{"id":2023070,"date":"2023-09-06T05:33:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-06T09:33:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/law-firm-sued-over-diversity-fellowship-folds\/"},"modified":"2023-09-06T05:36:58","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T09:36:58","slug":"law-firm-sued-over-diversity-fellowship-folds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/law-firm-sued-over-diversity-fellowship-folds\/","title":{"rendered":"Law firm sued for diversity fellowship shuts down."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flaw-firm-sued-over-diversity-fellowship-folds%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2023070&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div>\n<blockquote>\n<h2>Morrison &#038; Foerster quietly allows \u200cwhites to apply for diversity fellowship targeted by activist\u200c behind affirmative action cases<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure><figcaption>\n<p>      \u200d \u2063  \u200c  Edward\u2062 Blum (Photo by Chip Somodevilla\/Getty Images)<br \/>\n    \u2063<br \/>\n    <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The law\u2063 firm\u200c Morrison &#038; Foerster has \u200cmade a significant change\u200d to \u200bits\u2064 diversity fellowship program \u2062in response to a discrimination lawsuit filed by Edward Blum, the \u2063activist known for his involvement\u2064 in the Supreme Court \u2064case that banned affirmative \u2063action in\u2064 college admissions.<\/p>\n<p>Previously, the Keith Wetmore \u200cFellowship for Excellence, Diversity, and Inclusion only considered applicants from &#8220;underrepresented&#8221; groups, \u2064including racial\/ethnic minorities \u2064and members of the\u200b LGBTQ+ \u200ccommunity, as stated in the fellowship&#8217;s description on the firm&#8217;s website.<\/p>\n<p>However, just eight days\u200b after Blum&#8217;s\u2063 lawsuit was \u200bfiled, Morrison &#038; Foerster removed \u2062any references to\u200b race or \u200bsexual orientation from the fellowship&#8217;s criteria. The new criteria now state that \u2062the fellowship is open to all law \u200bstudents who have \u2062demonstrated \u200da commitment to promoting diversity and bring a diverse perspective to the firm.<\/p>\n<p>This change suggests that Morrison &#038;\u2062 Foerster, one of \u200bthe\u200b top\u200c law firms in the country, is \u200dunwilling to defend its \u2062<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/university-of-colorado-president-pushed-out-for-supposed-lack-of-commitment-to-diversity-after-establishing-millions-for-race-based-initiatives\/\" title=\"University Of Colorado President Pushed Out For Supposed Lack Of Commitment To Diversity After Establishing Millions For Race-Based Initiatives\">race-based initiatives<\/a> now that the legal \u2063landscape has shifted. In fact, \u200bthe firm had previously advised its clients to eliminate &#8220;unlawful \u200dpreferences&#8221; like\u2064 quotas or set asides \u2064in their diversity programs following\u2063 the Supreme \u2063Court&#8217;s\u200b decision. However, \u2064it did not implement these changes until Blum&#8217;s group, the American Alliance for \u2063Equal Rights,\u2063 sued Morrison \u200d&#038; Foerster and another law firm, Perkins Coie, over their diversity fellowships.<\/p>\n<p>While Perkins Coie has vowed to defend its \u200bfellowship, which is specifically reserved for\u2064 students of color, LGBTQ+ students, \u2064and students with disabilities, Morrison &#038; Foerster \u200chas\u2064 not responded \u2063to\u2063 requests for\u200b comment.<\/p>\n<p>Blum&#8217;s lawsuits argue that both fellowship programs violate the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/elon-university-hosts-white-caucus-meeting-to-unpack-systemic-oppression\/\" title=\"Elon University Hosts \u2018White Caucus\u2019 Meeting To \u2018Unpack\u2019 \u2018Systemic Oppression\u2019\">prohibits racial discrimination<\/a> in contracting. This law has been the basis for civil \u200crights complaints against various companies, including Amazon, Starbucks, and\u2062 Pfizer,\u2064 that limit grants and\u2063 fellowships to members of minority\u2064 groups.<\/p>\n<p>Although the Supreme Court&#8217;s decision did not directly address private contracts, it did create\u2062 a defensive stance \u2062among corporations and signaled a\u2064 willingness to \u200bstrike down <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-corporations-launder-their-race-discrimination-through-third-parties\/\" title=\"How Corporations Launder Their Race Discrimination Through Third Parties\">race-based programs<\/a> outside of education. As a result, there has\u200d been an increase in\u2063 legal threats from conservative entities, such as Republican attorneys general warning Fortune 100 companies against unlawful quotas and Senator \u200dTom Cotton putting law firms on notice about\u2062 their diversity programs. America First Legal,\u2063 founded by former Donald Trump adviser Stephen Miller, has also demanded\u200d an end to racial preferences in law\u200c schools.<\/p>\n<p>In response to \u200dthis \u2064legal pressure, some institutions have preemptively abandoned race-based policies. For example, Columbia \u2063Law School initially \u2062announced a requirement \u2062for 90-second video statements from all applicants, which raised concerns about circumventing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/analysis-colleges-likely-to-seek-workarounds-in-aftermath-of-ban-on-affirmative-action\/\" title=\"Colleges may find ways around Affirmative Action ban.\">affirmative action ban<\/a>. However, the policy was quickly abandoned after contact\u2062 from the\u2062 Washington Free Beacon. Additionally, \u2064a few universities have dropped \u2064race-based scholarships within a \u200cweek \u200dof the Supreme Court&#8217;s decision, recognizing that its \u2062implications\u2062 extend beyond admissions.<\/p>\n<p>Law firms have\u200c played a role in legitimizing \u200dthese policies. Covington &#038; Burling, a \u200bprominent white \u200bcollar firm in Washington, D.C., has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/law-firm-sued-over-diversity-fellowship-folds\/\" title=\"Law firm sued for diversity fellowship shuts down.\">supported numerous race-conscious programs<\/a> through its &#8220;civil rights&#8221; audit practice, which serves clients\u200c like\u200c Starbucks, Citigroup, BlackRock, \u2062and Verizon. Other firms like Wilmerhale, Skadden Arps, and Paul Weiss \u200coffer similar audits.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s been surreal to see law firms encouraging\u2063 clients to pursue these policies,&#8221; said Jonathan \u200cBerry, managing \u200dpartner at\u2064 Boyden Gray &#038; Associates, &#8220;often in what seems like open defiance of the Civil\u2062 Rights Act.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Court cases challenging affirmative action. The move comes as a response to the lawsuit and aims to address concerns of discrimination. Morrison &amp; Foerster&#8217;s decision to include white applicants in their diversity fellowship program reflects a shift towards a more inclusive approach to diversity and equality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":184,"featured_media":2023071,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2023070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2023070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/184"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2023070"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2023070\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2023071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2023070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2023070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2023070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}