Akin Gump Provides Pro Bono Assistance to Williams Institute on Amicus Brief in SCOTUS Same-Sex Parenting Case

(Washington, D.C.) – Yesterday, 57 scholars, researchers, and legal experts—many of whom are affiliated with the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute, the nation’s leading research center on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy—filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia. The case will ultimately determine whether states and localities can be required to contract with child welfare agencies that discriminate against same-sex couples on the basis of religious beliefs. A team from Akin Gump provided pro bono assistance on the brief.

The brief, first, outlines scholarly research regarding the population of same-sex parents raising foster and adopted children and the outcomes for children raised by same-sex parents (which are no different from the outcomes of children raised by different-sex parents).  It then explains that forcing states and localities to allow discrimination against same-sex parents will cause significant and long-lasting harm to lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people and children in foster care. It would likely reduce the number of homes available for children in need and stigmatize LGB people, which has been shown to jeopardize their health and well-being. Furthermore, it would send a message that the government sanctions and approves LGB discrimination, potentially emboldening other forms of discrimination against LGB people.

Click here to read the brief in its entirety.

The Akin Gump team who helped develop the brief was led by Supreme Court and appellate partner James Tysse, and included associate Margo Rusconi, practice co-head Pratik Shah and partner Chip Cannon, who also co-heads Akin Gump’s firmwide LGBTQ+ resource group.

Beyond the firm’s pro bono work on this brief, public law and policy senior advisor and former member of Congress Ileana Ros-Lehtinen was a signatory to another amicus brief in the case filed on behalf of 35 Republican legislators, elected officials and leaders. That brief, found here, argues that taxpayer-funded agencies should not be granted a license to discriminate against individuals who identify as LGBTQ+.

This work is part of Akin Gump’s longstanding commitment to providing pro bono counsel in support of LGBTQ+ equality and inclusiveness. Click here to learn more about our human rights pro bono work, and click here to learn about our impact litigation work on this and other issues related to justice and equality.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 900 lawyers and advisors in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Founded in 1945, the firm is proudly celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2020. #AkinGump75

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