A very interesting case and story via the American Lawyer.
Places like Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai will have to think long and hard about their current approach. It could really impact the level of talent they attract if they want to be international centres of excellence, as they like to repeat ad nauseum.
The American Lawyer reports..
A group of 16 international law firms from the United States, Europe and Asia, including Latham & Watkins, Davis Polk & Wardwell and Clifford Chance, have joined forces as they seek to join a lawsuit in Hong Kong on behalf of a British lesbian in a landmark case that will decide whether spousal dependents in same-sex couples can obtain visas to reside with their partners in Hong Kong.
The law firms, along with 15 foreign banks and Amnesty International, are urging the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal—Hong Kong’s highest court—to uphold a lower court’s decision to allow spousal dependent visas for same-sex couples.
“The 16 law firms represent a cross-section of employers within the Hong Kong legal services industry,” Davis Polk said in a statement. The firm is acting pro bono on behalf of the law firms on the case, along with a team led by Hong Kong-based counsel Chen Zhu.
“These law firms also share a commitment to promoting LGBT diversity and inclusion within their respective firms and the legal profession more broadly,” the statement said.
The participating U.S. firms are Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Hogan Lovells, Latham & Watkins, Morrison & Foerster, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Ropes & Gray. All Magic Circle firms, with the exception of Slaughter and May, signed the petition. Ashurst, CMS, Eversheds Sutherland, Herbert Smith Freehills, and Hong Kong firms Morley Chow Seto; and Oldham, Li & Nie are also part of the group.
Read more about the case at the link above.
