Wisconsin Bar redefines ‘diversity' to settle discrimination lawsuit
The change, announced by the state bar on Wednesday, comes more than a year after the organization made similar modifications to a diversity program for law students following a partial settlement in the same lawsuit.
The latest settlement, disclosed in a joint court filing on Tuesday by the state bar and the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, requires the Wisconsin bar to make clear in promotional and application materials that its leadership and law student diversity clerkship programs are open to all law students and state bar members.
Those changes will allow the G. Lane Ware Leadership Academy and Leadership Summit to 'continue unencumbered,' the state bar said. The Ware Leadership Academy is a leadership development course over three two-day sessions annually for "a diverse and inclusive group of lawyers." The Leadership Summit is an annual luncheon for 24 young lawyers who "possess the potential to be the next generation of state bar leaders."
'We are pleased to have reached an amicable agreement that resolves the outstanding litigation,' said Ryan Billings, the Wisconsin Bar's immediate past president, in a statement.
Dan Lennington, deputy counsel at the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, said Thursday that the state bar 'was caught red-handed using race to discriminate against applicants for its programs,' and that diversity and inclusion 'is over at the state bar.'
'We will continue to monitor them, and if they backslide, we will sue them again,' Lennington said.
The state bar's leadership program applications previously referenced 'race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, age, sexual orientation and disability,' in their diversity definitions. Under the new definition, diversity means "including people with differing characteristics, beliefs, experiences, interests, and viewpoints.'
The Wisconsin lawsuit is among a series of legal challenges to diversity programs after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that colleges and universities cannot consider race in admissions.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty sued the state bar, opens new tab in December 2023 on behalf of attorney Daniel Suhr, asserting he should not have to pay for the bar's law student diversity fellowship program. Using Suhr's mandatory dues for what he claimed was an illegal program violated his First Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution, the lawsuit said.
After the bar agreed to a partial settlement addressing the law student fellowship program in April 2024, Suhr filed an amended complaint alleging that the bar's leadership programs were discriminatory.
A federal judge declined to dismiss the case in August, ruling that Suhr should have the opportunity to establish through evidence whether the bar is using mandatory dues to fund 'non-germane' activities.
Read more:
Discrimination lawsuit prompts Wisconsin Bar to modify diversity program
Conservative group sues Wisconsin bar to block diversity clerkship program
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
18 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump pushes for 15-20% minimum tariff on all EU goods, FT reports
July 18 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing for a minimum tariff of 15% to 20% in any deal with the European Union, the Financial Times reported on Friday, adding that the administration is now looking at a reciprocal tariff rate that exceeds 10%, even if a deal is reached. Trump has also been unmoved by the latest EU offer to reduce car tariffs, and would keep duties on the sector at 25% as planned, the report said citing unnamed sources. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
UK police drop Kneecap investigation over Glastonbury set
LONDON, July 18 (Reuters) - British police will not take any action against Irish rap group Kneecap following an investigation into comments made by its members during a performance at Glastonbury music festival last month. The force had launched a criminal investigation into gigs by Kneecap as well as punk-rap duo Bob Vylan, which took place one after another at Glastonbury's West Holts stage on day four of the June 25-29 festival. In May, a member of Kneecap was charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying at previous gig a flag of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group that is proscribed as a terrorist organisation in Britain. He denies the offence. At Glastonbury the Belfast-based group led chanting against Prime Minister Keir Starmer while Bob Vylan's set included chants of "death to the IDF," a reference to the Israeli military. Avon and Somerset Police said in a statement on Friday that they decided to drop the investigation after consulting the Crown Prosecution Service. "After that advice, we have made the decision to take no further action on the grounds there is insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence," their statement said. Police said enquiries were still ongoing over the Bob Vylan set. Kneecap said the investigation was politically motivated. "Every single person who saw our set knew no law was broken, not even the police saw fit to publicly announce they were opening an investigation," the group said on Instagram.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
US and Ukraine in talks on drone investment deal, Ukrainian PM says
KYIV, July 18 (Reuters) - Ukraine and the United States are in detailed talks on a deal involving U.S. investment in Kyiv's domestic drone production, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Friday. The deal would also lead to the U.S. purchasing drones from Ukraine, Svyrydenko said as she spoke to reporters alongside several other new government ministers in Ukraine's capital. Separately, economy minister Oleksy Sobolev said the board of a joint U.S.-Ukrainian investment fund set up earlier this year will meet for the first time by the end of the summer.
