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The American Lawyer’s recent article on Kenneth W. Feinberg, an American Lawyer Lifetime Achievement honoree, traces his career from law school to pioneering the practice of alternative dispute resolution, mediating some of the biggest mass torts in U.S. history.

In 1984, long before the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill litigation for which he is best known, Feinberg was appointed special master and tasked with resolving the class action filed by 250,000 Vietnam War veterans who were exposed to the herbicide Agent Orange.

Joe Hollingsworth of Hollingsworth LLP represented one of the eight chemical companies being sued in that litigation. “Like a great trial lawyer, he walks in and knows how to take control of the room and get a feel for what’s going on,” Hollingsworth said of Feinberg. “He has a sixth sense about what he can do to bring people together or at least come to some kind of situation where a compromise can be made.”

Of the many accomplishments in his notable career, Feinberg says he is most proud of his role in popularizing alternative dispute resolution, due in part to the ever-increasing burden on courts to resolve mass litigation.