"Worth" -- Netflix's movie on the 9/11 victim's compensation fund, and interviews with Ken Feinberg

To coincide with the 20th anniversary of the attacks on September 11, 2001, Netflix released a new movie called "Worth".  It is a dramatization of the story behind the 9/11 victims compensation fund, which was administered by Ken Feinberg.  

I recently watched the movie and I recommend it.  It is not a thriller, nor a courtroom drama, but it does a good job of showing the every day inner workings of torts lawyers trying to figure out how to manage the type of compromise it takes to evaluate claims fairly.  And in a case like the 9/11 fund everything was amplified and more difficult.  I don't know how much of the movie was accurate or how much was exaggerated from dramatic purposes, but I can say that the scenes where the lawyers meet with grieving and angry clients are true to life, as any plaintiffs' lawyer will tell you.

Victims compensation fund are not perfect, and we can argue whether they are even fair given how the lawyers calculate compensation, but I think the movie is worth watching (excuse the pun).

In addition, if you have 20 minutes, take a look at Ken Feinberg himself talking about compensation funds in this short talk.

Finally, just a few days ago Feinberg was interviewed for a podcast.  You can listen to the interview by clicking on the play button below or by going here.

In both the talk and the recent interview Feinberg explains why he thinks that victims compensation funds are not a good idea as an alternative to litigation and should not be used generally in the future.

Torts and time travel

Ever wonder how the notion of time travel, and the concepts of proximate cause and the (no) duty to help relate to each other?  Here is the answer.

Movie mini review: Attacking the Devil: Harold Evans and the Last Nazi War Crime

The 2014 documentary "Attacking the Devil: Harold Evans and the Last Nazi War Crime" is now available for streaming on Netflix.  If you have access to it, I recommend it.

Before there was a "spotlight" team at the Boston Globe, there was the "insight team" at London's The Sunday Times.  This documentary tells the story of how Harold Evans, the editor of the Sunday Times pursued the story behind the injuries caused by the drug Thalidomide which was used to control morning sickness but which caused tens of thousands of children to be born with serious defects.

Under Evans' leadership, the Times pursued the story and fought restrictive laws that limited the publication of the facts behind the story.  The story is not only about products liability and the pursuit of justice for the injured victims but also about restrictions on freedom of the press. 

The Sunday Times' fight to win compensation for the victims took more than a decade, as Evans tenaciously pursued the drug companies through the English courts and beyond.