In April 2020, a pro bono team from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati secured asylum for two asylum seekers from Mongolia. The clients, “A” and “N,” who were granted asylum on April 1 and April 17, respectively, were forced to flee Mongolia for the United States, after their employer repeatedly harassed, threatened, and physically assaulted them because they are lesbians. A and N were employed by a bank. When senior management at the bank discovered A and N are lesbians, they caused A and N to unknowingly perform illegal transactions on behalf of Mongolian government officials and then falsely accused A and N of crimes. When A and N refused to give false confessions to the government, they were repeatedly beaten, threatened, and harassed. A and N fled Mongolia out of fear for their safety. Wilson Sonsini successfully argued that they should be granted asylum in the United States based on the persecution they experienced in Mongolia because of their sexual orientation.

Partner Ben Labow and associates Josh Baskin, Cora Allen, Jacqueline Lyandres (former Wilson Sonsini attorney), and Shea Loewen (former Wilson Sonsini attorney) represented A and N in this matter. Paralegal Anthony DeNatale and executive assistant Sarka Trenciansky also worked on the matter.