Pallas Partners (US) LLP announced today that Partner Shireen Barday and Associate Mark Davies, along with attorneys Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, filed an amicus brief on behalf of The Trevor Project, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in support of Colorado’s Minor Therapy Conversion Law prohibiting conversion therapy for minors.
Pallas has been pro bono counsel to The Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ young people, since 2023. This marks the eighth amicus brief the firm has filed on behalf of the organization.
“Pallas is proud to partner with The Trevor Project to end the practice of conversion therapy. The Project’s own data confirms that conversion therapy is dangerous and causes significant harm to LGBTQ youth,” said Pallas Partner Shireen Barday.
As set forth in the brief, “The Trevor Project’s nationwide research and crisis support data consistently show that conversion therapy contributes to severe mental health outcomes including increased risks of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation.”
The brief also goes on to explain, “Colorado’s law represents a constitutionally sound exercise of the state’s well-established authority to regulate the conduct of licensed professionals to protect public health and safeguard vulnerable minors. Grounded in a robust legislative process and consistent with over a century of this Court’s precedent, the law targets discredited and harmful practices while preserving space for supportive therapeutic dialogue.”
The case is Chiles v. Salazar, No. 24-539 (Supreme Court). The amicus brief can be found here.
About The Trevor Project
As the only accredited, free, twenty-four-hour, suicide and crisis intervention lifeline for LGBTQ youth, The Trevor Project serves nearly half a million contacts each year. LGBTQ youth can call The Trevor Project’s nationwide, telephone helpline, TrevorLifeline, for counseling in times of stress and trouble. LGBTQ youth can also use TrevorChat and TrevorText, online chat and text messaging services, respectively, as an alternative to speaking on the telephone.
About AFSP
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is dedicated to saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide, including those who have experienced a loss. AFSP creates a culture that’s smart about mental health through public education and community programs, develops suicide prevention through research and advocacy, and provides support for those affected by suicide.
