For the past four years, lawyers from Shearman & Sterling's Hong Kong office have worked closely with the Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre (HKRAC) to provide pro bono assistance to individuals seeking asylum before the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Recently, the magazine Asian-MENA Counsel highlighted the team’s pro bono efforts on behalf of refugees in the region.

Shearman & Sterling’s lawyers have represented 11 asylum-seekers referred by the HKRAC since 2007. These individuals often face persecution in their countries of origin and cannot afford to hire lawyers to help them make their cases before the UNHCR. In one recent case, associate Teresa Chen (Hong Kong-Capital Markets) represented a young asylum seeker from Somalia who faced persecution in his home country. She drafted a legal brief to support his application for refugee status, conducted research to back up the claims in his testimony, and accompanied him to the UNHCR hearing, after which he was recognized as a refugee.

“This experience was both challenging and rewarding,” Chen says. “It was gratifying to be able to help a person facing incredibly difficult circumstances and to contribute to the work our office does in this area.”

Asia Managing Partner Matthew Bersani told Asian-MENA Counsel, “Providing legal aid to refugees and asylum seekers is important to Shearman & Sterling, and we are delighted to have our contribution and the dedication of our lawyers recognized by the United Nations Commissioner in allowing our pro bono clients the right to live free of future persecution.”