ABA opposes any DEI probes into bar associations

By Karen Sloan

Feb 4 (Reuters) - The American Bar Association urged the Trump administration to roll back its executive order calling for federal investigations into diversity and inclusion efforts by bar associations, citing the groups' 1st Amendment rights.

The resolution adopted by the group on Monday marks its first public stance against the Jan. 21 executive order that cited bar associations along with medical associations, publicly traded companies and other private-sector entities as potential targets for federal civil investigations into diversity, equity and inclusion programs that may “constitute illegal discrimination or preferences.”

The city of Baltimore and three other groups sued Trump on Monday to stop it and another executive order focused on ending diversity and inclusion programs. That suit alleges the executive orders exceeded the president's authority under the U.S. Constitution.

“The First Amendment prohibits the federal government from interfering with the expressive rights of bar associations and others by threatening them with investigation and prosecution for adopting or promoting [diversity and inclusion],” reads a report supporting the ABA resolution. No one spoke against the resolution at the House of Delegates meeting in Phoenix.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

The ABA's resolution urges the Trump administration to modify the executive order to clarify that it won't be enforced in a manner that infringes on bar associations' 1st Amendment rights.

The ABA, which has about 150,000 paying members and is the federally recognized accreditor of U.S. law schools, has made diversity and inclusion one of its four core goals.

In 2024 the ABA revised the criteria for its longstanding program aimed at boosting the number of racially diverse judicial clerks to eliminate references to minority students and “communities of color” after a conservative legal group accused it of using illegal racial quotas.

A coalition of attorneys general from 21 Republican-controlled U.S. states has twice warned the ABA that its law school accreditation rules, which require schools to show commitment to diversity through recruitment, admissions and programming, are unlawful.

The ABA did not initially comment on the anti-DEI executive order targeting bar associations, though ABA President Bill Bay said the organization “remains committed to inclusivity and fairness” in a Jan. 28 email to members. The ABA is “closely monitoring” all diversity-related developments, he wrote.

The ABA’s House of Delegates adopted a separate resolution on Monday calling for the reinstatement of dozens of entry-level lawyer jobs at the U.S. Department of Justice and other federal agencies that were canceled as part of Trump's federal hiring freeze.

The resolution also requests federal agencies reinstate summer internship offers that had been extended to law students prior to Trump’s inauguration that were later rescinded.

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