Brian S. Kabateck

Plaintiffs' litigation

For nearly a century, Turkey has denied the existence of the Armenian genocide, but thanks to a suit Kabateck filed this year in U.S. court, it may be forced to confront the horrors its government unleashed in 1915. Kabateck is representing Armenian-Americans who claim their families were deprived of property and possessions. The complaint is the first to name the Republic of Turkey as a defendant in a lawsuit related to the turmoil. Kabateck represents other plaintiffs' in cases that intersect with crucial social issues from the past year, including the NAACP, which sued HSBC and Wells Fargo banks, alleging they steered African-Americans into high-risk loans during the housing bubble. For his work, the NAACP awarded Kabateck its Champion of Civil Rights Award in July. His law firm also represents more than 1,500 plaintiffs suing Farmers Insurance for its failure to pay claims stemming from last year's devastating Station Fire.