. There's just the two of us and Cindy Sanzotta, our receptionist. But it's an interesting question: “Who's after Feinberg? Who's next in doing this?” I think there are thousands of people in this country who could do what we do. It is not rocket science. It really isn't. I'll tell you what's difficult: the emotion. If somebody wants to do what we do, you better brace yourself for the emotion, the anger, the frustration, the finger pointing. It goes with the territory. And if you don't have the psychological ability to handle this type of stress, stay away. But I'm sure somebody will be there, and no one's irreplaceable.DL: Well, I know I personally could not handle it. I worked when I was at a law firm on civil litigation over insurance proceeds related to the World Trade Center, and that was a very draining case, and I was very glad to no longer be on it. So I could not do what you and Camille do. But let me ask you, to end this section on a positive note: what would you say is the most rewarding or meaningful or satisfying aspect of the work that you do on these programs?KF: Giving back to the community. Public service. Helping the community heal. Not so much the individuals; the individuals are part of the community. “Every individual can make a difference.” I remember that every day, what John F. Kennedy said: government service is a noble undertaking. So what's most rewarding for me is that although I'm a private practitioner—I am no longer in government service, since my days with Senator Kennedy—I'd like to think that I performed a valuable service for the community, the resilience of the community, the charity exhibited by the community. And that gives me a great sense of self-satisfaction.DL: You absolutely have. It's been amazing, and I'm so grateful for you taking the time to join me.So now, onto our speed round. These are four questions that are standardized. My first question is, what do you like the least about the law? And this can either be the practice of law or law in a more abstract sense.KF: Uncertainty. What I don't like about the law is—and I guess maybe it's the flip side of the best way to get to a result—I don't like the uncertainty of the law. I don't like the fact that until the very end of the process, you don't know if your view and opinion will prevail. And I think losing control over your destiny in that regard is problematic.DL: My second question—and maybe we touched on this a little bit, when we talked about your father's opinions—what would you be if you were not a lawyer?KF: Probably an actor. As I say, I almost became an actor. And I still love theater and the movies and Broadway shows. If my father hadn't given me that advice, I was on the cusp of pursuing a career in the theater.DL: Have you dabbled in anything in your (probably limited) spare time—community theater, anything like that?KF: No, but I certainly have prioritized in my spare time classical music and the peace and optimism it brings to the listener. It's been an important part of my life.DL: My third question is, how much sleep do you get each night?KF: Well, it varies from program to program. I'd like to get seven hours. That's what my doctors tell me: “Ken, very important—more important than pills and exercise and diet—is sleep. Your body needs a minimum of seven hours.” Well, for me, seven hours is rare—it's more like six or even five, and during 9/11 or during Eaton wildfires, it might be more like four or five. And that's not enough, and that is a problem.DL: My last question is, any final words of wisdom, such as career advice or life advice, for my listeners?KF: Yes, I'll give you some career and life advice. It's very simple: don't plan too far ahead. People have this view—you may think you know what you want to do with your career. You may think you know what life holds for you. You don't know. If I've learned anything over the last decades, life has a way of changing the best-laid plans. These 9/11 husbands and wives said goodbye to their children, “we'll see you for dinner,” a perfunctory wave—and they never saw them again. Dust, not even a body. And the idea I tell law students—who say, ”I'm going to be a corporate lawyer,” or “I'm going to be a litigator”—I tell them, “You have no idea what your legal career will look like. Look at Feinberg; he never planned on this. He never thought, in his wildest dreams, that this would be his chosen avenue of the law.”My advice: enjoy the moment. Do what you like now. Don't worry too much about what you'll be doing two years, five years, 10 years, a lifetime ahead of you. It doesn't work that way. Everybody gets thrown curveballs, and that's advice I give to everybody.DL: Well, you did not plan out your career, but it has turned out wonderfully, and the country is better for it. Thank you, Ken, both for your work on all these matters over the years and for joining me today.KF: A privilege and an honor. Thanks, David.DL: Thanks so much to Ken for joining me—and, of course, for his decades of work resolving some of the thorniest disputes in the country, which is truly a form of public service.Thanks to NexFirm for sponsoring the Original Jurisdiction podcast. NexFirm has helped many attorneys to leave Biglaw and launch firms of their own. To explore this opportunity, please contact NexFirm at 212-292-1000 or email careerdevelopment@nexfirm.com to learn more.Thanks to Tommy Harron, my sound engineer here at Original Jurisdiction, and thanks to you, my listeners and readers. To connect with me, please email me at davidlat@substack.com, or find me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, at davidlat, and on Instagram and Threads at davidbenjaminlat.If you enjoyed today's episode, please rate, review, and subscribe. Please subscribe to the Original Jurisdiction newsletter if you don't already, over at davidlat.substack.com. This podcast is free, but it's made possible by paid subscriptions to the newsletter.The next episode should appear on or about Wednesday, November 12. Until then, may your thinking be original and your jurisdiction free of defects.Thanks for reading Original Jurisdiction, and thanks to my paid subscribers for making this publication possible. Subscribers get (1) access to Judicial Notice, my time-saving weekly roundup of the most notable news in the legal world; (2) additional stories reserved for paid subscribers; (3) transcripts of podcast interviews; and (4) the ability to comment on posts. You can email me at davidlat@substack.com with questions or comments, and you can share this post or subscribe using the buttons below. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidlat.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Talk of Fame, Kylie Montigney talks with Sara Director! Sara joined Barasch & McGarry in 2006 and earned her partnership in 2018, after demonstrating her dedication and commitment to the firm's clients, resulting in numerous multi-million-dollar recoveries. Sara, a 9/11 survivor, interacts with the firm's 9/11 clients daily, from their initial phone call to submitting their claims to the Victim Compensation Fund. Sara takes a hands-on approach to her cases, working directly with our clients to ensure that they feel comfortable with the process and that their voices are heard. Her own 9/11 experience provides her unique insight and compassion toward our clients. From day one until the case is resolved, Sara is a fierce advocate and has demonstrated herself to be a champion for 9/11 and accident victims. Drawing upon her two decades of court litigation experience, she has successfully won multiple appeals for our 9/11 clients. Her persistence, legal insight, and personal attention to every client have enabled her to win even the most challenging of appeal situations. She has also been honored to lecture at numerous 9/11-related events to help spread the word about the Victim Compensation Fund and World Trade Center Health Care Program. In addition to her 9/11 work, her practice includes all types of general negligence cases, with an emphasis on line-of-duty accidents on behalf of the FDNY and NYPD, as well as motor vehicle, trips and falls, premises liability and labor law accidents. Sara's accomplishments have been recognized by her peers in the legal community, earning her a place as a Rising Star in the 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and a Super Lawyer 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 in the editions of Super Lawyers magazine. She has also been asked to lecture to her peers in the legal community on various legal topics.Listen in as we discuss Sara's  journey and her life since 9/11. You'll be inspired by her dedication to advocating for the victims of 9/11.Links Mentioned:https://www.post911attorneys.com/attorneys/sara-director/Follow Me:Instagram:@Officialkyliemontigney@TalkoffamepodFacebook:OfficialkyliemontigneyTalkoffameTwitter:@Kyliemontigney4About Me:Hi, I'm Kylie! I'm passionate about sports, spending time with family, traveling, and connecting with people who inspire me. I love listening to people's stories and sharing their journeys with the world!

One of the most difficult tasks facing our legal system is determining the compensation to provide individual victims of many of the large-scale tragic events that our country has faced in recent years.  In this episode of Law, disrupted, John is joined by attorney Kenneth (Ken) Feinberg, a mediator extraordinaire who has settled some of the most high-profile mass tort and disaster disputes the US legal system has ever seen as well as managing the claims administration programs for terrible events that did not result in litigation. He has managed the victim compensation funds in high-profile tragedies including the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, the BP oil spill fund, and the victim assistance funds established in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings and the Sandy Hook shooting. Mr. Feinberg also resolved victim compensation issues in the General Motors ignition switch cases, the VW diesel emissions cases, the Boeing 737 MAX crash cases, the Eli Little DES cases, the Shoreham Nuclear Plant cases, Agent Orange, asbestos, among many others.  Podcast Link: Law-disrupted.fmHost: John B. Quinn Producer: Alexis HydeMusic and Editing by: Alexander Rossi

Want free negotiation coaching? Text John here.In this special episode of Negotiation Made Simple, host John Lowry sits down with renowned attorney and mediator Ken Feinberg, whose expertise has helped shape the outcomes of some of America's most tragic and high-profile cases, from the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund to the Boston Marathon bombing and Deepwater Horizon spill. Over the course of an insightful conversation, Feinberg shares the lessons he's learned from decades of negotiating for victims and their families, the importance of empathy in the negotiation process, and how to manage complex emotions in high-stakes situations.Feinberg offers a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to navigate sensitive, high-profile disputes, emphasizing the power of patience, transparency, and active listening. He reflects on how his early inspirations from President Kennedy have guided his commitment to public service and why he believes that, even amid tragedy, the role of the mediator is ultimately about creating paths for healing. This episode dives deep into the essence of peacemaking, the value of empathy, and the unifying power of community, leaving listeners with practical strategies for negotiating in any arena.Join us for a powerful exploration of negotiation that goes beyond tactics and strategies, illustrating the profound impact of compassion and humanity at the negotiation table.Kenneth R. Feinberg, one of the nation's leading lawyers, specializes in mediation and alternative dispute resolution and has helped to administer the response to some of the most complex public crises in recent American history, including Agent Orange, executive compensation following the 2008 financial crisis, the BP Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil spill, the Boston Marathon bombings, and, notably, the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund.  A former prosecutor and member of two Presidential Commissions, he is also adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University, the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, and New York University. He lives in Washington D.C.Get My Newest Book: Negotiation Made SimpleSchedule a Live WorkshopSchedule a Private WorkshopGet Private Coaching from MeGain Access to My Online CourseFollow Me on LinkedIn

Boyd reflects on a conversation he had a while back with Kenneth Feinberg, the man who was entrusted with the monumental task of administering the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. Initially met with skepticism and anger, Feinberg's compassionate approach and tireless efforts over three years transformed the Fund into a resounding success with over 97% of eligible families participating. Through this extraordinary experience, Feinberg gained profound insights into the complexities of human grief, resilience, and the limits of monetary compensation in healing deep emotional wounds.  

Kenneth R. Feinberg is a renowned alternative mediation and dispute resolution attorney, best recognized for his pivotal role as Special Master of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.  His work, however, spans a wide range of other major settlements, including overseeing compensation efforts for the Agent Orange case, the BP Deepwater Horizon spill, and the Boston Marathon bombing — managing the distribution of billions to victims and their families. In this timely encore edition episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, Michael Mogill and Ken discuss: The deeply subjective nature of assigning monetary value to human life The often underappreciated influence individuals truly possess Key takeaways from the groundbreaking initiative to compensate 9/11 victims ---- Show Notes: 00:00 – Introduction to Ken Feinberg and the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund 02:52 – Ken Feinberg's Journey to Becoming a Lawyer 04:12 – The Challenges and Emotional Toll of the 9/11 Fund 07:21 – Pro Bono Work and Financial Sacrifices 08:44 – Calculating Compensation and Legal Complexities 13:32 – The Emotional Impact and Mistakes Made 25:58 – Lessons Learned and Future Outlook 29:35 – Ken Feinberg's Personal Reflections and Advice 36:26 – Conclusion and Final Thoughts ---- Links & Resources Watch Worth on Netflix What is Life Worth? by Kenneth R. Feinberg Agent Orange Settlement Fund Deepwater Horizon Settlement Boston Marathon Settlements  ---- Listening to this episode but want to watch it? Check it out on Spotify.  Do you love this podcast and want to see more game changing content? Subscribe to our YouTube channel. ---- Past guests on The Game Changing Attorney Podcast include David Goggins, John Morgan, Alex Hormozi, Randi McGinn, Kim Scott, Chris Voss, Kevin O'Leary, Laura Wasser, John Maxwell, Mark Lanier, Robert Greene, and many more. ---- If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like: #33 Robert Bilott – Poisoned Water, Corporate Greed: The 20-Year Battle Against DuPont #107 Randi McGinn – Authenticity is the Advantage #268 AMMA – Resilience in the Face of Uncertainty

Kenneth R. Feinberg, renowned mediation expert and Special Master of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, sat down with Travelers Institute® President Joan Woodward to discuss his experience overseeing high-profile victim compensation funds, including for 9/11, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the Boston Marathon bombing. Feinberg discussed the personal and professional challenges of taking on these cases and the difficult process of deciding compensation after the tragic loss of human life. Referenced in the show:Read “Who Gets What: Fair Compensation after Tragedy and Financial Upheaval” by Kenneth R. Feinberg: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/kenneth-r-feinberg/who-gets-what/9781586489779/Watch the movie “Worth”: https://www.netflix.com/title/80226212---Visit the Travelers Institute® website: http://travelersinstitute.org/Join the Travelers Institute® email list: https://travl.rs/488XJZM Connect with Joan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joan-kois-woodward/

Deadlines and ensuring the right parties are at the table are two crucial ingredients for successful mediations, according to Ken Feinberg, who was the Special Master of the Federal September 11 Victim Compensation Fund and has helped administer some of the most complex public crises in American history. He discussed mass tort's intersection with Chapter 11 with Bloomberg Intelligence Bankruptcy Litigation Analyst Negisa Balluku (6:00). Prior to that, BI's Noel Hebert and Phil Brendel discuss the risk-on euphoria in the credit markets, exemplified by half the US high yield universe now sporting spreads below 200 bps. The podcast concludes with Noel, Negisa and Phil reviewing ongoing bankruptcy and distressed situations, including Yellow, Genesis, Rackspace, Gol, WeWork, and Rite Aid (36:25).

On this episode, Derek sits with Anne-Marie Principe.  Anne-Marie is a survivor of the September 11th, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center and has agreed to come on the show to tell her story as part of my ongoing "Derek Duvall Show 9/11 Outreach Project".  Anne-Marie will be discussing where she was when American Airlines Flight 11 hit the North Tower, the horrors she was exposed to, being caught in the toxic dust cloud from the collapse of the South Tower and the years long health struggles that came from that exposure.  Anne-Marie is also a fierce advocate for 9/11 Survivors having been a part of numerous 9/11 Legislation, the most notable being working with Jon Stewart and his team to get the "The Never Forget the Heroes Bill" passed which establishes the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.  Anne-Marie will touch your life like she did mine after you hear her powerful story.Website: https://www.aha-us.org/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annemarieprincipeTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/amprincipeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/amprincipe/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annemarie.principe/Jon Stewart's Speech to Congress: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uYpDC3SRpM&t=29sSPONSOR - Go to https://betterhelp.com/derekduvallshow for 10% off your first month of therapy with @betterhelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help #sponsored

Forhad speaks with attorney Michael Barasch of Barasch & McGarry about his career and work with 9/11 victims. Michael talks about the Victim Compensation Fund (VCF), how you may qualify and the steps you need to take to receive benefits. Many, many people who qualify don't even know it. We would highly recommend this episode to anyone who spent time in any of the areas affected by the events of 9/11. Share with your friends and connect with Michael's team if you believe you qualify. To connect with Michael and learn more about his firm, visit the links below: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-barasch/ https://www.post911attorneys.com/ Send your comments and/or questions to info@integrasintel.com. We want to hear from you. Please subscribe to our podcast and follow us on social media: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/integras-intelligence-inc. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/integrasintel Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/integras_intel/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/integrasintel Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIBx0BlZB_u1qolio6LPbsA ⁠#security⁠ ⁠#integrasintelligence⁠ ⁠#duediligence⁠ ⁠#privateinvestigators⁠ ⁠#investigationinsiders⁠ ⁠#podcast⁠ ⁠#privateinvestigations⁠ ⁠#backgroundchecks⁠ ⁠#litigationsupport⁠ ⁠#employmentscreening⁠ ⁠#riskmanagement⁠ ⁠#executiveprotection⁠ ⁠#securityassessment #FBI #911VCF

More illnesses continue to be added to the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. Former President Trump will officially be on Connecticut's Republican primary ballot. Long Islanders sound off on plans for a casino at the Nassau Hub. And a Pentagon report attributes a large number of military suicides to legal and administrative troubles.

The latest episode of ABI's "Party in Interest" podcast features ABI Executive Director Amy Quackenboss talking with Kenneth R. Feinberg, one of the nation's leading experts in alternative dispute resolution. Currently the court-appointed mediator in both the Imerys/Cyprus talc bankruptcy case in Delaware, and the Honx asbestos bankruptcy case in Texas, Feinberg's distinguished career includes previously having served as Special Master of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, the Department of Justice Victims of State-Sponsored Terrorism Fund, the Department of Justice Boeing 737 Max Crash Victim Beneficiaries Compensation Fund and many other high-profile complex disputes over the past 40 years.

Thousands of 9/11 first responders are living with post traumatic stress disorder. The 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund has paid $12 billion to survivors of the terror attacks. And it's primary election day in Connecticut tomorrow.

Lawyers for people suffering cancer and other diseases blamed on the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the Pennsylvania crash site are on notice: Get your clients' paperwork in order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marcia Franklin talks with attorney Kenneth Feinberg, the special master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and the administrator of the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trust and the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund at Virginia Tech. Mr. Feinberg also has served as special master in the Agent Orange, TARP executive compensation, asbestos personal injury, Dalkon shield, and DES (pregnancy medication) cases. The two discuss how Feinberg found himself developing the field of mass tort compensation, what factors he took into account when designing the programs he administered, how the nature of his assignments has affected him, whether there is a role for government in compensating victims of disasters and whether he thinks the funds he's administered are appropriate models for the future. Feinberg has written two books about his experiences, "What is Life Worth?" and "Who Gets What," and has served as adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University, the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, New York University, and the University of Virginia. He was in Idaho in October to present the annual Bellwood Memorial Lecture at the University of Idaho College of Law. Originally aired: 11/16/2012

Amid mounting claims for reparations for slavery and colonialism, historian Zoe Strimpel asks how far reparative justice should go. Should we limit reparations to the living survivors of state atrocities, such as the Holocaust, or should we re-write the rulebook to include the ancestors of victims who suffered historical injustices centuries ago? Alongside testimony from a Holocaust survivor and interviews with lawyers, historians and reparations advocates, Zoe hears about the long shadow cast by slavery - lumbering Caribbean states and societies with a legacy that they are still struggling with today. Are demands for slavery reparations just another front in the culture war designed to leverage white guilt? Will they inevitably validate countless other claims to rectify historical grievances? Or are they a necessary step for diverse societies to draw in the extremes of a polarised debate so we can write a common history that we can all live with? Presenter: Zoe Strimpel Producer: David Reid Editor: Clare Fordham Contributors Mala Tribich, Holocaust survivor. Michael Newman, Chief Executive, Association of Jewish Refugees. Albrecht Ritschtl, Professor of Economic History, London School of Economics Dr. Opal Palmer Adisa, former director, University of West Indies. Kenneth Feinberg, Master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. Tomiwa Owolade, journalist and author of "This is not America". Alex Renton, journalist, author and co-founder of Heirs of Slavery. Dr Hardeep Dhillon, historian, University of Pennsylvania. James Koranyi, Associate Professor of modern European History at the University of Durham.

Mr. Kenneth R. Feinberg, one of the US's leading experts in alternative dispute resolution. Over the past 25 years, Mr. Feinberg has been designated by the US Federal Government to serve in various public Compensation and Related funding programs. His notable roles include serving as the Special Master of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund of 2001, overseeing compensation for victims of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and BP oil spill, and mediating and administering a wide variety of federally Related Compensation Programs. Additionally, Mr. Feinberg has also served as the administrator of 23 Catholic Church diocese independent reconciliation and compensation funds, aimed at compensating victims of church sexual abuse.Join us as we dive into Mr. Feinberg's unique and inspiring journey, exploring how he came to be known as the "Master of Disasters" and the go-to person for judges and presidents alike in handling complex and sensitive situations. From a chance encounter on an airplane to sharing his experiences and wisdom, Mr. Feinberg's story is a testament to thriving in the face of adversity. Tune in to hear about his career path, the challenges he's faced, and the insights he's gained from his exceptional work in dispute resolution.www.saradavison.com

A bonus podcast where we look into the untimely deaths of Beverly Eckert, whose husband was killed on 9/11, and then she died in a plane crash just days after meeting Obama. She was one of the first in the 9/11 truth movement. She turned down $1.8 million to fight for the truth. We compare her plight to Senator Wellstone's. We also look at Kenneth Feinberg, who was in charge of the Spetember 11th Victim Compensation Fund. He also had ties to Sandy hook, Aurora, Virginia tech, BP Oil Spill, the United Methodist Church split, and much more.Show notes:https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-11718755/Seat-seat-scientists-reveal-risk-dying-airplane-crashes.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9/11_Family_Steering_Committeehttp://falsificationofhistory.co.uk/geopolitics/the-murder-of-beverly-eckert/https://www.lewrockwell.com/2018/06/joachim-hagopian/tribute-to-the-last-honorable-us-senator-the-story-of-paul-wellstones-suspected-assassination/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Feinberg

The All Local midday update for March 14th, 2023.

The former special master for the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund and Deepwater Horizon disaster made clear in an interview that he saw no need for a similar process to take place with respect to the highly classified documents found in former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago property."I think that this is judicial overreach, especially in a case involving highly sensitive classified documents," prominent attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who has served as a special master in high-profile litigation and government appointments, says on the podcast. "The court should not be intervening in such a executive branch function, traditionally and historically."A little more than a week ago, Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon did just that, finding judicial oversight justified by the "undeniably unprecedented" nature of an investigation of a former president. The government has appealed the order to the 11th Circuit, warning that the disclosure of the documents with "TOP SECRET" markings alone would cause "exceptionally grave damage" to U.S. national security. Prosecutors did not seek a stay of the ruling as to the more than 11,000 government documents without classification markings that the FBI found inside Mar-a-Lago.With a special master review imminent in at least some form, Feinberg answers questions about the process going ahead — starting with, what is a "special master," anyway? Though he disagrees with the judge's ruling and Trump's legal team, he also articulates what he believes their strongest arguments are.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Court JunkieSidebarThey Walk Among AmericaCoptales and CocktailsThe Disturbing TruthSpeaking FreelyLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What is the value of a life? In the days following the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center... Kenneth Feinberg was tasked with assigning a monetary value to the life of each life lost that day. Boyd looks back at what Kenneth told him about his experience administering the federal 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund and lessons learned about the value of human life. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been a tragic week for Saskatchewan's Cree Nation, following the stabbing spree that killed 10 and injured another 18 on Sunday. Both suspects are deceased. Tribal Chief Mark Arcand is the head of the Saskatoon's Tribal Council, and also a mourner who lost a sister and nephew in the attacks. Arcand joins us. And, the Netflix film "Worth" tells the story of attorney Kenneth Feinberg who administered the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. The film is based on Feinberg's book "What is Life Worth." We revisit our 2021 conversation with Feinberg and his office administrator, Camille Biros.

As we honor the 21st anniversary of September 11th, we will be hearing from Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals® finalist Rupa Bhattacharyya, who revitalized the federal program responsible for awarding claims to victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks, including the families of those who were on site or responded that day, as well as people who lived, worked or went to school near the attack sites. Serving as the special master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund at the Department of Justice from 2016 until 2022, Bhattacharyya and her team transformed the fund from an under-resourced, limited and short-term endeavor into a unique long-standing federal program with an unlimited pool of funding. Bhattacharyya discusses how she overcame enormous challenges to ensure that the program continues to meet its obligations to the 9/11 community, expand its outreach to eligible claimants, and have sufficient funding through 2090 to compensate those whose health may be affected even decades later. This episode is the second of four highlighting some of our incredible 2022 Service to America Medals® finalists. Nominate an outstanding public servant for a 2023 Sammies Medal today through our nomination form! A transcript of this episode can be found here. Additional resources: Read Rupa Bhattacharyya's Service to America Medals finalist bio. Learn more about the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. Learn more about The World Trade Center Health Program federal health program. Watch Jon Stewart's testimony for expanding funding for benefits for 9/11 first responders. Read a message from Special Master Bhattacharyya.

Preparing for future climate disasters Alice Hill, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, discusses President Biden's climate agenda and recommendations with respect to climate change   Revitalizing the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Rupa Bhattacharyya, former special master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund at the Department of Justice, discusses managing and successfully addressing issues with the fund   Air Force Gaming: Connecting Airmen and Guardians Capt. Zach “ZB” Baumann, co-founder of Air Force Gaming, describes what sparked the creation of Air Force Gaming and how the initiative is helping connect people across the Air Force

One of the most difficult tasks facing our legal system is determining the compensation to provide individual victims of many of the large-scale tragic events that our country has faced in recent years.  In this episode of Law, disrupted, John is joined by attorney Kenneth (Ken) Feinberg, a mediator extraordinaire who has settled some of the most high-profile mass tort and disaster disputes the US legal system has ever seen as well as managing the claims administration programs for terrible events that did not result in litigation. He has managed the victim compensation funds in high-profile tragedies including the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, the BP oil spill fund, and the victim assistance funds established in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings and the Sandy Hook shooting. Mr. Feinberg also resolved victim compensation issues in the General Motors ignition switch cases, the VW diesel emissions cases, the Boeing 737 MAX crash cases, the Eli Little DES cases, the Shoreham Nuclear Plant cases, Agent Orange, asbestos, among many others.  The conversation begins with exploring the ways that cases come to Mr. Feinberg, including defendants who realize they need to resolve a situation but first have to resolve how to divide the money they have available, plaintiffs who wish to avoid years of uncertain, costly litigation or when the government allocates money to compensate victims of a tragedy without any adversarial proceedings at all.  The two then discuss the need to establish consensus on clear procedures for the mediation before turning to the merits of the dispute and why 90 percent of cases settle on the second day of mediation.Mr. Feinberg and John then explore the extremely emotional and complicated problem of allocating the money among hundreds or thousands of claimants in these cases.  In particular, they explain the crucial role that transparency of the process plays in assuring claimants that there is no hidden agenda in how the proceeds will be divided up.  They detail how issues of criteria of eligibility, the methodology for calculating damages, proof requirements, and the right to a hearing all must be established at the outset for a settlement to succeed.  They then turn to objective ways to calculate damages for the death of a loved one and injury damages for large numbers of claimants without evaluating medical charts for every claimant.The two men then explore how these principles played out in high profile cases including the Boston Marathon bombings, the Pulse Nightclub attack, the Virginia Tech shootings, the 9/11 fund and the BP oil spill.  They explain how, in some cases, the number of potential cases might require hiring thousands of claims adjusters to determine which claimants are eligible for compensation and to screen for fraud as well as the need for a procedure to hear the appeals of those who believe their compensation under the process is not adequate.  Mr. Feinberg also explores in detail why, despite the magnitude of the disaster, the speed at which the families of the affected would receive the payment is vital in maintaining trust and belief in the entire process.Together, Mr. Feinberg and John examine potential court oversight to the process including situations such as 9/11 where there was no such oversight, identifying comparisons with the examples of the BP oil spill and the General Motors car recall. Throughout the podcast and especially at the end, Mr. Feinberg provides specific examples of the devastating personal stories he has heard from the victims of these horrific events and they discuss the emotional toll claims can and have had on Ken.www.law-disrupted.fm  Created by: Podcast Partners & www.alexishyde.com  

More than two decades after the 9/11 attacks, some victims have not been compensated. My next guest took over the Victim Compensation Fund when it was foundering a few years back. Now tens of thousands of people have received payments from the fund. Rupa Bhattacharyya is special master for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund at the Justice Department … and a finalist in this year's Service to America Medals program.

Episode 26 of the "Everything Except The Law" podcast has arrived! This time we're speaking with Andrew Finkelstein, an accomplished litigator, author and lecturer. In this episode, Andrew and podcast host Nick Werker discuss advising individuals going through the aftermath of a devastating catastrophe, helping clients overcome the fear of making the wrong decision, the role virtual trials should play in the future of legal and much more! About our guest: Andrew Finkelstein, a managing partner of five law firms (Finkelstein & Partners, LLP; Jacoby & Meyers, LLP; Fine, Olin & Anderman, LLP; Finkelstein, Blankinship, Frei-Pearson & Garber, LLP; and Diller Law, LLP), a noted consumer activist, and accomplished litigator, represents victims in wrongful death and catastrophic personal injury cases. He teaches advanced trial practices at the Trial School and is a frequent lecturer, serving pro bono for a variety of organizations, including the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. Purchase Andrew's book "I Hope We Never Meet: Client Stories of Tragedy, Recovery and Accountability From a Life in Deterrence Law" here: http://ow.ly/9CNQ30skqVy Learn about the Trial School here: http://ow.ly/R44b30skqVz Subscribe to the Answering Legal Channel so you never miss an episode of Everything Except the Law. Read more helpful stuff from Answering Legal here: The Lawyer's Complete Guide To 2022: http://ow.ly/Aw3Q30s9hKy A Guide To Lawyer Wellness: http://ow.ly/ZxeS30rNBny 11 Best Legal Softwares: http://ow.ly/djSP30rNBnZ Interested in learning more about Answering Legal? Book an appointment to speak with us here: http://ow.ly/LSUq30sjviN Give us a call at 631-400-8000 or go to www.answeringlegal.com

The head of the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund is stepping down after almost 6 years on the job.

My next guest, Kenneth Feinberg, literally stopped me in my tracks.  Ken is a prominent attorney, a world-renowned MEDIATOR and the one time chief of staff of the late U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy.  But when we all stood still on 9/11 after one of the most horrific terrorist attacks the world has ever seen, Ken stood up and wanted – indeed asked - to be counted.Ken was appointed as the Special Master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund just a few weeks after the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon.  In this role, Ken met with nearly every family who was a victim of 9/11 at the absolute height of their grief.  He listened.  He empathised.  He held space for their sorrow.  He travelled the length and breadth of the country to make it easier for families to meet with him.  He enlisted the support of others, including clergy, when victims' families were simply too broken to apply for their share of the Fund.  He even offered to fill in the forms on behalf of the victims.  Whilst Ken could never return a father to a grieving child, or a son to an inconsolable mother, or a husband to a pregnant wife, what he could do was ensure that some of victims' dreams would continue in their absence and that financial hardship would not be another challenge for these all, but shattered, families.  Ken presided over this unprecedented Fund that ultimately awarded over $7.1 billion DOLLARS of public taxpayer money to the families of 2,983 killed and approximately 2,400 physically injured and maimed, in the most devastating of ways on 9/11.The administration of this Fund took 33 months.  Ken Feinberg was never paid a cent for his efforts, insisting he take on the role on a pro bono basis.  His epic story, now memorialised in his memoir – WHAT IS LIFE WORTH – has inspired the extraordinary Netflix film WORTH starring Michael Keaton and Stanley Tucci.On a more personal note, from the first instance I had the pleasure of coming across Ken, I have been overwhelmed by his warmth, generosity and his impeccable character.  His Solomonic efforts in fighting for fair for every single claimant is just incredible.So it is with immense humility and gratitude that I welcome Kenneth R Feinberg to the BRAVE JOURNEYS family.This is Ken's story…. BUT BEFORE YOU GO…Find out more about Ken hereFind Ken's books hereFind out more about Tam hereFollow Tam on InstaDefinition of "mensch" -a person of integrity and honour.Follow BRAVE JOURNEYS on InstaJoin the conversation and chat about the episode hereNEED MORE INSPIRATION?Find other BRAVE JOURNEYS episodes hereCREDITS: Creator, Host & Executive Producer: Tammi Faraday With thanks to my special guest: Kenneth R FeinbergAudio Editor: Zoltan FecsoWith very special thanks to George Weinberg and Ursula FergusonBRAVE JOURNEYS acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we record this podcast on, the Yaluk-ut Weelam Clan of the Boon Wurrung who are part of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respect to their Elders, both past, present and

On September 9th, 2021 – nearly 20 years to the day of September 11th, 2001 – 700 attendees, the New York Chapter of the United Federation of Teachers, and the law firm of Barasch & McGarry– leading advocates for the 9/11 community – came together for an event to bring awareness to the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund and World Trade Center Health Program. One of the speakers on that day was Laura Mooney, a 9/11 Advocate who founded the Staten Island Multiple Myeloma Support Group after her husband was diagnosed with the condition. Multiple Myeloma is a blood cancer that can be hard to catch. Here is Laura Mooney with her journey.

On September 9th, 2021 – nearly 20 years to the day of September 11th, 2001 – 700 attendees joined the New York Chapter of the United Federation of Teachers, and the Law Firm of Barasch & McGarry– leading advocates for the 9/11 community – for an event to bring awareness to the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund and World Trade Center Health Program. The first speaker at the event was Ellie Engler, she is the Director of Staff at the United Federation of Teachers and worked as an industrial hygienist for the schools in the aftermath of the attacks. Here is her 9/11 story.

On September 9th, 2021 – nearly 20 years to the day of September 11th, 2001 – 700 attendees joined the New York Chapter of the United Federation of Teachers, and the Law Firm of Barasch & McGarry– leading advocates for the 9/11 community – for an event to bring awareness to the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund and World Trade Center Health Program. One of the speakers at this event was John Feal, who participated in the cleanup process following the attacks and sustained injuries in an accident that led to the loss of his foot. In the years since, he's been advocating for 9/11 victims' healthcare rights, founding the FealGood Foundation, and making multiple trips to Congress to speak on behalf of the survivors and first responders who were living and working during that time.

On September 9th, 2021 – nearly 20 years to the day of September 11th, 2001 – 700 attendees, the New York Chapter of the United Federation of Teachers, and the law firm of Barasch & McGarry – leading advocates for the 9/11 community – came together for an event to bring awareness to the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund and World Trade Center Health Program. In this episode we highlight Richie Alles, Retired New York Fire Department Chief, 9/11 Advocate, and Director of 9/11 Community Affairs at Barasch & McGarry.

On September 9th, 2021 – nearly 20 years to the day of September 11th, 2001 – 700 attendees, the New York Chapter of the United Federation of Teachers, and the Law Firm of Barasch & McGarry– leading advocates for the 9/11 community– came together for an event to bring awareness to the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund and World Trade Center Health Program. One of the speakers at this event was Ken Muller, who was Vice President of Goldman Sachs on 9/11. Now retired, Ken was on his way to work when the first tower was struck. Here's what he had to say.

On September 9th, 2021 – nearly 20 years to the day of September 11th, 2001 – 700 attendees, the New York Chapter of the United Federation of Teachers, and the law firm of Barasch & McGarry – leading advocates for the 9/11 community –came together for an event to bring awareness to the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund and World Trade Center Health Program. In this episode, we're continuing to showcase the speakers from this Health Event. This next speaker is Partner and Managing Attorney for Barasch and McGarry's 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, Lee London.

On September 9th, 2021 – nearly 20 years to the day of September 11th, 2001 – 700 attendees joined the New York Chapter of the United Federation of Teachers, and the law firm of Barasch & McGarry – leading advocates for the 9/11 community – for an event to bring awareness to the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund and World Trade Center Health Program. Lila Nordstrom was a high school senior when the Twin Towers fell on 9/11 and now she is an advocate for 9/11 victims, particularly the youngest amongst them. She has appeared in front of Congress alongside Jon Stewart advocating for Healthcare for 9/11 victims and she was a speaker at the event that day. Here's what she had to say.

On September 9th, 2021 – nearly 20 years to the day of September 11th, 2001 – 700 attendees, the New York Chapter of the United Federation of Teachers, and the law firm of Barasch & McGarry– leading advocates for the 9/11 community – came together for an event to bring awareness to the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund and World Trade Center Health Program. In this episode we hear from Michael Barasch, the final speaker of this event. Michael Barasch is the founder and managing partner of Barasch and McGarry and he is an outspoken legal advocate for the 9/11 community.

In this week's conversation with Courtney Lanning, film critic for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, we hear about the new adaptation of Cinderella on Amazon and Worth, a biopic about the creator of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, available on Netflix.

As the nation approaches the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the podcast features a multipart series that includes interviews with survivors of the terrorist attacks exploring the question, ‘What can the lives that were tragically lost during the 9/11 attacks still teach us about living and working meaningfully?'”This series includes conversations with Fred Price, an executive from investment firm Piper Sandler, which lost 66 people on 9/11; representatives of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, Jackie Zins and Stacy Pervall; and, with Jennifer Tosti-Kharas of Babson College, with whom Michaelson has collaborated on research about meaningful work.In part three of this series, Christopher Michaelson and former representatives of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, attorneys Jackie Zins and Stacy Pervall, discuss the extremely difficult work of monetizing a human life.The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) provides compensation to individuals (or a personal representative of a deceased individual) who were present at the World Trade Center or the surrounding New York City Exposure Area; the Pentagon crash site; and the Shanksville, Pennsylvania crash site, at some point between September 11, 2001, and May 30, 2002, and who have since been diagnosed with a 9/11-related illness.  The VCF is not limited to first responders.  Compensation is also available to those who worked or volunteered in construction, clean-up, and debris removal; as well as people who lived, worked, or went to school in the exposure zone.   

As the nation approaches the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the podcast features a multipart series that includes interviews with survivors of the terrorist attacks exploring the question, ‘What can the lives that were tragically lost during the 9/11 attacks still teach us about living and working meaningfully?'”This series includes conversations with Fred Price, an executive from investment firm Piper Sandler, which lost 66 people on 9/11; representatives of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, Jackie Zins and Stacy Pervall; and, with Jennifer Tosti-Kharas of Babson College, with whom Michaelson has collaborated on research about meaningful work.In part one of this series, Christopher Michaelson has a discussion with academic colleague and research collaborator, Jennifer Tosti-Kharas. Tosti-Kharas is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at Babson College. She teaches organizational behavior and leadership in the undergraduate, graduate, and executive programs. Prior to joining Babson, she was an Assistant Professor of Management at San Francisco State University. Jen earned her Ph.D. in Management with an emphasis on Organizational Behavior from New York University's Stern School of Business, and her B.S. in Economics with concentrations in Management and Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Jen's research explores career development, with a focus on meaningful work and work as a calling.

As the nation approaches the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the podcast features a multipart series that includes interviews with survivors of the terrorist attacks exploring the question, ‘What can the lives that were tragically lost during the 9/11 attacks still teach us about living and working meaningfully?'”This series includes conversations with Fred Price, an executive from investment firm Piper Sandler, which lost 66 people on 9/11; representatives of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, Jackie Zins and Stacy Pervall; and, with Jennifer Tosti-Kharas of Babson College, with whom Michaelson has collaborated on research about meaningful work.In part two of this series, Christopher Michaelson speaks with Fred Price,  managing director in the financial services group at Piper Sandler. Price was a managing principal and a founding principal of Sandler O'Neill + Partners, L.P., as well as a member of the firm's executive committee when the World Trade Center was attacked on 9/11.  He has been extensively involved in the firm's capital markets activities and provides senior oversight to the firm's client support services and other business affairs.

The National Defense welcomes comedian Jon Stewart to the show alongside John Feal of the FealGood Foundation to discuss their work on Capitol Hill to get legislation passed for the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. Randy talks with Jon and John about the process of HUNDREDS of trip to Washington D.C. to support our first responders, as well as them turning their eyes towards more military focused legislation and support. Then, Randy welcomes the host of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Stephen Colbert himself, to the show to talk about killing time in arcades, shaving one's head for veterans fundraisers and much, much more!   For more great content, visit us online at thenationaldefense.com Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Before the dust even settled on Lower Manhattan in the aftermath of 9/11, the streets and office buildings were filled with people whose job it was to prove that nothing could hold New York City and the rest of country back from making sure we were all getting back to work. Richie discusses the importance of the Victim Compensation Fund and World Trade Center Health Programs and how those working in Financial Services on 9/11 can get the care they are entitled to. Don't forget to rate, review subscribe and share!

Episode SummaryWhen extraordinary events cause extraordinary compensations to be made, Ken Feinberg is the man on the world's speed dial for action. Ken talks candidly about the emotional toll that comes with administering of some of the largest and most well-known compensation funds and how he established a career of being fair and objective in the face of extreme criticism in this episode of The Sydcast.Syd FinkelsteinSyd Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He holds a Masters degree from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Professor Finkelstein has published 25 books and 90 articles, including the bestsellers Why Smart Executives Fail and Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, which LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman calls the “leadership guide for the Networked Age.” He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Management, a consultant and speaker to leading companies around the world, and a top 25 on the global Thinkers 50 list of top management gurus. Professor Finkelstein's research and consulting work often relies on in-depth and personal interviews with hundreds of people, an experience that led him to create and host his own podcast, The Sydcast, to uncover and share the stories of all sorts of fascinating people in business, sports, entertainment, politics, academia, and everyday life. Ken FeinbergKenneth R. Feinberg is one of the nation's leading experts in alternative dispute resolution, having served as Special Master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, the Department of Justice Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund, the Department of the Treasury's TARP Executive Compensation Program and the Treasury's Private Multiemployer Pension Reform program. In 2010, Mr. Feinberg was appointed by the Obama Administration to oversee compensation of victims of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Most recently, he has served as Administrator of the New York State Dioceses' Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Funds (along with dioceses in four other states), the One Orlando Fund, the GM Ignition Switch Compensation Program, and the One Fund Boston Compensation Program arising out of the Boston Marathon bombings. He has been appointed mediator and arbitrator in thousands of complex disputes over the past 35 years.He has had a distinguished teaching career as an 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, Duke and New York Law School.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).Mr. Feinberg's book detailing his work as Special Master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund has been the subject of a major motion picture (to be released in Spring 2020). He is also the subject of a movie documentary, “Playing God,” released in 2018.Insights from this episode:Details on the compensation formulas and distribution processes Ken has used to adminster funds from programs such as the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and the One Fund Boston Compensation Program.How to maintain professional objectivity and process the emotions that come with challenging assignments.Strategy for overcoming criticism when you are administering funds from controversial programs. Benefits of being one of the nation's best known names in dispute resolution when it comes to negotiating with companies in crisis.Details on how people have tied to their self-worth and identity to their careers and salary, making those values their only definition of self.Secrets to dealing with people who have suffered emotional trauma and financial loss. Quotes from the show: “You learn in these programs that the toughest challenge by far is the emotional context of doing this work.” – Ken FeinbergOn facing challenges: “Brace yourself for what you're going to hear and what you're going to be asked to do.” – Ken Feinberg“The [September 11th Victim Compensation] Fund is now a part of American history rather than contemporary affairs but it [has] not lost its impact on the American people.” – Ken Feinberg“An entire generation will remember where they were when they heard about the [September 11th] attacks in the same way that a previous generation knew where they were when [President John F.] Kennedy was shot.” – Syd Finkelstein “Nothing is more effective in challenging criticism of a program than by pointing to the generosity of the program, the speed of the program, the efficiency of the program.” – Ken FeinbergOn working with so many challenging programs: “If you can handle the emotional part … the rest of it kind of falls into place.” – Ken Feinberg“We are in a crisis now with the level of [wage] inequality that exists in this country.” – Syd Finkelstein On self-worth being tied with career compensation: “I would have thought that people have other anchors of self-worth; community church, community work, family love, it doesn't work that way.” – Ken FeinbergOn job as identity: “The identity that these people have, how they define themselves as human beings, is completely interconnected to their job even though our identity has so many other dimensions.” – Syd Finkelstein Ken's feelings towards his work: “I think what I do is not really fair or just, it's mercy; mercy is what I'm dispensing on a financial plane.” – Ken Feinberg“You learn, in what I do, empathy is a valuable commodity. The less you say the better.” – Ken FeinbergStay Connected: Syd FinkelsteinWebsite: http://thesydcast.comLinkedIn: Sydney FinkelsteinTwitter: @sydfinkelsteinFacebook: The SydcastInstagram: The Sydcast Ken FeinbergLinkedIn: Ken FeinbergIMDB: What is Life WorthWebsite: feinberglawoffices.comSubscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Stitcher, iTunes, and Spotify.This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)

The Battle to Compensate Ground Zero First RespondersGuest: Bill Groner, founder &CEO, SSAM Alternative Dispute Resolution, co-author “9/12: The Epic Battle of the Ground Zero Responders”When the World Trade Center's Twin Towers fell to terrorists on September 11, 2001, an army of first responders rushed to Ground Zero. First it was a rescue effort. But for months and months after that –well into the following year –thousands of people worked in and around Ground Zero and at the landfill where debris was dumped and sorted. Construction workers, coroners, fire and police officers. All breathing dust that we now know contained toxic chemicals. In the years that followed, many would develop serious lung illnesses –and even cancers. Finding fake volcanoes and dealing with the real onesGuest: Janine Krippner, PhD., Volcanologist at the Smithsonian Institute Volvanologist Program and host of the Popular Volcanics podcastThere are fewer volcanoes today than there were just a few weeks ago thanks to people like volcanologist Janine Krippner. She works at the Smithsonian and one of her jobs is to sniff out imposters on the official list of volcanoes. Yes, there's an official list. And best beware if you're a volcano-wannabe, cause Krippner has no qualms killing your dream. Is Compassionate Release an Option for Aging Prison Populations?Guest: Tina Maschi, PhD, Associate Professor at the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service in New York City The number of elderly prisoners in the US is going up, and fast. Some projections estimate that by 2030, one third of prisoners will be age 55 and up. As those inmates get older, many will get sick and some will die in prison. Not only does that mean more taxpayer dollars to take care of them, but it also creates a moral dilemma: do you let someone die alone behind bars? President Trump Says Deal with Taliban is Dead. What Next?Guest: Michael Kugelman, Deputy Director and Senior Associate for South Asia, Wilson Center in Washington, DCIt's been 18 years since Al Qaeda's terrorist attacks on US soil. And 18 years since the US struck back in Afghanistan, where the Taliban was giving safe haven to Al Qaeda. That's now America's longest war. But a peace deal between the US and the Taliban had been close at hand. Imminent, we were told. And American troops would be coming home soon. But now? “(The talks) are dead, as far as I'm concerned they're dead,” said President Trump on Monday. “(The Taliban) thought they had to kill people in order to put themselves in a little better negotiating position. When they did that they killed 12 people. One happened to be a great American soldier.” Kenneth Feinberg on Deciding What a Life is WorthGuest: Kenneth Feinberg, Former Special Master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, Author of “What Is Life Worth?” And “Who Gets What?”2,977 people died when terrorists hijacked commercial airplanes and crashed them into the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. More than 6,000 others were injured. Just eleven days after the attacks, Congress created a $7 billion fund to compensate those victims and their families. The man tasked with deciding who would get what –how much each life was worth in dollars and cents –was Kenneth Feinberg. Since then, he's overseen victim compensation funds for mass shootings in Aurora, Newtown, Orlando and Las Vegas and for the Boston Marathon Bombing. BP hired him to award compensation to victims of the Gulf Oil spill. He's now handling compensation for victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and for the families of people who died in the Boeing 737 plane crashes.

As everyone is mourning the atrocity of the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting, the Left is more concerned with coming up with ways to blame conservatives. The shooter posted about a book by Ragnar Redbeard, and the Left decided that means the shooter was a conservative. The truth is that the book was a work of deranged, anti-Christian, pro-socialism garbage. Then, Chris Cillizza and the writers at Vox continue to smear Trump with blatantly false “reporting” on the president's comments during the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund bill signing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen NowSoon after the 9/11 attacks the Congress created the Victim Compensation Fund (VCF).  Initially, the VCF was created to award moneys to 9/11 victims or their families.   Awards were made through 2004.  In 201o1 the Congress passed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, named after a 34-year old NYC policeman who died in 2006 of 9/11 related illness, was created to compensate first responders and individuals who later developed 9/11-related health problems including numerous forms of cancer and PTSD.   The fund was re-authorized in 2015 by President Obama for five years (it will will sunset in December 2020).  Because of the ever-increasing number of 9/11-related illnesses the VCF Special Master, Rupa Bhattacharyya, recently noted the fund could run out of moneys before all claims are resolved.  Ms. Bhattacharyya recently posted a Federal Register notice soliciting comments asking the public how the remaining funds should be allocated.  During this 28 minute interview, Mr. Barasch discusses his firms 9/11 experience.  Located at ground zero, half his employees have since succumbed to cancer or are currently battling the disease.  He provides an explanation why the EPA came to determine the air quality at ground zero was safe (it definitively was not), provides an overview of the VCF and the related World Trade Center Health Program, his firms work in representing 9/11 victims seeking VCF settlements, efforts to solicit the Congress to further fund the VCF and the prospects of a wrongful death civil suit filed against the Saudi Arabian government (15 of the 19 9/11 terrorists were Saudis).  Michael Barasch is the Managing Partner of Barasch & McGarry, lawyers for the 9/11 community.  His firm has represented over 11,000 victims of 9/11 in their pursuit of a VCF settlement.  Ms. Barasch is a graduate of Fordham Law School.  For more on Barasch & McGarry go to: https://www.personalinjuryjustice.com/ Barasch and McGarry's VCF-related work can be found at: 911victimfund.comThe Department of Justice's VCF info is at: www.vcf.gov  & DOJ's VCF helpline is: 1.855.885.1555. Concerning the Federal Register notice "September 11th Victim Compensation Fund: Compensation of Claims" (comments due December 3), see:  https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/10/03/2018-21490/september-11th-victim-compensation-fund-compensation-of-claims  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thehealthcarepolicypodcast.com

In today's Federal Newscast, the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General conducts an audit to see how well DOJ is handling the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.

Truth Foretold, Specious Journalism, And Spurious Assertions:The Case of Jonathan Bernstein, Bloomberg View, and The Charlotte Observer While it is true that I was “booted” by pro-war Democrats who worked in concert with like-minded Republicans, your assertion of my being booted for “peddling conspiracies” deserves a deeper look. My booting, by the way, resulted in the GOP takeover of my home State of Georgia, an outcome that seemingly makes both pro-war Democrats and Republicans (now called “globalists”) comfortable. Therefore, I want to take a deeper look at what I did “peddle:” 1. That Presidential candidate George W. Bush worked with his Florida Governor brother, Jeb, to orchestrate election theft in the 2000 Presidential election. Now that the public has caught up with the facts that I put on the table in 2000 and 2001 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdPhXuTzQeI), this position is supported by evidence that is available to all;2. That President George W. Bush received warnings about an impending attack on the US (http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/11/cia-directors-documentary-911-bush-213353) and actively blocked an investigation (http://edition.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/01/29/inv.terror.probe/) into the September 11, 2001 attacks. Now that the public has caught up with the facts that I put on the table in 2001, this position is supported by evidence that is available to all;3. That the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (https://www.vcf.gov/faq.html) was really set up to thwart 9/11 wrongful death lawsuits because it prevented victims' survivors from getting justice in US Courts; I felt that victims and victims' survivors should be able to sue the culprits as well as receive support from the Fund. The President recently vetoed legislation that would allow lawsuits to move forward against Saudi Arabia and Congress just overrode his veto. Fourteen years later, I am pleased that, once again, my position has been supported by evidence that has been clearly available to all for at least a decade;4. That the US was not justified in attacking Iraq in 2003. The most thorough investigation into the 2003 decision to go to war against Iraq is the Chilcot Report (http://www.iraqinquiry.org.uk/the-report/) which found that war was not the last option and that U.S. allegations of Saddam Hussein possessing weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq were not justified. Now that the public has caught up with the facts that I put on the table in 2002, this position is supported by evidence that is available to all;5. That the then-Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, failed to perform his job during Hurricane Katrina and that thousands needlessly died because he failed the Gulf States and the country. After joining with Republicans and writing a Congressional Report on the subject that is available to the public (www.nola.com/katrina/pdf/mainreport.pdf), my position is supported by evidence that is available to all;6. That a specific allegation had been made to my Congressional Office that thousands of bodies had been dumped in Louisiana swamps after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Now, we know that 9/11 human remains were dumped in a landfill (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/29/us/panel-recommends-more-oversight-and-training-at-dover-mortuary.html?_r=0) with such action having been deemed “dereliction of duty,” so who has conducted an independent investigation into what happened in Louisiana, in particular, with respect to body disposal?7. That racism exists in Capitol Hill Police Department similar to what exists in other police departments around the U.S. and that I was a victim of that discrimination after I supported a lawsuit filed by Black police officers after one of their superior officers used the word “nigger.” Black police officers have been waiting fifteen years for justice and recently held a demonstration in support of their claim (http://www.rollcall.com/news/policy/former-capitol-police-call-attention-discrimination-lawsuits). One need only hear the moving testimony of the U.S. Senate's lone Black GOP Member and his interactions with the Capitol Hill Police (http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/floor-speeches/tim-scott-black-republican-emotional-powerful-dramatic-race-speech-targeted-capitol-police) to understand that my experience was surely possible. Now, again—after the fact— that the public has caught up with the evidence that I put on the table in 2006, my position is supported by evidence that is available to all, sadly now most of all, the family of Keith Lamont Scott and all of those young people who were just recently in Charlotte's streets. If only the press had decided to investigate my assertions rather than castigate me for making them! Maybe things would be far different than they are today in Iraq, Libya, Louisiana, and elsewhere. But, instead of investigation of the inconvenient or unpleasant facts that I repeatedly put on the table, the response was a frenzy of specious journalism and spurious assertions where true journalism was needed. Your column, with mention of my name, is an example of that. Such “reporting” is precisely why Trump's attacks on the media resonate so well with the American and global public. The polling data on the public perception of the U.S. media is a damning indictment of the role the media has played in this country for too many years. That is why the U.S. public more and more now seeks its information from foreign media outlets, the internet, “alternative” media, and less and less from “newspapers” like yours.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/1198501/advertisement