Lawyer to head Ground Zero workers fund

A prominent New York City lawyer who has mediated Sept. 11 cases was named Wednesday to head the reopened Victims Compensation Fund for workers injured during the cleanup of Ground Zero.

Sheila Birnbaum, an expert on mass lawsuits, will be responsible for drafting regulations on who is eligible and overseeing administration of funds provided by Congress in the so-called Zadroga Bill late last year.

Attorney General Eric Holder, who made the selection, cited Birnbaum's work in 2006 successfully mediating and settling 92 cases brought against airlines and other corporate defendants by victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.

"Sheila Birnbaum brings extensive experience, credibility and unique insight to this important role," Holder said in a statement. "She has worked closely with, and won the trust of, the families of 9/11 victims with whom she worked"

Birnbaum, in a release, called the appointment a "tremendous honor." She said her "first priority will be to sit down with the people who will be most affected by the program, and see how we can design a program that is fair, transparent and easy to navigate."

The daughter of a Harlem grocery store owner, Birnbaum is a former associate dean at New York University's law school, a law professor and a partner at the Manhattan law firm Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. She is a recognized expert on so-called mass torts -- suits by large numbers of people against common defendants for common injuries -- and heads Skadden Arps' practice in that area.

Funding for the reopened Victims Compensation Fund is scheduled to come on line in October, and rules governing eligibility are expected to be drafted this summer.Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) and two other co-authors of the legislation reopening the fund -- Rep. Carolyn Maloney and Rep. Jerry Nadler, both Manhattan Democrats -- praised the appointment in a joint statement, but said Birnbaum would have to work fast.It's welcome news that the Justice Department has finally named a special master - but "Now the hard work really begins," they said. " . . . The special master will need to draft and release for public comment regulations on which individuals and injuries are eligible for compensation. This is vitally important work, and much is at stake."New York City corporation counsel Michael Cardozo, who has overseen defense of thousands of lawsuits against the city and the creation of an insurance fund to settle those cases, praised the appointment of Birnbaum to run the federal fund, which will provide additional money for first responders.

"Her 9/11-related mediation experience, along with her extensive background in resolving complex legal cases, will give her added knowledge in administering this large and important program," Cardozo said.