Beginning in the late 1990s, we represented a group of German companies that formed the “Stiftungsinitiative,” a fund to pay former forced and slave laborers and others who lost property or assets to the Nazis during World War II. We were asked to assist German negotiators and their U.S.-based lawyers to resolve the complex political, legal and communications issues that surrounded almost 100 cases filed throughout the U.S.

We brought to this project our knowledge of the U.S. government, our extensive relationships with the Jewish community in the U.S. and Israel, contacts in Eastern Europe, experience with international media and other assets that enabled us to offer advice in private and public settings. Everyone on our team believed that while it was impossible to provide adequate recompense for the traumas inflicted by the Nazis, we should try to help foster agreements and get restitution payments from the companies to survivors as quickly as possible. We also believed that while the bitter memories evoked by the restitution process should not be forgotten, it was important for contemporary German-American relations to remain positive.

We mediated at delicate moments in this process, handled media outreach for our clients and, once an international agreement was reached, helped to get word out to potential beneficiaries about available funds. We believe that we played a positive role in addressing this difficult, ultimately insoluble challenge.   

Services:
Coalition building
Government relations
Mediation
Litigation Support
Media relations
Issues Management
Positioning