W. Jesse Forbes

W. Jesse Forbes is a nationally recognized trial attorney and the Managing Member of Forbes Law Offices, PLLC, based in Charleston, West Virginia. His practice is devoted to representing survivors of abuse, as well as victims of serious injury, wrongful death, civil-rights violations, and large-scale consumer and environmental harms. He often co-counsels with attorneys across the nation in these matters and appears in courts throughout the country.

Forbes is known for his relentless advocacy on behalf of survivors of institutional abuse, victims of government and corporate misconduct, and individuals harmed by systemic failures. Before the age of 30, he secured a multi-million-dollar jury verdict, establishing his reputation as one of West Virginia’s leading plaintiff trial lawyers. Since that time, he has routinely secured multi-million-dollar and other significant results for his clients at both the trial and appellate levels.

He has extensive experience handling complex civil litigation at both the trial and appellate levels. His appellate practice includes post-verdict appeals, interlocutory matters, and extraordinary relief actions before the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, the West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. In addition to authoring briefs in significant matters, Forbes has presented oral argument before multiple appellate courts on dozens of occasions and frequently assists in cases that have reached the appellate stage.

As one of the lead counsel, Forbes played a central role in achieving more than $100 million in total recoveries for survivors of abuse at the former Miracle Meadows School, one of the largest collective results in the state’s history. He also represents hundreds of children born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) in the nationwide opioid litigation, advocating for accountability and long-term treatment funding.

In 2025, Forbes’ clients were honored by the West Virginia Association for Justice for their perseverance in a five-year civil-rights case on behalf of the family of a detainee who died in state custody. During trial, Forbes’ cross-examination of a former jail guard exposed that the detainee had died of positional asphyxia after allegations that the guards had abused and smothered him for several minutes, leading to significant public attention and recognition of the need for systemic reform. The case resulted in a maximum recovery from the State’s insurance fund, marking an important milestone in West Virginia civil-rights accountability.

Forbes also currently serves as Class Counsel on behalf of a nationwide class of former detainees in Spurlock, et al. v. Wexford Health Sources, Inc., pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, Huntington Division (Civil Action No. 3:23-0476), involving claims that incarcerated individuals were denied medically necessary treatment in violation of their civil rights.

In addition to his work for individual victims, Forbes has represented government entities and others in major class and mass actions, including multi-million-dollar recoveries arising from the Freedom Industries chemical spill (Good, et al. v. American Water Works Company, Inc., et al., U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, Case No. 2:14-cv-01374 (2014)) and from the opioid epidemic (City of Charleston, West Virginia v. Rite Aid of Maryland, Inc., et al., U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, Case No. 2:18-cv-00251 (2018)). He also helped secure an $18 million class-action recovery in Jeffries v. West Virginia-American Water Company, et al., Kanawha County, West Virginia (2025), one of the largest such results of its kind in the state.

His practice also includes civil-rights litigation nationwide, where he has secured multi-million-dollar recoveries for victims of abuses by law-enforcement officers and institutions. His work has been recognized nationally for advancing victims’ rights, civil accountability, and constitutional justice. He maintains an "AV Preeminent" Peer review rating with Martindale Hubble, is recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as a Top 100 Civil Attorney, and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum among other accolades.