Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll offices in Washington, D.C.

Tell us about your biggest win or wins this year.

On February 28, 2018, U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth, for the District of Columbia, ordered the Republic of Iran to pay $920 million to 80 families of soldiers and other military service members who were killed or injured in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. The attack, carried out by a group calling itself Islamic Jihad (later determined to be a front for Hezbollah), killed 241 U.S. service members serving as peacekeepers in Lebanon's then-ongoing civil war and injured numerous others—the deadliest state-sponsored terrorist attack against U.S. citizens prior to September 11, 2001. Cohen Milstein is honored to represent the plaintiffs in this matter.

What's the biggest lesson you learned practicing law?

I was initially attracted to the practice of law because I saw it as an opportunity to do challenging work, work that would be important. What I've come to appreciate over time is just how important our work can be in terms of changing policy, addressing misconduct, and generally impacting the lives of others for the better.

Answers submitted by Theodore J. Leopold, partner and co-chair, complex tort litigation practice.