Industry veteran and celebrated mediator awarded the Academy's highest honor
OCALA, Fla., Nov. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals (NADN) is pleased to present their annual Distinguished Neutral of the Year Award to Academy Member, Kenneth R. Feinberg, in recognition of Excellence in Conflict Resolution.
Mr. Feinberg earned a degree in history from the University of Massachusetts, then went on to pursue a law degree at NYU, where he served as articles editor of the Law Review. After clerking for New York State Court of Appeals Judge Stanley Fuld, Mr. Feinberg became an assistant attorney for the New York Department of Justice before joining Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy's office as an assistant. He became Kennedy's chief of staff in the late 1970s. On leaving Kennedy's office in 1980, Mr. Feinberg helped to found the Washington office of Kaye Scholer LLP. After 12 years, he started his own firm, the Feinberg Group, which has made history as the "go-to boutique firm" for catastrophic cases.
Kenneth Feinberg is perhaps now the best-known figure in the world of dispute resolution. He famously served as the Special Master of the U.S. government's September 11th Victim Compensation Fund - a role dramatized in the recent Netflix movie, "Worth". He was later appointed Special Master for the TARP Executive Compensation initiative ("pay czar") and, in June 2010, was named to run the BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster Victim Compensation Fund, a $20 billion fund to pay claims resulting from the BP Gulf oil spill. Among other headline making cases, he has also managed compensations systems relating to the Aurora and Virginia Tech shootings, as well as the Boston Marathon bombing.
Mr. Feinberg has been previously honored by many organizations, including the Bazelon Center Outstanding Public Service Award (2017); the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medalist in Law (2014); Yale University "Legend in Leadership" Award (2014); District of Columbia Bar Association "Legend in the Law" Award (2014); Massachusetts Bar Association "Great Friend of Justice Award" (2014) and the CPR Institute's James F. Henry Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dispute Resolution (2010).
"The Academy is delighted to recognize Ken for his 30+ years at the forefront of commercial mediation and the resolution of complex, catastrophic cases," commented Darren Lee, NADN's Executive Director. "It's a very small list of mediators that global corporations have on speed-dial when the stakes are in the billions of dollars, or whom governments call when seeking to resolve their most intractable or sensitive disputes. Over the years, Ken has rightly earned his reputation as a legend in our profession. We applaud Ken's historic role as Special Master for the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, surely one of the most emotionally taxing legal efforts in US history, serving pro bono for the duration. Finally, I'd note that Ken's also a consummate storyteller - his books, 'What Is Life Worth?' and 'Who Gets What' remain on the must-read list for any neutral who wishes to improve their understanding of the art and craft of mediation."
For further info regarding the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, please contact Kathy Vazqueztell ([email protected], Tel: 813-600-3678) or visit www.NADN.org/about
Media Contact
Darren Lee, NADN, 1 813 600 5678, [email protected], www.NADN.org
SOURCE NADN

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