Nicholas J. Jacques, an associate in the Human Rights practice, represents individuals who have been victims of torture, human trafficking, forced labor, and other violations of international law in litigation against multinational corporations, foreign governments, and other powerful wrongdoers.
During his time as an associate at Cohen Milstein, Nick has litigated several cases to a successful resolution for his clients, including as part of a team that represented the family of “Hotel Rwanda” hero Paul Rusesabagina in litigation against high-ranking Rwandan officials over Rusesabagina’s wrongful detention. American Lawyer recognized Nick as a runner-up litigator of the week for his success in that matter. Nick was also part of the team that negotiated a settlement with ExxonMobil on the eve of trial over 11 Indonesian citizens’ allegations that they or their family members were abused by soldiers contracted to guard Exxon’s operations in Aceh.
Before becoming an associate at Cohen Milstein, Nick was a Law Fellow at the firm where he worked across practices and was involved in litigating individual and class action cases at the district and appellate levels.
Immediately before his Fellowship, Nick was a law clerk to the Honorable Carolyn Dineen King for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, as well as a law clerk to the Honorable Nancy Moritz for the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
At Northeastern University, Nick received several academic awards, including the Kappa Tau Alpha Top Scholar Award. While at Cornell Law School, he received numerous academic awards, including The Freeman Award for Civil-Human Rights and the Arthur S. Chatman Labor Law Prize. He was an articles editor at Cornell Law Review, executive bench editor for the Moot Court Board, and chapter president of the National Lawyers Guild.
- District of Columbia
- Kansas
- Cornell Law School, J.D., magna cum laude, 2017
- Northeastern University, B.A., summa cum laude, 2014
- Law Fellow, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC (2019 – 2020)
- Law Clerk, Hon. Carolyn Dineen King, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit (2018 -2019)
- Law Clerk, Hon. Nancy Moritz, U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit (2017 – 2018)
Current Cases
In re Chiquita Brands International Inc. Litigation
Cohen Milstein represents hundreds of Colombian citizens who allege that they or their family members were victims of torture or extrajudicial killing committed by the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), a paramilitary group designated by the United States government as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization,” during armed conflict in Colombia in the 1990s and early 2000s. The victims included labor organizers, elected officials, and activists on Chiquita’s banana plantations. Plaintiffs allege that the deaths of their relatives were a direct and foreseeable result of Chiquita’s financial support of the AUC. The case is proceeding under Colombian law against Chiquita and under the U.S. Torture Victim Protection Act against individual Chiquita executives and board members.
Kasim Kurd, et al. v. The Republic of Turkey
Kurd v. The Republic of Turkey (D.D.C.): Cohen Milstein represents fifteen people, including a seven-year-old girl with her father, a mother pushing a four-year-old in a stroller, students, and local small business owners, who had gathered at Sheridan Circle in Washington, D.C., to peacefully protest the Erdogan regime’s treatment of its Kurdish community. They were brutally attacked by President Erdogan’s security detail, who pushed past a line of law enforcement officers to kick, stomp and bludgeon the demonstrators. The attack was captured on video, resulted in criminal indictments, and was condemned by the United States Congress. The Republic of Turkey claimed it was immune from suit, but the district court disagreed. Agnieszka Fryszman successfully argued the case at the Court of Appeals, obtaining a unanimous opinion holding that Turkey was not entitled to sovereign immunity for the attack.
Ratha, et al v. Phatthana Seafood Co
Ratha, et al v. Phatthana Seafood Co. (C.D. Cal.): Cohen Milstein is representing seven Cambodian plaintiffs in a cross-border human rights lawsuit involving human trafficking, forced labor, involuntary servitude, and peonage by factories in Thailand that produce shrimp and seafood for export to the United States.
Past Cases
ExxonMobil -Villagers of Aceh Litigation
Doe, Aceh, Indonesia v. ExxonMobil Corporation (D.D.C.): Cohen Milstein represented eleven villagers from Aceh, Indonesia, who alleged that they or their relatives endured horrific human rights abuses, including murder, torture, sexual violence, and kidnapping, at the hands of Indonesian soldiers contracted by ExxonMobil to guard its oil operations in the region. On May 15, 2023, a week before a jury trial was to start and after 20 years of litigation, the case settled. Although the case was litigated in U.S. federal court, Indonesian law applied to Plaintiffs’ claims and was applied by the Court. The case set numerous legal precedents during its 20-year history, during which it saw two trips to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals (decided January 2007 and July 2011) and one to the Supreme Court (certiorari was denied in 2008). Each time, novel issues of foreign policy impact, extraterritorial jurisdiction, and choice of law were briefed and considered by the Court of Appeals. In August 2022, months before trial, the Court largely denied ExxonMobil’s motion for summary judgment, finding most of its arguments “entirely meritless.”
Paul Rusesabagina, et al. v. The Republic of Rwanda, et al.
Paul Rusesabagina, et al. v. The Republic of Rwanda, et al. (D.D.C.): U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom winner Paul Rusesabagina and his family against the Republic of Rwanda, the President of Rwanda and other members of the government for allegedly kidnapping Paul and taking him back to Rwanda, where he was imprisoned, tortured and subjected to a sham trial. Mr. Rusesabagina is perhaps best known for saving thousands of lives during the Rwandan genocide in 1994, a story that inspired the Academy-Award-nominated film, Hotel Rwanda. On March 16, 2023, the court held that three Rwandan officials must face plaintiffs' claims. A week later, after negotiations with the White House, Rwanda released Paul and, after two-and-a-half years in captivity, he returned home to the United States.
May 15, 2023
Indonesian Villagers Achieve Settlement from ExxonMobil on Eve of Human Rights Trial and After Two Decades of Litigation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press Contact: cohenmilstein@berlinrosen.com Indonesian Villagers Achieve Settlement from ExxonMobil on Eve of Human Rights Trial and After Two Decades of Litigation In an August 2022 Decision on the Motion for Summary Judgment, the Court Ruled that the Majority of ExxonMobil’s Arguments were “Entirely Meritless” WASHINGTON, D.C. – Eleven villagers who alleged that they […]
In the News
April 3, 2023
How the U.S., Family and Hollywood Freed the ‘Hotel Rwanda’ Hero
Paul Rusesabagina, depicted in the 2004 film about genocide in his country, was reunited with his family last week. It took years of pressure to get him out of Rwanda, where he was convicted on terrorism charges. Rwanda’s leader was in combative form last December when, on a visit to Washington, he was asked about […]
In the News | The New York Times
October 31, 2022
Supreme Court Declines to Hear Turkey’s Appeal on Foreign Sovereign Immunity
Attack Victims of Pres. Erdoğan’s Security Detail Will Have Their Day in Court WASHINGTON DC – Today, the United States Supreme Court declined to hear the Republic of Turkey’s petition to review the unanimous July 27, 2021 opinion of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which upheld the district […]
In the News
October 31, 2022
Supreme Court Rejects Turkey’s Bid to Stop US Brawl Lawsuits
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected Turkey’s bid to shut down lawsuits in U.S. courts stemming from a violent brawl outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence in Washington more than five years ago that left anti-government protesters badly beaten. The justices did not comment in turning away Turkey’s arguments that American law shields foreign […]
In the News | The Washington Post
August 5, 2022
ExxonMobil Bid to End Indonesia Lawsuit Found ‘Meritless’
US judge dismisses oil and gas giant’s arguments for avoiding trial over alleged human rights abuses in Indonesia. A United States judge cleared the way for 11 Indonesian villagers to sue ExxonMobil for alleged human rights abuses after finding the majority of the gas and oil giant’s arguments to be “entirely meritless”. In a searing […]
In the News | Al Jazeera
August 3, 2022
Confessions of Victims of Alleged Human Rights Violations by ExxonMobil and Military Personnel in Aceh Revealed After 20 Years
For the first time after 20 years of legal proceedings, the Washington DC District Court, United States, issued a document to the public revealing the testimonies of victims of alleged human rights violations allegedly committed by the ExxonMobil company in Aceh by hiring a number of Indonesian military personnel. Judge Royce C. Lambert, Tuesday (02/08), […]
In the News | BBC
August 2, 2022
Judge Allows Historic Human Rights Lawsuit Against ExxonMobil to Proceed to Trial
After 20 Years of Litigation, Victims’ Stories of Abuses by Security Forces Finally Told WASHINGTON DC – A federal judge today released a detailed and pointed 86-page opinion that largely denied ExxonMobil Corporation’s motion for summary judgment in a long-running human rights lawsuit, brought by eleven Indonesian citizens. This decision paves the way for trial […]
In the News
May 2, 2022
Family of Hotel Rwanda Hero Launches $400m Lawsuit Over His Alleged Abduction
Paul Rusesabagina’s family are suing the Rwandan government in the US, accusing it of a plot to abduct, torture and jail him The family of Hotel Rwanda hero Paul Rusesabagina has filed a $400m lawsuit in the US over his alleged abduction and torture. Rusesabagina is serving a 25-year prison term on terrorism charges after […]
In the News | The Guardian
April 29, 2022
Family, Legal Team of Illegally Extradited and Jailed Humanitarian Paul Rusesabagina to Announce Lawsuit Against the Rwandan Government
Press Conference at the National Press Club on May 3, 2022 at 10:30 am EDT Washington, DC – On Tuesday, May 3 at 10:30 am EDT at the National Press Club in Washington, DC the family and legal representatives of illegally extradited and jailed humanitarian Paul Rusesabagina will hold a press conference to announce a […]
In the News
October 15, 2021
Food Aid Organization Asks Pentagon to Help Family Members, Staff, and Survivors of Kabul Drone Strike
Representatives of Nutrition & Education International Met with Pentagon Officials to Discuss the U.S. Drone Strike that Killed Their Employee Zemari Ahmadi and Nine of His Family Members in Kabul NEW YORK — Nutrition & Education International (NEI) had a meeting with the U.S. Department of Defense yesterday to discuss what the government can do […]
Press Releases