Trial Lawyer of the Year Award

43RD ANNUAL PUBLIC JUSTICE GALA & AWARDS DINNER | 2025 TRIAL LAWYER OF THE YEAR FINALISTS

Held v. State of Montana

First constitutional climate change case ever to go to trial secures historic ruling from Montana Supreme Court striking down as unconstitutional a state law that forced government agencies to ignore greenhouse gas emissions when approving fossil fuel projects and declaring a fundamental right to a stable climate system.

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.

In re Red Dust Claims

Twenty-seven-year litigation battle against alumina refinery plant for negligent storage of red mud piles containing carcinogen – a byproduct of the refining process – resulted in significant recoveries for low-income St. Croix residents affected by hurricane which blew toxic red dust on to their properties.

Legal Team: Lee J. Rohn and Rhea Lawrence of Lee J. Rohn & Associates, LLC; and Rick Yelton and Jayde Encalade of Burns Charest LLP

Wren v. Affinitylifestyles Inc. and Brown v. Affinitylifestyles Inc.

Product Liability and consumer protection lawsuits secured an unprecedented $8.3 billion in combined verdicts against bottled water company that poisoned consumers with rocket fuel chemical.

Legal Team: Will Kemp, Eric M. Pepperman, and Breanna K. Switzler of Kemp Jones, LLP; and Theodore Parker, III, of Parker, Nelson & Associates

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, John Doe I v. Exxon Mobil Corp. After 22 years of relentless litigation, they held Exxon Mobil accountable for the atrocities committed by its contractors in an Indonesian village, including sexual assault, torture, kidnapping, and murder.

In 2001, 11 villagers bravely filed a lawsuit in the U.S., alleging that Exxon’s contracted Indonesian soldiers inflicted horrific abuses. The plaintiffs witnessed shootings, torture, and sexual assault, and despite Exxon’s knowledge, the company failed to supervise the soldiers. This case navigated complex legal issues, reaching the U.S. Supreme Court, and used the transitory tort doctrine to bring the case under U.S. jurisdiction.

The plaintiffs and their legal team faced numerous challenges, including fear of retaliation, natural disasters, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Exxon’s defense was exhaustive, with numerous motions and extensive filings. However, in 2008 and 2022, the court denied Exxon’s summary judgment motions, citing sufficient evidence of Exxon’s control over the security forces. The case settled just before trial in 2022, achieving the plaintiffs’ goals of accountability and better lives for their families. This case received worldwide attention and contributed significantly to the historical record in Aceh, Indonesia.

Congratulations to the incredible legal team:

•Agnieszka M. Fryszman – Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC

•Paul L. Hoffman – Schonbrun Seplow Harris Hoffman & Zeldes, LLP

•Leslie Mitchell Kroeger – Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC

•Kit A. Pierson – Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC

•Terry Collingsworth – International Rights Advocates

•Anthony DiCaprio – DiCaprio Alternative Dispute Resolution

•Robert W. Cobbs – Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC

•Llezlie Green – Georgetown Law (formerly of Cohen Milstein)

•Nicholas J. Jacques – Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC

•Kathleen M. Konopka – Global Health Advocacy Incubator (formerly of Cohen Milstein)

•Brent W. Landau – The Public Interest Law Center (formerly of Cohen Milstein)

•Maureen McOwen – Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (formerly of Cohen Milstein)

•Allyson Ford Ouoba – American University Washington College of Law (formerly of Cohen Milstein)

•Marka Peterson – Strategic Organizing Center (formerly of Cohen Milstein)

•Poorad Razavi – Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC

•Sharon K. Robertson – Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC

•Thomas Saunders – U.S. Attorneys’ Office, District of Columbia (formerly of Cohen Milstein)

•Bede Sheppard – Human Rights Watch (formerly of Cohen Milstein)

•Rita Siemion – U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary (formerly of Cohen Milstein)

•Matiangai Sirleaf – University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law (formerly of Cohen Milstein)

•Nada S. Sulaiman – Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC

Read about the other 2024 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award finalists here.

For a look at past recipients, click here.