Five lawyers from EarthRights International, as well as their co-counsel on the team that litigated Wiwa v. Shell and brought the case to a landmark settlement in June 2009, have been named finalists for the 2010 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award granted by the organization Public Justice.  Public Justice utilizes a nationwide network of trial lawyers to pursue litigation in the public interest, including cases involving civil rights, access to justice, and environmental protection.  The award is intended for the attorneys who made the greatest contribution to the public interest within the past year by trying or settling a precedent-setting or socially significant case.

Wiwa v. Shell was brought by victims of violence from the Ogoni ethnic group of Nigeria, who faced military persecution when they organized to oppose destructive oil development by Royal Dutch Shell.  The campaign against the Ogoni rights movement culminated on November 10, 1995, when nine Ogoni activists, including movement leaders Ken Saro-Wiwa and John Kpuinen, were executed by the Nigerian military regime.  The lawsuit alleged that Shell was complicit in supporting military operations against the Ogoni, and actively pursued the convictions and execution of the Ogoni Nine, including by bribing witnesses against them.  The case was filed in U.S. federal court in New York, and was on the eve of trial when Shell agreed to settle for $15.5 million, including $5 million which the plaintiffs donated to a trust to benefit the Ogoni people.

ERI is proud to share this recognition with its co-counsel, who developed the Wiwa case and litigated it for nearly thirteen years, especially Jennifer Green, formerly with the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and now a law professor at the University of Minnesota Law School; CCR cooperating attorneys Judith Brown Chomsky and Beth Stephens; Anthony DiCaprio, a former CCR attorney; CCR attorney Maria LaHood; and Paul Hoffman, of Schonbrun DeSimone Seplow Harris & Hoffman.  ERI's lawyers on theWiwa team are Legal Director Marco Simons, Litigation Coordinator Rick Herz, and Staff Attorney Jonathan Kaufman, as well as former ERI lawyers Jacqui Zalcberg, ERI's 2008-09 International Justice Fellow, and Abby Rubinson.  Other members of the team include Susan Farbstein of the Harvard International Human Rights Clinic; Agnieszka Frysman and Molly McOwen of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll; CCR attorney Deborah Gordon; and Julie Shapiro, a professor at Seattle University School of Law.

This case has always had special significance for EarthRights International, in part because Ken Saro-Wiwa exemplified the struggle for human rights and environmental protection that is at the heart of ERI's mission.  Ken Saro-Wiwa was a winner of the 1995 Goldman Environmental Prize, which ERI's Executive Director, Ka Hsaw Wa, also won four years later.  ERI has always been privileged to be part of the Ogoni fight for justice.

The Wiwa team is among five finalists for the Trial Lawyer of the Year Award, which is among the most prestigious awards given for public interest litigation.  Past winners include  the legal team who won compensation from the Libyan government for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103, lawyers who settled a massive environmental pollution case against DuPont, and the lawyers who brought the first successful class-action against tobacco companies.  The winner of this year's award will be announced on July 13.

Public Justice's press release (pdf)