Commentator, Faculty Colloquium with Ken Feinberg

Professor Mullenix participated as a commentator in a faculty colloquium featuring Kenneth R. Feinberg, the special master administering the World Trade Center Victims' Compensation Fund, on October 3, 2011, at the law school. Feinberg discussed his work in a presentation entitled, “Unconventional Responses to Unique Catastrophes: Tailoring the Law to Meet the Challenges.” In his talk, Feinberg discussed his career experience, how he approaches his work, and the ethics of putting a “price tag” on a human life. Feinberg was selected by the Obama Administration as Administrator of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, the $20 billion fund established in the wake of the 2010 British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In 2009, he was appointed Special Master for Troubled Asset Relief Program Executive Compensation, where he determined reasonable compensations for senior corporate officials receiving government bailouts. Feinberg served as Special Master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 and managed claims for the Virginia Polytechnic Institute’s Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund following the 2007 shooting. Feinberg also orchestrated the Alternative Dispute Resolution Program, which resolved insurance claims arising out of Hurricane Katrina and other hurricanes in the Gulf region for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and Zurich Insurance Company. He is the author of What is Life Worth? The Unprecedented Effort to Compensate the Victims of 9/11. Professor Mullenix has written extensively about mass tort litigation, the World Trade Center Victim's Compensation Fund, and most recently about the Gulf Coast Claims Facility administered by Mr. Feinberg. Also commenting on Feinberg's presentation was Prof. Dave Robertson. Feinberg's visit to the law school was sponsored by the Center for Global Energy, International Arbitration, and Environmental Law and by the Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution.