American Bar Association ends discriminatory program following threats of legal action
White law students will now be treated equally to their racial minority peers when it comes to applying for an American Bar Association clerkship program.
“The American Bar Association has revised the criteria for its Judicial Clerkship Program to eliminate references to minority students and ‘communities of color’ after a conservative legal group alleged that the ABA was illegally discriminating by using racial quotas,” Reuters reported earlier this week.
A 2019 news release states the program was specifically aimed at “minorities.”
Reuters reported that the program “previously required participating law schools to send between four and six students ‘from underrepresented communities of color.”
“[J]udges were asked to try to hire at least two ‘minority judicial law clerks’ over five years,” according to Reuters.
The changes came some time after the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty filed a complaint against the ABA with the Department of Education.
“In reviewing the program materials, some language was removed that did not accurately reflect the operation of the program,” ABA General Counsel Annaliese Fleming told Reuters.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty took credit for the changes
“All law students deserve an equal shot to compete for prestigious post-law school employment,” Associate Counsel Skylar Croy stated in a news release.
“No one should assess them based on the color of their skin—especially not the ABA and especially not judges,” Croy stated. “Instead, they should be considered based on their individual talents and knowledge of the law. We will continue to challenge race-based programs to reach WILL’s goal of complete race neutrality.”
The American Bar continues to operate other programs that exclude white students, such as a “Legal Opportunity Scholarship” for “Students of Color.”
“The mission of the program is to encourage racial and ethnic minority students to apply to law school and to provide financial assistance to attend and complete law school,” the American Bar Association website states.
The legal group previously considered a formal racial quota system for law schools before deciding against it.
“The proposal, first released in May 2021, would have required law schools to submit annual progress reports on minority enrollment to the American Bar Association,” according to The Washington Free Beacon. “Law schools that failed to boost the enrollment of ‘underrepresented groups’ would have been at risk of losing their accreditation.”
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