Terrorism financing case recognized for advancing public interest

DALLAS – The landmark lawsuit won by attorneys from Dallas’ Sayles Werbner and other law firms across the U.S. on behalf of victims of overseas terrorist attacks recently was recognized with the Public Justice Trial Lawyer of the Year Award.

The prestigious award is presented annually by the national public interest law firm Public Justice to honor attorneys who made the greatest contribution to the public interest during the past year. It recognizes precedent-setting, socially significant cases. The Trial Lawyer of the Year Award was announced during the group’s 2016 Gala & Awards Dinner in Los Angeles.

In Linde v. Arab Bank, Sayles Werbner’s Mark S. Werbner represented hundreds of terrorism victims in their successful claims against Jordan-based Arab Bank for its financial support of terrorist attacks in the West Bank and Gaza between 2001 and 2004.

In 2014, federal jurors in New York found in favor of Werbner’s clients in the first civil liability verdict in U.S. history against a foreign bank for providing material financial support for terrorist activities. A confidential settlement was reached last year within a week of a scheduled damages trial in the same court.

Relying on provisions in the 1990 Anti-Terrorism Act, the lawsuit was filed in 2004 based on claims that Arab Bank provided financial support to the families of all Palestinian terrorists who were killed, injured or incarcerated since the start of the Al-Aqsa (Second) Intifada in late 2000. Trial evidence showed how Arab Bank assisted the families of terrorists in collecting financial payments following the attacks.

Public Justice also presented a Trial Lawyer of the Year award to Alec Karakatsanis of Equal Justice Under Law in Washington, D.C., based on his work in the Jones (Varden) v. City of Clanton case and other firms that handled similar claims challenging the constitutionality of the U.S. money bail system.

Sayles Werbner maintains an international reputation as a proven trial law firm in complex business litigation, intellectual property matters, life-altering personal injury cases, product safety claims and practically every type of case that requires courtroom expertise.