Attorney General Knudsen condemns racial discrimination at law firms
HELENA – Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen led a coalition of attorneys general in calling on the firms to stop their unlawful discriminatory employment practices or they will be held accountable by the attorneys general. Well-documented and data-backed reports outline racial discrimination in employment and contracting practices at many of the firms.
In a letter sent Tuesday to managing partners, chairs, and CEOs of the American Lawyer (Am Law) 100 law firms, the attorneys general remind the employers of their obligations under federal and state law and their duty to refrain from discriminating based on race under any circumstance, even under the label of “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” which is commonplace among AM Law 100 firms and others.
According to a Bloomberg Law report, 79 percent of law firms “require diversity within a pool of candidates for management and leadership roles, 57 percent of law firms “tie a component of partner compensation to diversity efforts, and 31 percent of law firms “shared a specific, time-bound action plan to increase the representation of diverse groups in leadership positions.”
“Such overt and pervasive racial discrimination in the employment and contracting practices of some AM Law 100 firms compels us to remind you of the obvious: Racial discrimination is illegal, divisive, and inconsistent with progress toward colorblindness,” the attorneys general wrote. “Race-based employment and contracting violate both state and federal law, and as the chief law enforcement officers of our respective states, we are committed to vigorously enforcing the law…. Race discrimination based on an asserted commitment to ‘diversity’ is just as illegal as invidious discrimination.”
The letter follows the recent Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) sweeping decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. President & Fellows of Harvard College which issued the court’s most definitive statement on racial discrimination in the U.S. and reaffirmed “the absolute equality of all citizens in the United States politically and civilly before their own laws” and reinforced that all racial discrimination is unjust and unlawful.
Meanwhile, many Am Law 100 firms are likely engaging in discriminatory practices including explicit racial quotas and preferences in hiring, recruiting, retention, promotion, and advancement. Additionally, hundreds of law firms have worked toward and achieved the Mansfield Rule which aims to correct the perceived “imbalance” of law firm leadership not “reflect[ing] the diversity of the workplace or society,” which is discriminatory in itself and goes against both federal and state law.
The pervasive racial discrimination practices of the law firms are prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits race discrimination in employment and 42 U.S.C. § 1981 which prohibits race discrimination in contracting. Additionally, the Supreme Court has repeatedly and emphatically condemned racial quotas and preferences.
In Montana, Montana State Univ.-Northern v. Bachmeier concluded that reference to federal case law is appropriate in employment discrimination cases filed under the Montana Human Right Act because of the MHRA’s similarity to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The racially discriminatory practices that some Am Law 100 firms have adopted directly violate this law because they directly violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“We advise you to immediately terminate any unlawful race-based quotas or preferences that your firm has adopted for its employment and contracting practices. If you choose not to do so, know that you will be held accountable—sooner rather than later—for treating individuals differently because of the color of their skin,” the attorneys general wrote.
Attorneys general from Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and Kentucky also signed Attorney General Knudsen’s letter.
Click here to read the letter.