Zuckerman Spaeder Team Honored with Public Justice’s 2026 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award

Public Justice has named Zuckerman Spaeder LLP attorneys Cy Smith, Aitan D. Goelman, and Joshua T. Mathew recipients of its 2026 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award as members of the multi-firm team that secured a historic $20.75 million verdict on behalf of Sudanese refugees.

The award recognizes lawyers whose work in a precedent-setting, socially significant case has made an important contribution to the public interest. The Zuckerman Spaeder team collaborated with lawyers from Hausfeld LLC, Hecht Partners LLP, and DiCello Levitt LLP to represent survivors of atrocities committed by the Sudanese government and hold BNP Paribas accountable for helping the regime evade U.S. sanctions.

The plaintiffs alleged that by helping the Sudanese government circumvent those sanctions, BNP Paribas enabled it to access the financial resources it needed to remain in power and commit human rights abuses. In October 2025, following a six-week federal trial in New York, the jury found the bank liable for civil damages.

The three plaintiffs are representatives of a certified class of more than 23,000 Sudanese survivors living in the U.S. It was the first U.S. jury verdict imposing civil liability on a major international bank for its role in supporting genocide and other human rights abuses.

“Our clients pursued this case for years because they wanted BNP Paribas held accountable for the role it played in supporting the Sudanese regime,” Smith said. “It was a privilege to stand with them at trial.”

Public Justice presented the award on July 27 at its 44th Annual Gala and Awards Dinner in Chicago.

The DiCello Levitt team includes Bobby DiCello, Ken Abbarno, Greg Gutzler, Carrie Syme, Scott Gilmore, Mark DiCello, Adam Levitt, Joseph Frate, and Madeline Harding. The Hausfeld trial team includes Michael D. Hausfeld, Amanda Lee-DasGupta, Mary Sameera Van Houten Harper, James D. Gotz, Claire Rosset, and Percy Metcalfe. The Hecht team includes Kathryn Lee Boyd, David L. Hecht, Maxim Price, Kristen Nelson, and Michael Eggenberger.

The case, Kashef et al. v. BNP Paribas et al., is pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.