Axinn has secured asylum on behalf of a 37-year-old Afghan man who worked on joint missions with the U.S. military as an electrical engineer and Captain in the Afghan National Army. The client fled Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in August 2021, after which the Taliban repeatedly appeared at his family home demanding to know his whereabouts because–due to his ties with the U.S. military–they believed him to be a traitor. A team of Axinn attorneys prepared a legal brief, gathered supporting documentation, and accompanied the man to an interview with asylum officers in the fall of 2022. The man now lives and works in Missouri and will soon be able to seek reunification with his wife and children, who remain in Afghanistan. The team included Lisl Dunlop, Caroline Boisvert, Heather Zuckert, Ramya Auroprem, Maryanne Magnier, and Megan Wan.

On June 27, 2023, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri dismissed Hans Niemann’s $100 million lawsuit against Magnus Carlsen and four other co-defendants. Niemann’s lawsuit arises out of alleged statements and conduct following the 2022 Sinquefield Cup chess tournament. Carlsen and the other defendants moved to dismiss the case in its entirety on multiple grounds, including on the grounds that Niemann’s antitrust claims are not legally cognizable and Connecticut’s anti-Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (“anti-SLAPP”) statute bars all of Niemann’s state-law claims. Judge Audrey G. Fleissig dismissed all of Niemann’s antitrust claims, holding that, as an individual chess player, Niemann is not a “competitor” to recreational and professional chess platforms, and his alleged “individualized professional and reputational injuries are [not of] the type that the antitrust laws were intended to prevent.” In addition, the Court declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction and dismissed Niemann’s state-law claims as well. Partners Craig Reiser and Denise Plunkett led the team representing Magnus Carlsen, alongside associates Eva Yung, Caroline Boisvert, and Claire Haws.