On My Side 2025 Awardee
The Champion of the Year Award is presented to an individual who has made a significant impact in the lives of trafficking survivors. The Human Trafficking Legal Center is delighted to name Kenya Davis as this year’s Champion of the Year for her exceptional work leading a pro bono team to victory in a forced labor civil case, Gomez-Echevierra v. Purpose Point Harvesting, LLC.
In May 2025, Davis and her team at Boies Schiller Flexner prevailed at trial in hard-fought litigation, securing a $570,256.34 jury verdict for five Guatemalan farmworkers after an eight-day trial. Davis led a team of ten attorneys and advocates. The farmworkers, who entered the United States on H-2A visas, alleged that the defendants charged illegal recruitment fees, confiscated the workers’ passports upon arrival, and controlled the workers’ bank accounts. The pro bono attorneys argued that the farmworkers had been held in forced labor, threatened with expulsion from the H-2A program. The jury agreed, finding for plaintiffs on every count. This case was brought in partnership with Migrant Legal Aid.
The victory in this case is remarkable in light of how rare jury trials are in federal trafficking civil cases. Davis’ powerful advocacy has led these trafficking survivors to victory. Their victory will inspire other H-2A workers held in forced labor to fight for justice. The Human Trafficking Legal Center recognizes Kenya Davis, the Boies Schiller Flexner pro bono team: Benjamin Solomon-Schwartz, Jessica Mugler, Suleman Masood, Luis Lopez, Victoria Moran, Ruth Zheng, Joshua Arnold, and Sophia Stoute, and the Migrant Legal Aid team, Teresa Hendricks and Molly Spaak.
Davis brings a long history of fighting for justice for survivors. Prior to joining Boies Schiller, Davis prosecuted human trafficking cases as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Columbia. Davis’ extraordinary leadership in the fight against forced labor has set a powerful example for the entire community. Her legacy stretches from the courtroom to the classroom, from labor trafficking cases to sex trafficking cases. We honor her deep, long-standing commitment to accountability for trafficking in both the public and the private sectors. We are thrilled to honor Davis’ extraordinary commitment to pro bono representation for trafficking survivors.
About the Honoree
Formerly an Assistant United States Attorney, Davis has 20 years of experience in high-stakes trials and investigations, including more than a decade as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
In that role, she represented the United States as lead counsel in 35 jury trials, 15 bench trials, and several evidentiary hearings involving complicated issues of first impression. She and her team prevailed in convicting a trafficker of adult sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, in one of the first federal trials of its kind in D.C. She also handled more than 100 grand jury investigations and defended 13 verdicts before the D.C. Court of Appeals. Davis also served as co-chair of the D.C. Human Trafficking Task Force, a group of nearly 75 senior federal and local law enforcement officials, government agency leaders, and NGO executives, working to increase the prosecution of traffickers, provide comprehensive services to victims, and coordinate anti-trafficking efforts in the D.C. area.
At Boies Schiller Flexner, Davis focuses on investigations and compliance work, particularly ESG-related issues such as ensuring the integrity of supply chains and labor practices. She also works with BSF attorneys on sex trafficking and sexual assault cases.
Davis is an adjunct professor at American University where she teaches a course on the laws and policies surrounding domestic violence.