Fireside Chat with UMass President Marty Meehan, Kenneth Feinberg ’67, ’02H and Camille Biros

UMass President Marty Meehan will sit down for a virtual fireside chat with Kenneth Feinberg '67, '02H, author of the memoir What Is Life Worth?: The Unprecedented Effort to Compensate the Victims of 9/11, and his business partner, Camille Biros.

Feinberg is one of the nation’s leading lawyers, specializing in mediation and alternative dispute resolution. He and Biros have 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.

Feinberg's book was adapted into the recently released Netflix film Worth, starring Michael Keaton as Feinberg and Amy Ryan as Biros. 

In the film, Feinberg and Biros are appointed by Congress to lead the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and allocate financial resources to the victims of the tragedy. They find themselves facing the impossible task of determining the worth of a life to help the families who suffered incalculable losses. When Feinberg locks horns with Charles Wolf (Stanley Tucci), a community organizer mourning the death of his wife, his initial cynicism turns to compassion as he begins to learn the true human costs of the tragedy.

In their discussion with Meehan, Feinberg and Biros will talk about:

• How reparations work and how they should be allocated;
• Feinberg and Biros’ perspectives on the 9/11 attacks, 20 years later;
• What the process was like as Feinberg’s book was adapted for a Netflix film

No cost to attend.