The fight over DEI is now reaching law schools

Lt. Governor Rutherford Speaks at NAACP Baltimore City Freedom Fund Dinner" by MDGovpics/Flickr, licensed under CC BY 2.0.

WASHINGTON (ABNN) - The NAACP Legal Defense Fund and a coalition of civil and human rights organizations are warning the American Bar Association not to back away from diversity as the Trump administration continues pressuring institutions to retreat from DEI.

The issue is not just what law schools say about diversity.

It is who gets access to the legal profession, who becomes a lawyer and whether the justice system reflects the people it is supposed to serve.

In a letter to the ABA Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, the groups urged the ABA to oppose proposed changes that would repeal Standard 206.

The standard requires law schools, as a condition of accreditation, to take concrete action showing a commitment to diversity and inclusion for students and faculty.

The ABA is a national organization for lawyers and the accrediting body for law schools.

“Ensuring equal access for Black students and faculty is necessary to advancing the fairness and legitimacy of our legal system,” the letter said.

The groups said law schools play a major role in deciding who gets access to the legal profession.

“Because law schools determine who has access to the legal profession, they play a crucial role in shaping the legal community and preparing lawyers to serve the needs of the whole nation,” the letter said.

That access remains unequal.

The letter cites ABA data showing Black lawyers made up 5% of the profession in 2014 and still made up 5% in 2024. That is far below Black Americans’ share of the U.S. population.

The groups pointed to major disparities in law school admissions. According to the letter, 79% of white applicants received at least one law school admissions offer, compared with 47% of Black applicants.

The groups also said law schools still have lawful ways to support diversity, including holistic review, expanded recruitment in underserved communities, increased financial aid and action against racial harassment.

Among the organizations signing the letter were the NAACP, the National Urban League, the National Women’s Law Center, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

The letter closes by connecting the fight over law school access to the long history of civil rights litigation in America.

“It is no coincidence that the cases setting the foundation for Brown v. Board of Education and the end of racial segregation first addressed the segregation of law schools in this country,” the letter said. “If the institutions that feed our legal system are incapable of reflecting true justice themselves, then societal faith in that system may weaken.”

Read the full letter here.

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