Through our asylum program, we represent individuals from all over the world fleeing persecution in their home countries. In the last several years, our lawyers have gained asylum for clients from Albania, Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Guinea, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Liberia, Mali, Mexico, Sierra Leone, Tibet, Trinidad, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe based on claims of political persecution, religious persecution, sexual orientation and gender-based persecution, including domestic violence, female genital mutilation, forced marriage and honor killing.

Much of our asylum program is conducted as part of a clinic in partnership with Columbia Law School. Two of our associates instruct Columbia law students as part of the clinic and the students work together with teams of Davis Polk lawyers to represent clients in their claims for asylum. Through the clinic, we recently assisted a couple from Albania gain asylum. The couple was persecuted because of their political views and membership in the group of those who had held land in Albania prior to communism and sought restitution for the land. After years of beatings and persecution, that culminated in their attempted kidnapping, the couple fled Albania in 2007. We also recently represented a nurse from Chad who worked for Medecins Sans Frontieres and fled to the United States because of her persecution due to the medical assistance she provided to injured persons of different political persuasions. She gained asylum in late 2010.