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Freehills to be principal legal partner of WorldPride 2023
Sydney has been awarded the role of host of the WorldPride in 2023. Legal practitioners have lauded the decision, with Herbert Smith Freehills assuming the role of the principal legal partner of WorldPride 2023.
Simon Levett
Sydney WorldPride 2023 will be held in conjunction with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Potential events include the first WorldPride Human Rights Conference in the Asia-Pacific region, which should empower LGBT+ people from oppressive countries.
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HSF chief executive Justin D’Agostino stated that the Sydney WorldPride 2023 was an opportunity to cement some of the progress that the HSF had made to eliminate discrimination. He remarked that “as a firm, championing diversity and inclusion is not just what we do, its who we are”.
HSF has been a vocal supporter of key LGBT+ reforms. Mr D’Agostino noted that “we play a role in helping to address legal discrimination against LGBT+ people in a range of jurisdictions, including supporting the marriage equality debate and backing local LGBT+ organisations in countries across our global network”.
HSF has provided extensive pro bono advice to assist LGBT+ with particular regard to relationship equality. Mr D’Agostino said that “for instance, in Australia, the firm helped to establish the Pinnacle Foundation over 10 years ago and has continued to provide it with pro bono support ever since. We also supported the Human Rights Law Centre by reviewing Commonwealth legislation to identify areas where same sex couples were treated less favourably than married couples.”
As a proudly out man, Mr D’Agostino personally has been involved in advocating for the rights of LGBT+ people. He confirmed: “I have always been deeply committed to ensuring an inclusive culture is embedded across our firm and the profession. When I became a partner in 2007, I founded our first LGBT+ network (IRIS), one of the first such networks of any international law firm.”
He remarked, “now, here I am, some 15 years later, announcing that we are the principal legal partner of World Pride”. It’s just remarkable how far we have come.”
Sydney WorldPride CEO Kate Wickett affirmed the importance of the relationship between HSF and the LGBT+ community. She said, “major events require huge legal expertise and can be challenging to manage for commercial festivals, let alone a not-to-for-profit like Sydney WorldPride, so we are extremely grateful for the continued advice and support that HSF provides as our principal legal partner”.
