Trump Administration Threatens Law Firms Over Diversity Efforts

US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Acting Chair Andrea Lucas sent letters to 20 law firms requesting information about their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) related employment practices.
Based on publicly available information, the letters note concerns that some firms’ employment practices, including those labeled or framed as DEI, may entail unlawful disparate treatment in terms, conditions, and privileges of employment, or unlawful limiting, segregating, and classifying based on race, sex, or other protected characteristics, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII).

“The EEOC is prepared to root out discrimination anywhere it may rear its head, including in our nation’s elite law firms,” Lucas said. “No one is above the law—and certainly not the private bar.”
Title VII prohibits an employer from discriminating against an individual because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Under Title VII, an employer’s initiative, policy, program, or practice may be unlawful if it involves an employer taking an employment action motivated, in whole or in part, by race, sex, or another protected characteristic.

Title VII also bars employers from limiting, segregating, or classifying employees based on race, sex, or other protected characteristics in a way that affects their status or deprives them of employment opportunities, including in voluntary employee groups and activities which are employer-sponsored. There is no “diversity” exception to these prohibitions. It is the responsibility of the EEOC to enforce the provisions of Title VII concerning businesses and other private sector employers.

The law firms that received letters from acting chair Lucas include:

1. A & O Shearman
2. Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
3. Cooley LLP
4. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
5. Goodwin Procter LLP
6. Hogan Lovells LLP
7. Kirkland & Ellis LLP
8. Latham & Watkins LLP
9. McDermott Will & Emery
10. Milbank LLP
11. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
12. Morrison & Foerster LLP
13. Perkins Coie
14. Reed Smith
15. Ropes & Gray LLP
16. Sidley Austin LLP
17. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
18. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
19. White & Case LLP
20. WilmerHale

You can read the letters here.

The recent move by the EEOC’s Acting Chair Andrea Lucas to investigate DEI-related employment practices at 20 major law firms is a clear example of how the current administration is using intimidation tactics to undermine diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Instead of supporting initiatives that create more equitable workplaces, they are attempting to frame DEI as a violation of civil rights laws—a deliberate misinterpretation that ignores the systemic barriers these programs seek to address. This approach sends a chilling message to companies and organizations striving to build more inclusive environments, making them fearful of legal repercussions for simply trying to level the playing field.

What’s particularly interesting is why law firms were specifically targeted. These are institutions that play a critical role in shaping legal precedent, defending corporate policies, and influencing public discourse on employment law. By scrutinizing the very firms that advise companies on DEI best practices, the administration is signaling that even the most legally sophisticated organizations are not safe from this anti-DEI push. This could be a strategic move to deter corporate America from continuing its commitment to diversity initiatives, especially as legal challenges to DEI policies gain traction. However, this also raises a broader question: if DEI programs are being framed as discriminatory, what does that mean for the future of workplace diversity in the US?

President Donald Trump. Photo credit: Flickr – Gage