The effect will be to handicap DEI efforts, at the cost of business independence and even if sound business reasons exist for inclusion.
The American Alliance for Equal Rights last week sued two law firms, Perkins Coie and Morrison Foerster. Edward Blum heads the Alliance. Blum also headed one of the groups that brought the case against Harvard. That case resulted in the landmark Supreme Court decision which dealt what could be a death blow to affirmative action. In the suits aginst the law firms, the Alliance alleges that the firms’ diversity fellowship programs discriminates against white people. The programs are only open to people of color, those with disabilities, or who are LGBTQ.
Photo by Brittani Burns on Unsplash
The litigation comes shortly after letters from Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and a Republican Equal Employment Opportunity Commission member threatening suits against numerous law firms with DEI programs. Apparently, Blum and the Republicans are not content to attack colleges and universities. They intend to stamp out any programs of businesses that do anything that smacks of favoring anybody but whites.
The ramifications of the onslaught are terrifying, frankly. The diversity numbers in law firms and the legal profession are already abysmal. Creating programs to alleviate that record is the right thing to do. Unless you want to perpetuate a system that systematically favors white men.
But beyond morality, there are substantial business independence concerns
But beyond morality, there are substantial business independence concerns. As a litigator, I realized that as a white male with a comparatively privileged background, I could not possibly understand the mindset of those diverse from me. I could not know and understand the impact of their experiences.
It’s a simple fact that juries are no longer composed of privileged white men. I need diverse people on my
