Kenneth R. Feinberg Presents Lecture September 11 Victim Compensation Fund: Lessons Learned
Washburn Law and the Center for Excellence in Advocacy hosted
Kenneth R. Feinberg March 3-4, 2004 at the School of Law and Washburn University's campus. Mr. Feinberg's visit included a public lecture entitled "The September 11 Victim Compensation Fund: Lessons Learned" on Thursday at the Bradbury Thompson Center. Mr. Feinberg is the Special Master chosen by Attorney General John Ashcroft to administer the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund. This Fund offers victims of the attacks and their surviving family members an alternative to litigation. In this role he is responsible for administering the fund, managing all claims brought by the victims and their families, and disseminating all public information concerning the fund.
Mr. Feinberg's lecture focused on his experiences as Special Master of the fund. He explained his duties within the claims process and shared stories about his interaction with relatives and friends of victims of the attack and with survivors who were injured. Mr. Feinberg discussed the practical and emotional difficulties of running this "deceptively simple, but
hideously complex" program and addressed issues such as:
- Should families of high-salary decedents receive more money than families of low-salary decedents, and if so, how much more?
- Should families of people who died on September 11 be treated differently from families of people who died during other attacks, such as the Oklahoma City bombing?
- If another similar attack happens, should Congress enact a similar Fund?
In addition, Mr. Feinberg explored several legal issues that arose from the way in which the fund was developed and executed. He observed that the Fund sets a precedent in the area of tort remedies and questioned whether the federal government has the power to restrict non-claimants to filing lawsuits only in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Mr. Feinberg explained how the statute enacted to establish the September 11 fund gave him authority to administer the fund, but gave little guidance as to who would be eligible as beneficiaries. Feinberg addressed his use of the state law from a victim's domicile as a tool to help him decide which relatives and friends could collect from the fund.
The lecture was followed by a luncheon where students, law and Washburn faculty and local attorneys engaged Mr. Feinberg in a more in-depth discussion of the complex legal issues he faced.
As part of his visit to Washburn Law, Mr. Feinberg also participated in two regularly scheduled law school classes. In Professor Alex Glashausser's Remedies class he discussed the version of the collateral source rule enacted as part of the Fund. He also spoke to Professor David Ryan's Constitutional Law class about the federalism implications of the Fund.
Kenneth Feinberg is the managing partner and founder of The Feinberg Group, LLP. The Feinberg Group was founded in 1993 and is the foremost law firm in the United States specializing in the negotiated resolution of complex legal disputes. Mr. Feinberg is one of the nation's leading experts in mediation and alternative dispute resolution. He has been Adjunct Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center, University of Pennsylvania Law School, New York University School of Law, and University of Virginia School of Law.
Elizabeth Dudley, Class of 2004, was instrumental in bringing Mr. Feinberg to Washburn.
They are shown here with Professor Alex Glashausser.
Kenneth R. Feinberg is visiting Washburn Law Thursday, March 4, 2004 to give a public lecture, "The September 11 Victim Compensation Fund." The lecture will be at noon in the Bradbury Thompson Center on the Washburn University campus. Mr. Feinberg is the Managing Partner and Founder, The Feinberg Group, LLP, Special Master, September 11 Victim Compensation Fund.
In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, Congress enacted the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund. The Fund offered victims of the attacks and their surviving family members an alternative to litigation. Congress delegated the authority to administer the Fund to the Department of Justice, acting through a Special Master. The Department designated Mr. Feinberg as the Special Master. Mr. Feinberg, one of the nation’s leading experts in mediation and alternative dispute resolution, established the much-debated parameters for the Fund and oversaw the claims process, which ended this past December. Mr. Feinberg has had a distinguished teaching career as Adjunct Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center, University of Pennsylvania Law School, New York University School of Law, and University of Virginia School of Law.
Keith Pangburn and Professor Alex Glashausser contributed this article.
