The American Bar Association and three law schools face a federal civil-rights complaint over their participation in several programs that discriminate against law applicants based on race.
The Title VI complaint, filed by the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) on Tuesday, alleges the American Bar Association (ABA) is violating various federal, state, and local non-discrimination laws by excluding qualified candidates through at least nine racially discriminatory law programs.
For example, the Judicial Clerkship Program, according to ABA’s website, “introduces law students from diverse backgrounds . . . to judges and law clerks” and “encourages judges to consider students of color . . . for a judicial clerkship,” among other discriminatory practices. The ABA worked in tandem with the South Texas College of Law Houston, University of the Pacific, and Willamette University to facilitate that particular clerkship program this year, the complaint also alleges.
The ABA requires law schools to send and pay for “four to six law students who are from underrepresented communities of color” for every year of membership in the program, per one of the organization’s listed criteria.
WILL demands an investigation into other federally funded colleges and universities, many of which are unknown at this time, that have recently participated in the Judicial Clerkship Program. The Milwaukee-based law firm likewise requested a formal investigation into the ABA.
“The programs employ racial quotas and preferences, which have been recognized as illegal for decades,” the complaint says. “Racial presumptions like the ones employed by the ABA are routinely held illegal by federal courts.”
“Accordingly, the programs are illegal,” it adds.
The ABA receives funding from multiple federal agencies and is therefore barred from discriminating in its operations.
The other programs claimed to be in violation of Title VI are the Judicial Intern Opportunity Program, Diversity Clerkship Program, Legal Opportunity Scholarship, Business Law Fellows Program, Diversity Fellows Program, Diversity and Inclusion Fellowship Program, GPSolo Diversity Fellowship Program, and Loretta Collins Argrett Fellowship Program.
In conjunction with the Title VI petition, WILL filed a judicial misconduct complaint against Minnesota magistrate judge Leo Brisbois, who participated in and, at one point, co-chaired the ABA’s Judicial Clerkship Program. In doing so, he is alleged to have engaged in “intentional discrimination on the basis of race, color, . . . and national origin,” according to the judicial-conduct rules.
The official code of judicial conduct forbids judges from holding membership in any organization that discriminates based on race or other factors.
“Judge Brisbois’s misconduct brought the judicial branch into disrepute,” the judicial misconduct complaint states. “He helped foster an environment in which racial discrimination thrived—and he used his official title in doing so.”
ABA general counsel Annaliese Fleming told National Review that WILL’s claims are “factually and legally incorrect,” adding it would defend its “lawful” diversity programs against any legal challenges.
“More broadly, the ABA strongly believes in the need to eliminate bias and enhance diversity in the legal profession and the justice system,” ABA president Mary Smith said in a separate statement obtained by National Review. “Currently, the legal system does not reflect the nation’s population. We can and should do better.”
The South Texas College of Law Houston, University of the Pacific, Willamette University, and Brisbois did not respond to requests for comment.
In response to a demand letter that WILL sent last month, the ABA maintained it “imposes no restrictions on which students can attend the program” and that “the selection of student participants is left solely to the discretion of participating schools.” The bar association avoided directly addressing its racial quota in the response, the Wisconsin law firm noted.
By filing both complaints, WILL hopes to end the ABA’s racially focused application processes — just as the 2023 Supreme Court ruling, Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, made affirmative action in college and university admissions illegal.
“An organization that should be dedicated to ‘liberty and justice for all’ has continued to pursue programs that are discriminatory and unjust,” WILL associate counsel Skylar Croy said in a statement. “It’s why WILL issued a clear warning to the ABA that its programs are illegal and, frankly, perpetuate racism and division in our country. Enough is enough. It’s why WILL has taken significant legal steps to resolve this injustice.”
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to reflect statements from the American Bar Association.