Trump diversity order sparks pushback from attorney groups

Source: Reuters

January 23, 2025 6:13 AM EST Updated 7 hours ago


Jan 23 (Reuters) - Two major U.S. state bar associations have pushed back after President Donald Trump took aim at efforts to promote more diversity in the legal profession.

Trump in an executive order on Tuesday included state and local bar associations as targets for federal civil probes into private-sector diversity, equity and inclusion programs that may “constitute illegal discrimination or preferences,” along with medical associations, publicly traded companies and major nonprofits and universities.

The State Bar of California, the largest state bar in the country with more than 197,000 active members, said in a statement on Wednesday that the executive order will not affect its programs "as none of our work in this space involves illegal discrimination or preferences." The Massachusetts Bar Association's president, Victoria Santoro, said the organization's diversity efforts do not violate the law, adding: "I think there are better ways our federal government could use its time than looking at bar associations."

The executive order, part of a wider push by Trump to roll back DEI in the public and private sectors, escalates pressure from conservatives on legal industry diversity programs that gained steam after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision barring the consideration of race in college admissions.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/attorney-groups-push-back-against-trump-dei-order-2025-01-23/