Winston & Strawn, a global law firm, has affirmed their decision to continue with their diversity fellowship program. This decision is made despite the threat of a pending lawsuit by Edward Blum’s American Alliance for Equal Rights, a known adversary of affirmative action.
“Our program is appropriate, legal and compliant and it will continue,” states Winston partner Cardelle Spangler in a letter addressed to Edward Blum’s group. The group had last week sent letters to Winston & Strawn among other law firms—Hunton Andrews & Kurth and Adams and Reese—on the threat of a lawsuit if they did not dismantle their diversity fellowship programs or revise the eligibility requirements, alleging that the programs violate federal law by excluding certain participants based on race.
The 1L Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Scholar Program initiated by Winston does not restrict applications based on race or ethnicity according to Spangler. The program targets first-year law students who are members of a ‘disadvantaged and/or historically underrepresented group in the legal profession,’ with high academic achievement and leadership skills, and those who show an interest in working at Winston post their graduation.
Go through the letter from Winston
A notable section in Spangler’s letter to the group reads, “Your implication that the terms ‘disadvantaged’ and ‘historically underrepresented’ necessarily refer to race is baseless. Winston & Strawn does not make employment decisions on the basis of race or ethnicity.”
Another law firm in receipt of Blum’s letters, Perkins Coie and Morrison Foerster, dropped lawsuits after revising their fellowship programs to remove references of race. Adams and Reese, however, communicated to Blum’s group that the law firm does not have plans to accept applications for its “1L Minority Fellowship.” Hunton Andrews did not respond to the group’s correspondence according to Greg Waller, the firm’s general counsel.
With Blum’s lawsuit against Harvard University resulting in the Supreme Court striking down affirmative action in college admissions, private-sector DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives have been under increased scrutiny. Waller from Hunton acknowledges that changes might be in order with regards to the program’s application parameters.
“As we do every year, we are currently in the process of reviewing and formulating job descriptions and application materials for the Firm’s 1L Diversity Clerkship program for 2024,” Waller explains. “We may very well make changes to that program, in response to changing legal considerations or otherwise.”
This story highlights the complexities of maintaining diversity initiatives while also assessing the implications of recent legal rulings on affirmative action. It will be of interest for legal professionals to follow this ongoing debate around diversity in the legal profession.