STATEMENT BY JOANNE DOROSHOW, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR JUSTICE & DEMOCRACY

New York - The Center for Justice & Democracy is calling on Gulf Coast Claims Facility administrator Ken Feinberg to disclose how much the GCCF, funded by BP, paid NYU Law professor Stephen Gillers to clear him and his firm, Feinberg Rozen, of ethics concerns in administering the fund.  GCCF says it paid Gillers to produce this letter, but will not say how much.  CJ&D is also calling on Feinberg to disclose any communications he may have had with BP over the hiring of Gillers.

Today, the GCCF released a letter from Mr. Gillers stating that in his view of Louisiana’s professional conduct rules, Mr. Feinberg and his firm, Feinberg Rozen, are not in an attorney-client relationship with BP.  This is even though BP is paying the firm $850,000 a month to settle claims brought against BP and to release the company of all liability.

Mr. Gillers rests his analysis on an arrangement about which he says at one point in his letter, he has been “told.”  In addition to knowing how much Mr. Gillers was paid, the public has a right to know whether Mr. Gillers made his evaluations based on nothing more than verbal communications from Mr. Feinberg.  We also have a right to know whether he had access to any written documentation concerning the financial arrangements between BP and Feinberg Rozen that Mr. Feinberg has either not made public or claims does not exist.  The victims of the disaster deserve transparency. 

CJ&D's December 22, 2010, letter to state AG's and bar associations can be found here: http://centerjd.org/archives/issues-facts/CJDBPconflictF.pdf

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