Equality Texas Honors Akin Gump with Vanguard Award for Marriage Equality Fight
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(San Antonio) – Akin Gump is pleased and proud to announce that, at a June 2 event, Equality Texas honored the firm with its Vanguard Award for its representation of two same-sex couples who seek to marry in the state of Texas.
Akin Gump has represented on a pro bono basis Cleopatra De Leon and Nicole Dimetman as well as Mark Phariss and Vic Holmes as they filed suit against the state to allow them and other Texan same-sex couples to marry. On February 26, 2014, the federal judge in this case granted an injunction that blocks sections of the Texas Constitution and Texas law prohibiting same-sex marriage and recognition of same-sex marriages performed out of state. (Read more here.)
Akin Gump partners Barry Chasnoff and Neel Lane, who are leading the Akin Gump team in this representation, represented the firm at the event. Lane offered remarks upon accepting the award for the firm, noting the support at every level, beginning with firm chair Kim Koopersmith, that this engagement has received as well as the “overwhelmingly positive” response from partners and clients alike.
De Leon, Dimetman, Phariss and Holmes were also honored at the event with Equality Texas’ Anchor Award, given to Texas advocates for activism “on the local level and beyond” in service of the cause of LGBT equality in Texas.
Equality Texas is an Austin-based organization that advocates and lobbies for the elimination of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression as well as educates and engages the public about policies and their effect on Texans of all sexual orientations and gender identities/expressions.
Founded in 1945, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, a leading international law firm, numbers more than 850 lawyers in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
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