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Two Boston law firms among those targeted by Trump Administration for DEI practices

Advertisement Goodwin Procter and Ropes & Gray did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson from the EEOC declined to comment on how or why these firms were identified. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law condemned the move and argued Lucas does not have the authority to speak on behalf of the EEOC, which currently has only two commissioners after Trump 'Lucas' letters are not charges of discrimination,' the lawyer's committee said in a statement Tuesday. 'As such, they carry no more weight of authority than if they had been written on a cocktail napkin by any member of the public.' Federal officials claimed in the letters that the 20 law firm's DEI initiatives are counter to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination based on protected classes such as race, sex, and religion, among other identities. Erika George, an associate dean and a professor at Boston University School of Law, called the move a 'reverse jiu jitsu inversion of that intention' that is not operating in good faith. The EEOC specifically asked the firms to provide spreadsheets of law students who applied to diversity internships and fellowships, as well as lawyers who were considered to become partner. Among the data requested by federal officials are applicants' names, sex, race, phone number, email address, their law school, and school GPA, as well as any bonuses, compensation, or promotions they received. Advertisement Firms were also asked to share their recruitment practices for the hiring of diverse applicants and information on internal affinity or resource groups for staff. Kenneth Mack, a professor of law and affiliate professor of history at Harvard University, said such information should be considered private by these firms. 'This appears to be a fishing exposition directed at just forcing law firms to cough up as much individual, personal information, particularly about women and people of color, as the EEOC can wring out of them,' he said, calling the move deeply problematic. This is not the first time Trump has specifically gone after law firms he viewed as adversarial. Earlier this month, the president signed an Associates at some of these major law firms are circulating an open 'Trump is taking an enormous gamble by targeting some of the most powerful lawyers in the country first. With effective coordination, we could easily resist him. But as yet, his gamble is paying off,' wrote Rachel Cohen, an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom who is based in Chicago. 'I will not watch the legal system collapse from my window office 4,000 feet off the ground and stay silent out of fear,' Cohen wrote in a LinkedIn post. Advertisement The firms are supposed to submit responses to the EEOC by April 15. This story was produced by the Globe's team, which covers the racial wealth gap in Greater Boston. You can sign up for the newsletter . Esmy Jimenez can be reached at