Penn State announced Thursday it has retained Feinberg Rozen LLP to help with lawsuits that have resulted from the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case.
The Washington D.C. law firm has received national recognition for helping resolve large scale litigation cases all over the U.S., according to a press release from Penn State Live. Feinberg Rozen LLP has litigated high profile cases that resulted from the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007, according to the firm’s website.
Both Kenneth Feinberg and Michael Rozen said they will make themselves available to aid Penn State as well as the people referred to as “Victims” in the Sandusky case.
“We have been retained by Penn State to help both the University and individuals alleging sexual abuse reach a voluntary settlement in those individual cases where terms and conditions can be agreed upon,” Feinberg said in a press release. “We are not administering a compensation fund and have no binding authority to compel a settlement. We will merely facilitate the effort and only in those cases where individuals and their lawyers are so inclined. Having managed similar cases in the past we are confident we can help all parties involved in this matter and are pleased to have been selected for such an important role.”
Sandusky, the former Penn State defensive coordinator, was convicted in June on 45 counts of child sex abuse.
Penn State hopes that they will have Feinberg Rozen work for a three-month period, in which they hope all current and anticipated litigation can be resolved.
“In retaining Feinberg Rozen LLP, with their nationally-recognized expertise, we are seeking to make sure we do the right thing in terms of providing a just outcome for the victims,” Penn State President Rodney Erickson said according to the release. “We hope to enable a process that will result in settlement of many of the civil cases so that the victims will not have to be drawn through legal process.”
University spokesman David La Torre could not be reached for comment as of press time Thursday.
