Fridae

Fifteen international law firms and banks have joined forces on behalf of a British lesbian seeing the Hong Kong government for equal rights.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Credit Suisse Group AG and Nomura Holdings are among the financial institutions that have filed an application to intervene in the case, according to Bloomberg, while Hong Kong's high court considers the case.

The woman, named as QT in court documents, sued the Hong Kong government after her application to reside in Hong Kong as a dependent of her same-sex partner was denied.

The banks and law firms believe "the appeal has no merit, or is based on an unequal treatment that discriminates against same-sex partners," B. Chen Zhu, the companies' counsel, told Boomberg. "They all want to express their support for equal treatment for LGBT immigrants."

Foreign chambers of commerce have lobbied Hong Kong's government to accommodate spouses of LGBT expats, Bloomberg reports. Although Hong Kong doesn't have equal marriage rights or recognize same-sex marriage, in 2016 it started allowing same-sex spouses or civil partners of consular officials to stay in the city.