A top conservative law group sued the American Bar Association (ABA) last Saturday, April 12th. The lawsuit is against a decades-long ABA scholarship program. The program is to encourage racial and ethnic diversity among law students. However, the plaintiff group charges the scholarship with discrimination since it only denies white applicants. This ABA Diversity Scholarship Lawsuit is another major blow to diversity in law and education. It follows on the heels of recent developments in affirmative action rulings by the Supreme Court.
The suit places renewed attention on practices used for promoting diversity. It also sheds light on legal controversies over race-conscious initiatives. It is helpful to know the claims and the context. Let’s examine the details of this new legal conflict.
The Target: ABA’s Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund
The specific program under fire is the ABA’s Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund. What is it? According to the American Bar Association’s scholarship information page, the fund is meant to inspire minority students to study law. It also provides required financial assistance.
Here are key facts on the scholarship:
- Award: It provides $15,000 in funding. It is typically provided for three years of law school.
- Recipients: Around 20 to 25 first-year, incoming law students receive annually.
- Eligibility: As per the ABA website and lawsuit documents, candidates must be members of underrepresented racial or ethnic minority groups. They tend to be Black/African-American, Native American, Hispanic American, or Asian/Pacific Islander students.
- The Exclusion Claim: The lawsuit firmly supports that white students cannot apply for these standards. The exclusion does not concern their financial requirements or academic abilities.
This scholarship has been around for over two decades. It has assisted in supporting hundreds of varied law students across the country during this time.
The Lawsuit: Allegations and Legal Basis
It was filed by the American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER).Thegroupisled by Edward Blum. He is wellknown for beingagainst affirmative action programs, suchas winning the Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard case.
AAER filed this lawsuit in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois. What is its main legal ground? They claim that the ABA is a violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981. This federal law came out in the Civil Rights Act of 1866. It guarantees that all persons are entitled to the same right “to make and enforce contracts. as is enjoyed by white citizens.” AAER claims that the application process for scholarships is a contract. They claim the ABA is illegally discriminating by excluding white students from access to this process based on race.
According to the AAER’s press release, the suit is on behalf of an unnamed white male law school candidate (“Member A”). He allegedly needs economic help. But he was ineligible for the Legal Opportunity Scholarship due solely to his race. What does AAER want the court to do?
- Declare the scholarship’s race-based rules unlawful.
- Order the ABA to stop using race when selecting recipients (an injunction).
- Award nominal damages to the excluded applicant(s).
- Possibly order the ABA to reopen applications using race-neutral rules.
Edward Blum highlighted AAER’s mission. It’s not about ending the scholarship program, he said. Rather, they‘d like to see eligibility determined by factors such as need or merit, rather than race.
Context: Post-Affirmative Action & Anti-DEI Climate
This ABA Diversity Scholarship Lawsuit is just one example of a larger national phenomenon. DEI initiative challenges are increasingly common. This trend accelerated in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s 2023 SFFA v. Harvard decision, which limited race usage in college admissions. Although that ruling was an admissions case, its rationale, DEI detractors contend, goes beyond admissions. They’re pushing back against programs balancing race in scholarships, fellowships, and even business hiring.
AAER and Blum have used this strategy previously. They sued big law firms, for example, concerning diversity fellowships. Those lawsuits prompted firms like Perkins Coie and Morrison Foerster to alter their program eligibility criteria to race-neutrality. Suing the ABA is now going after a well-known national legal group directly. This is done while the Trump administration has been resisting DEI with executive orders and probes, sometimes going after bar associations directly.
ABA’s Stance on Diversity and Potential Defense
The ABA likely hasn’t issued an official comment on this relatively new suit yet. But its general attitude toward diversity is no secret. The ABA has been announcing for years that diversifying and eliminating bias within the legal community is a primary objective. They often cite statistics showing minorities are still underrepresented. For example, statistics show white lawyers make up a substantially larger percentage of the profession than their percentage of the overall U.S. population.
In the past, the ABA justified other diversity programs as legal and justifiable. Their case in this instance would be that Section 1981 acts differently towards private scholarships than employment or admissions. They could further reason that the program promoted a compelling interest in ending past discrimination in the legal profession. It should be pointed out that the ABA has adjusted other diversity programs that in the past have faced legal challenges.
Potential Implications of the Lawsuit
The outcome of this ABA Diversity Scholarship Lawsuit can be long–lasting. What if AAER wins?
- A judicial decision could make the ABA alter its Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund. Eligibility can become racially neutral on grounds of socioeconomic status or academic record.
- Such a decision might inspire similar suits against race-conscious scholarships operated by other private organizations, foundations, or universities.
- The case might provide more legal certainty about the limits of private DEI efforts in the wake of the SFFA decision.
Legal Landscape and KAASS LAW
This lawsuit involves complex civil rights law (§ 1981), constitutional ideas (like Equal Protection), and national organizations. These specific types of federal cases require specialized legal knowledge.
While KAASS LAW focuses primarily on serving clients with legal matters within California, we believe staying informed about national legal trends is important. Broad shifts in civil rights or Discrimination law can sometimes influence how state laws are interpreted or applied down the road. Our firm assists clients with various California-based legal needs. If you have questions within our practice areas, please Contact Us for a confidential consultation.
Conclusion
The ABA Diversity Scholarship Lawsuit filed by the American Alliance for Equal Rights puts a significant diversity initiative to a legal test. AAER charges the ABA’s Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund with discriminating on the basis of race against white applicants in violation of the Constitution. The ABA, meanwhile, has long promoted diversity as vital to the practice of law. This case is increasingly a part of the ongoing national discussion about race-conscious policies and DEI programs in light of recent Supreme Court rulings. This decision will be watched closely. It could help shape how, in the future, organizations will structure diversity initiatives. The case is pending at the federal court level.