MoProBono Fall 2018 Newsletter

10 MoProBono Fall 2018 Our firm’s offices in Tokyo and Hong Kong have taken leadership roles in promoting equality for same-sex couples in Asia. In Tokyo, we are a founding partner of the LGBT Lawyers and Allies Network (LLAN), which began as an ad-hoc group of volunteer lawyers in 2016 but now, because of our efforts, is a recognized Tokyo nonprofit. MoFo pro bono attorneys recently joined forces with LLAN to persuade the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan and four similar groups to adopt a “Viewpoint” that recommends that the government of Japan permit same-sex couples to marry. In Hong Kong, Morrison & Foerster was part of a 31-member-strong coalition of international financial institutions and law firms who supported a British lesbian’s ultimately successful case that overturned the Hong Kong Immigration Department’s decision to deny her a spousal visa when her female domestic partner accepted a job in Hong Kong. In the landmark case, QT v. Director of Immigration , the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal ruled unanimously that QT should be granted a spousal visa. PROMOTING EQUALITY FOR SAME-SEX COUPLES IN ASIA The ruling “affirms what millions of us in this wonderful and vibrant city know to be true, that discrimination based on sexual orientation, like any other form of discrimination, is offensive and demeaning.” – QT