21 Nov WilmerHale Helps Achieve Largest Ever Individual Wrongful-Conviction Verdict

BUFFALO, NY – On November 19, 2025, a WilmerHale pro bono trial team secured an $80 million jury verdict for the Estate of Darryl Boyd, the largest wrongful conviction award ever granted to an individual plaintiff in U.S. history. The verdict followed a two and a half week trial in federal court in Rochester, New York. After deliberating for less than an hour, the jury found that the Erie County District Attorney’s Office had suppressed at least 19 items of Brady material and engaged in misconduct in prosecuting Boyd and other teenagers known as the Buffalo Five, in connection with a 1976 murder. Boyd was exonerated in 2021 after spending more than 27 years in prison and 18 years on parole. He passed away in February 2025. The win follows the $28 million jury verdict secured by the WilmerHale team for another member of the Buffalo Five, John Walker, Jr.

The Impact Trial team worked alongside the attorneys at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP throughout this historic case. We are incredibly proud of our team’s dedication and the meaningful role they played in achieving this landmark outcome.

Congratulations to our Impact team members Thomas S.Y Lee, Clinton Lam, Adrianna Rivas, Alex Bievenour, Anthony Barko, Ashley Termonfils, and Justin Chauncey!

The case is Boyd v. The City of Buffalo et al., Case No. 1:22-cv-00519-MAV-JJM, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York.