Akin Gump Recipient of The Advocates for Human Rights “2022 Volunteer Award”
(London/Dubai) - Akin Gump has been awarded the “2022 Volunteer Award” by The Advocates for Human Rights, an independent, international human rights organization, for its role in the report “A Rollback for Human Rights: The Istanbul Convention under Attack” and for “their tireless commitment to helping The Advocates expose far-right hate groups and their tactics.”
A cross-office, cross-practice Akin Gump team, led by Dubai associate Sahar Abas and firm-wide pro bono partner Steven Schulman (and former counsels Nicholas Antonas and Theresa Perkins), conducted fact-finding on the anti-gender movement and its tactics in 14 countries in Europe and the Former Soviet Union. Akin Gump attorneys from offices across the U.S. as well as in London, Dubai, Geneva and Hong Kong participated in the project, which included the firm supporting an in-person mission to Croatia, convening and interviewing human rights defenders on the ground. Senior counsel Katherine Porter also assisted with reviewing and advising on the draft report. Altogether, more than 40 Akin Gump lawyers and staff dedicated thousands of pro bono hours to the report since September 2019.
Pro bono counsel Lauren Connell and Sahar Abas accepted the award in person on behalf of the firm at the Advocates Annual Human Rights Awards Dinner in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
More information around the project and Akin Gump’s role can be found here.
To read the full report, click here.
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 900 lawyers in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
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