Latham & Watkins Overcomes Significant Hurdles, Secures Asylum for Survivor of Gender-Based Violence

Nicole Vescova

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary is honoring a team of attorneys from Latham & Watkins for their devoted representation in obtaining asylum status for a survivor of gender violence.

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary for Families is honoring a team of attorneys from Latham & Watkins for their devoted and compassionate pro bono representation in obtaining asylum status for “Leslie,” a woman who fled her home country in Central America after being subjected to persecution based on her gender and familial status. The team consisted of Latham partner Lilia Vazova, associates Daniel Grill and Emma Green, and former associates Abhinaya Swaminathan and Jaclyn Newman.

As a young woman, Leslie had been subjected to severe sexual violence and threats of harm by various male aggressors in her family, culminating in a horrific rape at the hands of her male cousins and their friends. Although Leslie attempted to pursue criminal charges against her aggressors and contacted law enforcement officers in multiple jurisdictions across her home country, her government failed to protect Leslie. Leslie lived in fear for her life and safety, and was forced to alter her lifestyle dramatically, including by relocating to another town. To hide from her aggressors, she stopped attending school and socializing with friends. Sadly, this was not enough, and her aggressors continued to harass and threaten her. Desperate to protect herself, Leslie entered the United States in early 2017 seeking asylum.

After crossing the border as a 20-year-old young woman, Leslie made multiple attempts to file an asylum application herself, but they were rejected for administrative errors. Leslie was eventually connected with Sanctuary for Families. However, by the time Leslie connected with Sanctuary, the one-year deadline for filing her asylum application had passed. After assisting Leslie with filing the initial application, Sanctuary knew it needed a strong litigation team to help secure asylum status. Latham generously agreed to assist Leslie in preparation for her asylum hearing on a pro bono basis.

Although Leslie originally filed her asylum application in March 2017, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, her hearing did not take place until August 2023. In preparation for the hearing, the Latham team worked tirelessly with Leslie and Sanctuary to prepare the strongest case. To obtain asylum status in the United States, one must demonstrate, amongst other things, a timely application or an excuse for the delay, that they suffered (or have a well-founded fear of suffering) persecution on account of certain enumerated protected grounds, such as religion, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, and that they are unable safely to return to their home country.

Latham had to deal with several complicated issues: Leslie’s asylum application technically was not filed within the one-year deadline, and, because of the nature of her attack, it was challenging to show that Leslie had been persecuted on account of her status as a member of a protected group. Since her persecutors were not intimate partners, the team could not rely on the standard asylum arguments for survivors of domestic violence. They needed to advance a novel claim regarding the client’s eligibility for asylum. The team worked closely with the client and a country conditions expert to understand and present the reasons underlying her persecution.

Despite a language barrier, the Latham team was able to build a rapport with Leslie and provide her with a comfortable environment to discuss such severe and distressing events, including the reasons (which were out of her control) that her attackers may have believed her to be vulnerable and targeted her. The team came to learn that the sexual assault experienced by the client represented a horrifying pattern in which male members within the family deliberately subjected women and girls to acts of sexual violence as a means to control and dominate them. With this information, Latham spent countless hours with Leslie to draft her affidavit in support of her asylum application and prepare her to provide testimony at her hearing.

At Leslie’s first hearing date, the government took an aggressive position, forcing Leslie to recount traumatic events that had occurred almost ten years prior and questioning her credibility while recounting certain details of the events. The government’s cross-examination of Leslie took so long that trial needed to be adjourned to a second day.

Latham took this time to further prepare Leslie for round two and ensure that she would be comfortable sharing the details of her abuse on the stand. At the second hearing, Leslie was again faced with questions on the details of her attack, and she was able to answer all the government’s questions while projecting confidence and credibility, despite the sensitive nature of the events.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the Judge stated that she believed Leslie to be a credible witness and immediately granted her asylum application. Notably, the government deferred to the Judge’s ruling and did not appeal, which further evidenced the strength of Leslie’s request for asylum.

“Working with Sanctuary for Families and on behalf of Leslie has been among the most impactful experiences of my career to date. I want to thank everyone at Sanctuary and at Latham who contributed to this incredible result.” – Daniel Grill, Associate

“We are grateful for our multi-decade partnership with Sanctuary for Families, and proud to contribute to Sanctuary’s efforts to meet the needs of some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” said Laura Atkinson-Hope, Public Service Counsel and Director of Global Pro Bono at Latham. “We thank you for the award, but, more importantly, we wish to thank you for the work you do.”

Laura Atkinson-Hope
Public Service Counsel & Director of Global Pro Bono
Latham & Watkins

Pooja Asnani, of Sanctuary for Families, applauds the Latham team for their tireless advocacy on Leslie’s behalf and creative thinking in litigation strategy.

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Join us at our Above & Beyond Awards Ceremony on October 8, 2024, as we honor Latham & Watkins’ outstanding pro bono work.

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Nicole Vescova is a partner in the Fort Lauderdale office of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, where she specializes in representing management in labor and employment matters. She is a member of Sanctuary’s Pro Bono Council (“PBC”). 

Simpson Thacher Secures T-Visa Immigration Status for Labor Trafficking Survivor

Nicole Vescova

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary will honor a Simpson Thacher team for their patient and compassionate pro bono representation.

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary is honoring a team of attorneys from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (“Simpson Thacher”) for their patient and compassionate pro bono representation of “Sylvia” in obtaining T Nonimmigrant status. The team consisted of Partner, Leanne Welds; Of Counsel, Mark J. Stein; and former Associate, Suzy R. Yaster.

At the age of 13, Sylvia was forced into an arranged marriage—an event that commenced years of forced labor and abuse in and between Sylvia’s home country and the United States. Following the marriage, Sylvia was immediately taken out of school and moved from her childhood home into the home of her new in-laws, where she was forced to work in domestic servitude for the remainder of her teenage years. In her early twenties, Sylvia was sent to care for her then-ill husband and trafficker in the United States, a country where she knew no one. Her time spent in the United States provided no reprieve for Sylvia. She was kept isolated, preventing her from building any community; subjected to verbal, physical and sexual abuse; and forced to work at the bequest and under the complete control of her trafficker-husband. Sylvia ultimately bore two children by her abuser.

Notwithstanding these painful circumstances, Sylvia’s children are her pride and joy, and were a primary motivation for her bravely seeking assistance to find a safe home for her and her children away from her abusive husband. In 2018, Sylvia was fortuitously connected with Simpson Thacher subsequent to a referral to Sanctuary’s Human Trafficking Intervention Court Clinic in Queens by a partnering organization. Sylvia was immediately identified as a potential trafficking victim. During her intake, Sylvia shared parts of her deeply complex story for the first time with now Partner, Leanne Welds. When Sanctuary for Families sought to refer the matter to the firm, Simpson Thacher generously agreed to assist Sylvia with her application for T Nonimmigrant Status on a pro bono basis.

From the outset, the Simpson Thacher team built rapport with Sylvia, earning her trust and beginning to unravel Sylvia’s story. Over the next four years, Sylvia courageously fled her trafficker with her children, shared her story with legal authorities, and applied for immigration status based on the human trafficking crimes that were committed against her. The Simpson Thacher team spent many hours with Sylvia, preparing the supporting affidavit needed to apply for T Nonimmigrant Status and preparing her to report the crimes against her and respond to questions from the US Attorney’s Office (“USAO”). From conducting mock interviews, to supporting Sylvia at the interview with the USAO, to the careful preparation and submission of Sylvia’s application, Welds described the entire process as a labor of love by the entire Simpson Thacher team. Ultimately, Simpson Thacher’s efforts were successful as Sylvia’s T Nonimmigrant Status application was approved earlier this year.

Welds, Stein and Yaster expressed gratitude for having the opportunity to represent and support Sylvia over the past few years. Welds noted,

“This experience truly highlights that our impact in the world should not always be measured by its breadth but also its depth. Obtaining T Nonimmigrant Status was a life-changing and live-saving experience for Sylvia and her children, an outcome that would likely not have been achieved without significant time commitment and devotion to building the strongest case for Sylvia’s circumstance.”

Jessica-Wind Abolafia, Director of the Anti-Trafficking Initiative at Sanctuary for Families, concluded,

“I applaud the Simpson Thacher team for their deeply compassionate, skilled, and patient advocacy. Their steadfast and dedicated representation allowed them to support Sylvia in disclosing her story and even to find healing during the process.”

Join us at our Above & Beyond Awards Ceremony on October 25, 2023, as we honor Simpson Thacher & Bartlett’s outstanding pro bono work.

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Nicole Vescova is an associate in the Miami office of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, and a member of its Labor & Employment Practice, where she regularly defends employers of all sizes and sectors against all types of employment claims. Nicole is also a member of Sanctuary for Families’ Pro Bono Counsel.

Akin Gump Assists Survivor in Prosecution of Her Trafficker and Immigration Process

Nicole Vescova

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary for Families will be honoring a team from Akin Gump for their compassionate and devoted pro bono representation of “Amy”, a survivor of sex trafficking.

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary for Families will be honoring a team from Akin Gump for their compassionate and devoted pro bono representation of “Amy” during the prosecution of her trafficker and in securing T-Nonimmigrant status. The team consists of partner Estela Diaz and counsel Kate Powers.

Amy was a young teenager living in Mexico when she met “Mario.”  Mario told Amy that he had a big debt that he needed to repay, and asked her to help him. Specifically, Mario told Amy she had to prostitute to pay off his debts. When Amy refused, Mario became violent, imprisoned her, and forced her into prostitution. A few years later, Mario smuggled Amy into the U.S., and continued to traffic her throughout the tri-state area. Amy was able to eventually escape Mario, but was afraid to ever reveal what had happened to her, fearing for her family in her home country.

In April 2016, Amy was approached by special agents working for the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), which was investigating her trafficker. Once identified as a trafficking survivor, Amy was connected with Sanctuary for Families, who in turn contacted Akin Gump, seeking assistance on an expedited basis.

Akin Gump formed a team to help Amy prepare to meet with federal prosecutors and agents from DHS. The team jumped in immediately to educate Amy on the process of the investigation and the potential prosecution of her trafficker, and to represent her at the meeting with law enforcement. Understandably, Amy was nervous to participate in this ordeal; however, the Akin team ensured that Amy, a non-English speaker, fully understood what she was getting involved with and remained sensitive to the severe trauma she had experienced as they worked to prepare her and advocate on her behalf.

After the initial meeting with the prosecutors in 2016, Akin assisted Amy in preparing a declaration in support of her trafficker’s extradition. Thereafter, Amy bravely agreed to testify at her trafficker’s trial, though her trafficker ultimately pleaded guilty. As the process progressed, the Akin group watched Amy gain confidence and courage. In fact, Amy (with the Akin team beside her) chose to attend her trafficker’s sentencing so she could look him in the eyes when he was sentenced to more than a decade in prison.

Over the past 6 years, while the trafficker’s prosecution was ongoing, the Akin team was also assisting Amy in preparing a visa application so she could remain in the U.S. The process took a long time because her application was tied to her trafficker’s prosecution, and Amy could not obtain the necessary statement from law enforcement to support her application until the criminal proceedings were resolved. Eventually, Akin submitted an application which was over 120 pages long, and in April 2022, Amy was granted T-Nonimmigrant status.

Estela Diaz describes this representation as one of the “most satisfying matters” she has ever had the privilege to work on. Speaking on behalf of the team, Estela noted that Amy was so “deserving of relief” and watching her “evolve throughout the representation” was such a “great” experience.

“The Akin Gump team exemplifies what we as attorneys strive for in representing survivors of gender based violence. Not only did they achieve excellent results, but they provided a space for the client to feel respected, dignified and empowered throughout the legal process.”

Jessica-Wind Abolafia
Director of SFF’s Anti-Trafficking Initiative

Sanctuary is thrilled to honor Estela and Kate for their tremendous legal abilities and dedication to their client.

Join us at our Above & Beyond Awards Ceremony on November 2, 2022, as we honor Akin Gump’s outstanding pro bono work.

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If you can’t join us, but would like to support Sanctuary’s work, please consider making an Above & Beyond donation here.

Nicole Vescova is an associate at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, where she practices labor and employment law in their Miami office. Nicole is also a member of Sanctuary for Families’ Pro Bono Counsel.

Kasowitz Team Navigates Complicated Divorce Proceeding

Nicole Vescova

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary is honoring a team from Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP for their compassionate and devoted pro bono representation of “Frannie,” a domestic violence survivor.

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary for Families is honoring a team from Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP (“Kasowitz”) for their compassionate and devoted pro bono representation of “Frannie” to obtain a judgment of divorce with a continued order of protection and a favorable settlement agreement. The team consisted of partners Sarah Gibbs Leivick and Cindy Caranella Kelly, and associates Léa Dartevelle Erhel, Marcellene E. Hearn, and Jillian Roffer.

Approximately ten years ago, Frannie moved to the United States where she met and married Jim. Frannie thought that Jim was kind and loving, but he quickly became both mentally and physically abusive. The abuse increased after Frannie gave birth to their two children, and often occurred in front of the children. Frannie fled the family home and, fortunately, found Sanctuary and obtained an order of protection.

After Jim obtained private counsel and filed for divorce, Sanctuary realized it needed to build a more robust team to support Frannie and joined forces with Kasowitz at the end of 2018.  After over two years of court appearances, extensive discovery from multiple parties, and complex negotiations, Kasowitz successfully secured a favorable settlement agreement.

Throughout the proceedings, the Kasowitz team remained highly client-centered and sensitive to Frannie’s needs. The team took the time necessary to ensure that Frannie, a non-English speaker, was fully informed of all issues during court conferences or negotiations.  When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the team smoothly navigated the transition to virtual hearings and continued to remain in contact with Frannie to resolve day-to-day issues while a final custody/visitation arrangement was being negotiated. To facilitate Frannie’s understanding of a complicated visitation schedule, the team got creative, preparing tools to help her visualize and adhere to the final schedule.

Sarah Leivick, speaking on behalf of the team, describes the experience as “extremely rewarding,” and stressed that the Sanctuary team was with them every step of the way. “It was a true partnership and team effort,” said associate Marcellene Hearn. Lauren Patel, Senior Staff Attorney in Sanctuary’s Matrimonial and Economic Justice Project, applauds the Kasowitz team for being graceful and proactive throughout the proceeding:

“The Kasowitz team remained constantly engaged, and was ready to pivot to meet every challenge. Whenever the Kasowitz team would come to Sanctuary to discuss an issue, the team had already thought of three possible solutions.” – Lauren Patel, Sanctuary Senior Staff Attorney

Frannie just recently received her judgment of divorce and is very happy to be done with the proceeding. She is relieved to have the custody and visitation issues resolved, and is thankful that Kasowitz was able to have her order of protection continued.

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Join us at our Above & Beyond virtual celebration on Oct. 26, 2021, as we honor Kasowitz’s outstanding pro bono work. Click here to RSVP for free.

If you can’t join us, but would like to support Sanctuary’s work, please consider making an Above & Beyond donation here.

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Nicole Vescova is an associate in the Labor & Employment group at Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP where she represents and advises businesses in all industries across the country. She is also a member of the Pro Bono Council.