Ana Gonzalez
24 oct. 2025
Session summary
I have been a refugee lawyer for nearly 30 years. During this time I have represented a large number of LGBTI asylum claimants. I would love the opportunity to dispel a number of myths about the asylum system by sharing my experience helping my queer clients navigate the cold and unfriendly UK asylum system, explaining the legal test applied for LGBTI asylum claims. I would also like to convey my sadness that "refugee" and "asylum" have become dirty words and lawyers like me vilified as "fat cat asylum lawyers exploiting legal aid" and/or "bottom feeders". I would also touch on last summer's riots. My firm was not on the list circulated by the far right but the entire refugee legal community felt threatened. We have all received threats in the past and have been forced to change the way we operate. Lawyers like me not only have been demonised by previous governments but have been physically attacked for doing our jobs. This is all a toxic by-product of the current populist wave fanning the flames of hate all over the world.
Biography
Originally from Spain, Ana relocated to London in 1994 has lived a number of lives there ever since. Ana ended up working with refugees completely by accident, when an employment agency sent me to the now defunct Refugee Legal Centre (RLC) in South London, where she worked as a casework assistant for three years. It was life changing experience that prompted Ana to qualify as a solicitor in the UK. She left the RLC in 1999 to work at Wilson Solicitors LLP. This was needed to secure a training contract and qualify as a solicitor, which happened in 2003. During all these years Ana has e represented hundreds of clients in asylum and human rights claims. My main areas of expertise in asylum are LGBTI, human trafficking and apostasy. These three elements can overlap in the same asylum claim. Over the years I have been a volunteer lawyer for organisations such as Micro Rainbow, Living Free (supporting queer African refugees) and Rainbow Migration (formerly UKLGIG) where Ana has donated time to advise asylum-seekers from all over the world. Despite living a relatively heteronormative life, Ana has been a lifelong supporter of the LGBTI community to the extent that she sees herself as part of it as a "queer adjacent" ally, given the number of close friendships she has in the community. It is a big part of her life, both personally and professionally. In recent years Ana has focused on the plight of transgender asylum-seekers and refugees, which face very specific challenges in the asylum system (deadnaming, misgendering, general ignorance about trans issues.
