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.
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”).
