New York State Bar Issues Plan to Protect DEI Programs

Three months after the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 29, 2023, decision barred universities from using race as a factor in admissions, a New York State Bar task force working on a 30-day deadline has issued a plan to protect diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, according to Bloomberg Law. “Our aim is to help firms and institutions minimize unnecessary changes to valuable DEI initiatives that are perfectly legal and good,” said Julie Jones, chair of Ropes & Gray and a member of the task force.

The 93-page report is a direct response to the Court’s decision. Even though the decision targeted higher education, it is important for law firms and private corporations. Tsedale Melaku, a sociologist and author of You Don’t Look Like a Lawyer: Black Women and Systemic Gendered Racism said, “We’ve always known that the lack of diversity to begin with in educational institutions only amplifies the lack of diversity in the legal profession.”

The report suggests ways for law firms and corporations to legally attract and retain diverse talent. For associate recruiting, it recommends looking past the top law schools and investing in pre-law pipeline programs and no longer allowing partners complete discretion in making selections.

Employers who abandon DEI initiatives “may perpetuate historic pay discrimination or other policies or practices that have a lopsided and unfair impact on certain protected classes,” the report said.

Upon the document’s release on September 20, 2023, New York State Bar President Richard Lewis announced, “Our goal is to tell people what the new landscape is, how we’re going to navigate that landscape, and how we think things are going to progress from here.”