The American Alliance for Equal Rights, led by Edward Blum, has recently threatened legal action against two reputed law firms: Fox Rothschild and Susman Godfrey. The issue at the heart of the matter is these firms’ diversity fellowship programs. As stated by Blum to Bloomberg Law, the Alliance believes that such programs should be accessible to all qualified law students, irrespective of their racial backgrounds. He suggests further litigation may be imminent.
This is not the first time that the Alliance has demonstrated such judicial assertiveness. They have previously filed suits against other major law firms, namely Morrison Foerster and Perkins Coie. Both of these firms adjusted their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) fellowships by removing race as a criterion following lawsuits. Consequently, those suits were dropped.
Blum and the Alliance also previously issued threats against Winston & Strawn, Hunton Andrews & Kurth, and Adams and Reese. These threats pertained to the firms’ diversity programs. Adams and Reese opted to eliminate its program, while Winston and Hunton announced their readiness to defend their diversity initiatives.
Over the span of just over a week, Blum and the Alliance have thus targeted a total of five law firms. This series of actions projects a clear message about their stance on the DEI initiatives in legal corporations. The targeted firms and others in the legal community will undoubtedly watch the developments closely, given the potential implications on the operation and deployment of diversity initiatives in the industry.
More details regarding this matter can be gleaned from the recent coverage by Above the Law. Follow this link to read the full report.