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Diversity

Diversity references scrubbed from BigLaw websites amid DEI probes; informal guidance issued

By Debra Cassens Weiss

March 20, 2025, 11:57 am CDT

BigLaw firms are scrubbing diversity mentions from their websites and reexamining policies amid the Trump administration’s attack on diversity, equity and inclusion programs that it considers to be illegal.

Many law firms began changing their websites even before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission asked 20 firms to supply information on their DEI practices. Publications covering the changes include Law.com, Above the Law and Bloomberg Law.

The EEOC has published informal guidance on DEI measures that can constitute illegal discrimination in a document and a website Q&A, Bloomberg Law reports.

The document, issued jointly with the U.S. Department of Justice, said DEI programs may be illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act if they involve an employment action “motivated—in whole or in part—by an employee’s race, sex or another protected characteristic.”

Prohibited conduct may include exclusion from fellowships, training, mentoring and employee affinity groups, the document said.

According to media reports, these firms are reacting:

  • DLA Piper has disbanded minority organizations and affinity groups. It also removed preferred pronouns from signature blocks on employee emails. (Bloomberg Law, Above the Law)

  • Kirkland & Ellis took references to a diversity and inclusion fellowship offline and has a new webpage touting a “Welcoming Environment.” (Law.com)

  • K&L Gates removed references to “diversity” from its website, changed the name of its Diversity and Inclusion Committee to the Opportunity and Inclusion Committee and has an “Opportunity and Inclusion” webpage. (Above the Law, ABAJournal.com, Law.com)

  • A Proskauer Rose webpage describing affinity groups is now titled “Inclusion.” Articles referring to diversity efforts now have URLs that go to the “Inclusion” page. (Above the Law)

  • Hogan Lovells has renamed “diversity, equity and inclusion” to “HL inclusion.” A DEI video has also been removed. (Law.com)

  • Latham & Watkins has redirected a DEI webpage to a page entitled, “At Latham & Watkins, you belong as you are.” The firm also removed a paragraph referring to “institutional racism.” And the firm apparently changed the name of its “diversity scholars program” to “pathways scholars program.” (Law.com)

  • Squire Patton Boggs highlights “inclusion” on the firm landing page and apparently renamed its “Global Office of DEI.” It has been replaced with a reference to “Global Workplace Culture and Development Leadership.” (Law.com)

  • Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Sidley Austin have apparently updated their landing page to reference “inclusion.” (Law.com)

See also:

EEOC chair requested ‘extensive’ info from law firms on DEI practices and hiring; did it cross a line?

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3. Judicial Conference declines to refer Justices…

U.S. Supreme Court

Judicial Conference declines to refer Justices Thomas, Jackson to DOJ for probes over alleged disclosure issues

By Debra Cassens Weiss

January 6, 2025, 12:00 pm CST

The U.S. Judicial Conference indicated Thursday that it will not refer U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Department of Justice to investigate whether they violated ethics rules for alleged disclosure failures.

The Judicial Conference disclosed its decision in letters to two Democratic lawmakers who sought a probe for Thomas and to a conservative think tank that sought a referral for Jackson.

SCOTUSblog, Above the Law, Reuters, Law.com and the Volokh Conspiracy have coverage.

U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia, who are Democrats, had requested referrals for Thomas following reports that he failed to disclose his interest in three properties sold to billionaire Harlan Crow, gifts of luxury travel from Crow, Crow’s payment of private school tuition for Thomas’ grandnephew, and Thomas’ purchase of a recreational vehicle with a loan from another wealthy friend.

The conservative Center for Renewing America had sought Jackson’s referral for allegedly failing to disclosure some of her husband’s medical-malpractice consulting income and potentially failing to disclose private contributions to her investiture celebration.

Both justices have filed amended disclosure statements addressing issues identified by the lawmakers and the Center for Renewing America, said Senior U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. of the Western District of North Carolina in the letters to the lawmakers and to the conservative group. Conrad is also the secretary of the Judicial Conference.

In addition, ethics rules exempted gifts of personal hospitality from disclosure, the letters said. Guidance released in March and April 2023 said the exemption does not apply to gifts of transportation that substitute for commercial transportation, however, and to gifts at a property regularly rented out to others for a business purpose.

Generally, new guidance is not applied retroactively to previously filed reports, the Judicial Conference said. With regard to the personal hospitality exemption, the Judicial Conference agreed that its 2023 guidance doesn’t apply to travel to travel before 2022 because of confusion over the issue.

The Judicial Conference letters also said there “is reason to doubt” whether the conference has the authority to refer Supreme Court justices to the DOJ.