DiCello Levitt, Co-Counsel Honored for Historic Human Rights Verdict on Behalf of Sudanese Refugees
DiCello Levitt LLP is proud to announce that the multi-firm trial team in Kashef et al. v. BNP Paribas et al., comprising attorneys from DiCello Levitt, Hausfeld LLP, Hecht Partners LLP, and Zuckerman Spaeder LLP, has won Public Justice’s 2026 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award. Widely regarded as one of the nation’s most prestigious honors for impact litigation, the award recognizes exceptional legal work that advances justice and creates meaningful social change.
Public Justice presented the award on July 27, 2026, at its 44th Annual Gala and Awards Dinner in Chicago.
Public Justice recognized the team for securing a historic federal jury verdict on behalf of Sudanese refugees who survived genocide and other mass atrocities committed during the regime of former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
After nearly a decade of litigation, and following a six-week trial, a New York federal jury awarded three bellwether plaintiffs a combined $20.75 million and found that French bank BNP Paribas aided and abetted the Sudanese government’s human rights abuses. The verdict was the first by a U.S. jury to hold a major international bank civilly liable for materially supporting genocide and mass human rights violations.
A Landmark Human Rights Verdict
The litigation was brought by three Sudanese refugees representing a certified class of more than 23,000 Sudanese survivors living in the United States.
The plaintiffs alleged that BNP Paribas helped the Sudanese government evade U.S. sanctions by processing billions of dollars in financial transactions while the regime carried out systematic killings, village burnings, sexual violence, forced displacement, and other atrocities against Black African communities in Darfur and other regions of Sudan.
The jury returned its historic verdict on October 17, 2025, establishing an important measure of accountability for financial institutions whose services materially support governments engaged in genocide and other mass atrocities.
The Kashef v. BNP Paribas Legal Team
The DiCello Levitt trial team includes Bobby DiCello (Lead Trial Counsel), Ken Abbarno, Greg Gutzler, Carrie Syme, Scott Gilmore, Mark DiCello, Adam Levitt, Joseph Frate, and Madeline Harding.
DiCello Levitt served alongside co-counsel from Hausfeld LLP (Co-Lead Counsel), Hecht Partners LLP (Co-Lead Counsel), and Zuckerman Spaeder LLP.
The Hausfeld team includes Michael D. Hausfeld, Amanda Lee-DasGupta, Mary Sameera Van Houten Harper, James D. Gotz, Claire Rosset, and Percy Metcalfe.
The Hecht Partners team includes Kathryn Lee Boyd, David L. Hecht, Maxim Price, Kristen Nelson, and Michael Eggenberger.
The Zuckerman Spaeder team includes Cy Smith, Aitan D. Goelman, and Josh Mathew.
Public Justice Trial Lawyer of the Year Award
Public Justice’s Trial Lawyer of the Year Award recognizes an attorney or team of attorneys whose work in a precedent-setting and socially significant case made an exceptional contribution to the public interest during the preceding year.
Public Justice selected the Kashef trial team from three finalist teams whose cases addressed toxic consumer products, gun trafficking, genocide, and mass human rights abuses.
The organization presented the award during its annual gala in Chicago, where it also premiered a short documentary about the Kashef litigation and the survivors’ pursuit of justice.
DiCello Levitt’s Civil and Human Rights Litigation Practice
DiCello Levitt’s Civil and Human Rights Litigation Practice represents individuals and communities in high-stakes cases involving human rights abuses, civil rights violations, institutional misconduct, police misconduct, sexual abuse, and other systemic harms.
The firm’s civil and human rights work has previously been recognized by Public Justice. DiCello Levitt attorneys received the organization’s 2021 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award for their work in Black v. Hicks, a landmark civil rights case involving police brutality and corruption in East Cleveland, Ohio.
