The American legal profession always had its leftist zealots, but the center of the profession used to be stalwart in its defense of our institutions. That’s no longer the case. The bar associations have mostly been captured by those who want to transform the nation, and they’re using their authority in dangerous ways.
In today’s Martin Center article, David Randall of the National Association of Scholars writes about how Continuing Legal Education (CLE) in many states now embraces mandatory “diversity” training.
Randall begins, “The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) revolution doesn’t just affect colleges and universities. It’s already begun to extend itself into America’s professions, by way of professional licensing requirements. The American Bar Association, for example, now has diversity requirements, which it is imposing on law schools. But legal associations in different states are also imposing them on practicing lawyers by means of Continuing Legal Education (CLE).”
In a large and growing number of states, lawyers must sit through courses incorporating DEI notions such as “elimination of implicit bias.” Randall correctly observes that this is grifting, a guaranteed income stream for people who have carved out a career in paid propaganda. But it’s worse than that.
Randall explains, “CLE matters in itself, not least as a signal that the self-regulating machinery of the legal world is becoming increasingly hostile to anyone who dissents from DEI ideology. America will not remain free if the only remaining lawyers are DEI advocates, as well as those mild dissenters who would rather accommodate themselves to injustice than forthrightly oppose it. Law will not continue to support liberty if lawyers must take required diversity CLE.”
He recommends that legal professionals fight back against the inclusion of “diversity” material in CLE (which is a waste of time anyway) and that state politicians take action if the lawyers won’t.