DALLAS - A lawsuit alleging civil rights violations has been brought against Perkins Coie over the law firm’s “diversity fellowships” for 1Ls and 2Ls.
The American Alliance for Equal Rights filed the lawsuit Aug. 22 in the U.S. District Court for Northern Texas, Dallas Division, claiming that racial exclusions injure its members.
According to the complaint, Perkins Coie has been racially discriminating against future lawyers for decades by excluding certain applicants for their “diversity fellowships” based on skin color.
“These prestigious positions are six-figure jobs that include five-figure stipends,” the suit states. “Yet applicants do not qualify unless they are ‘students of color,’ ‘students who identify as LGBTQ+,’ or ‘students with disabilities.’ So between two heterosexual, nondisabled applicants—one black and one white—the latter cannot apply based solely on his race.
“This kind of rank discrimination was never lawful, even before SFFA v. Harvard held that colleges cannot use race in admissions.”
Perkins created its 1L diversity fellowship in 1991 and has run it every year since. The firm added the 2L diversity fellowship in 2020. The fellowships are available in several Perkins Coie offices, including Dallas, the suit states.
Although the suit only seeks nominal damages of $1, the plaintiff seeks to enjoin the firm from considering race as a factor when selecting fellows.
Case No. 3:23-cv-01877-L