Trial Lawyer of the Year Award

Each year, Public Justice presents its Trial Lawyer of the Year Award to the attorney(s) who made the greatest contribution to the public interest within the past year by trying or settling a precedent-setting, socially significant case.

We are thrilled to congratulate the winners of this year’s award for their extraordinary work on the landmark case, Held v. Montana. The landmark, youth-led case became the first of its kind to reach trial in the U.S. when proceedings began on June 12, 2023. The plaintiffs argued that the state’s energy policies, which included a provision preventing agencies from considering greenhouse gas emissions in environmental reviews, violated their constitutional right to a “clean and healthful environment”.

In August 2023, the District Court ruled in favor of the youth plaintiffs, a decision that was upheld by the Montana Supreme Court in December 2024.

Legal Team: Nate Bellinger, Julia Olson, and Mat dos Santos of Our Children’s Trust; Phil Gregory of Gregory Law Group; Barbara Chillcott and Melissa Hornbein of Western Environmental Law Center; and Roger Sullivan of McGarvey Law.

For a look at past Trial Lawyer of the Year Award recipients, click here.