ABA eyes rollback of DEI rules

07:07 |

The Daily Docket

A newsletter by Reuters and Westlaw

By Caitlin Tremblay

Good morning. The ABA is eyeing major changes to DEI-related accreditation rules. Plus, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will take the stand in Elon Musk's lawsuit against the company; the full 5th Circuit will rehear a challenge to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act; and the Missouri Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments on a new electoral map. Astronomers have gotten their clearest look yet at the surface of an exoplanet. It’s a desolate ‌and airless world, kind of like Tuesday. Let’s get into the news.

ABA must axe law school diversity rules to retain accreditor status, committee says

REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

The ABA is weighing a sweeping rollback of DEI-related accreditation rules for law schools amid federal pressure and state pushback.

What’s happening?
The ABA is moving to eliminate or scale back three diversity and non-discrimination standards in its law school accreditation rules. A key committee recommended scrapping the long-standing diversity requirement, currently suspended, despite public support for keeping or strengthening it, citing warnings from the U.S. Department of Education to other accreditors. Read the memo here.

Why it matters
The changes mark a significant retreat from the ABA’s years-long push to promote diversity in legal education and the profession. The committee warned that maintaining the current diversity rule could jeopardize the ABA’s federal recognition as an accreditor, putting the national law school accreditation system at risk.

The shift reflects mounting pressure from the Trump administration’s anti-DEI agenda and from state supreme courts, including in Texas, Florida, and Alabama, that have criticized the ABA’s standards as overreaching and have explored alternatives to its role in lawyer licensing.

What’s next?
The ABA’s legal education council is set to vote on Friday. It is also considering nixing a 2022 rule on teaching bias and cross-cultural competency and narrowing its broader non-discrimination standard.

Coming up today

Constitutional: The full 5th Circuit will rehear a lawsuit filed by the state of Texas challenging the constitutionality of 2022’s Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Texas argues the U.S. Constitution requires House lawmakers’ physical presence to have a quorum when the act was approved.
LGBTQ+: The 10th Circuit will hear an appeal by Colorado parents challenging a school district policy that assigns overnight school field trip rooms based on gender identity rather than biological sex.
Privacy: The D.C. Circuit will hear a challenge to the Trump administration’s efforts to access sensitive taxpayer information stored by the IRS. The lower court blocked the IRS from sharing the data with DHS or ICE.
Immigration: U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Greenbelt, Maryland, will hold a hearing over the Trump administration's effort to deport Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego to Liberia.
LGBTQ+: A Rhode Island state agency charged with protecting the rights of children will urge U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy in Providence to quash a subpoena issued by the DOJ seeking medical records of minor patients who have received gender affirming care treatment at Rhode Island Hospital.
Government: A virtual status conference is scheduled before U.S. District Judge Angel Kelly in Boston in a lawsuit seeking to prevent the Trump administration from scrubbing information from parks and monuments after exhibits and signs touching on topics like slavery and climate change were removed. Read the complaint.
Voting rights: The Missouri Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments on a new electoral map that gave Republicans an advantage in seven of the state's eight congressional seats, a net gain of one seat for the party ahead of the November 4 midterm elections. Read the lower court ruling here.
Tariffs: The U.S. customs agency is expected to file a report by 12 p.m. ET with the federal trade court in New York on the progress of its first phase of a system to process refunds for the $166 billion in tariffs that were illegally imposed by President Trump. At 2 p.m. ET the court will hold a closed conference to discuss the report and progress on processing refunds.
SEC: SEC Chair Paul Atkins is scheduled to appear in conversation at the annual conference of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority about its relationship with the SEC.
Criminal: A hearing involving golf great Tiger Woods is expected to take place in a Florida court. Woods was arrested on a misdemeanor DUI charge after a rollover crash near his home. He pleaded not guilty and said he would step away from golf to seek treatment.
SCOTUS: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is scheduled to speak at Southern Methodist University’s Tate Lecture Series in Dallas.

Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes.

More top news

Industry insight

Keller Postman appealed a decision by U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan that sanctioned the law firm and co-founder Ashley Keller for allegedly misusing confidential information in lawsuits alleging the pain-reliever acetaminophen caused autism in children.
A Philadelphia-based lawyer and his personal injury firm must face the racketeering claims by Uber and FedEx that they worked with doctors and other providers to file fraudulent personal injury claims against them, U.S. District Judge Mark Kearney ruled.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice David Wecht announced on Monday that he is leaving the Democratic Party to become an independent, saying the party was ignoring "hateful anti-Jewish invective and actions." Read more here.

$15 million

That’s how much popstar Dua Lipa is seeking in damages from Samsung. She accuses the South Korean tech giant of using her image without permission to market its television sets. Read the complaint.

In the courts

SCOTUS: The U.S. Supreme Court extended a pause on a ruling that would curb telemedicine and mail delivery of the abortion pill mifepristone in a challenge by a Republican-led Louisiana lawsuit to a federal rule that had eased access.
SCOTUS: Virginia Democrats asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revive a congressional map designed to boost their party’s chances in November’s midterm elections, ‌turning to the court as Republicans seek to preserve narrow control of Congress.
Privacy: Texas AG Ken Paxton sued Netflix accusing the company of spying ‌on children and other consumers by collecting their data without consent, and designing its platform to be addictive.‌ Read the complaint.
Government: A historical preservation group filed a lawsuit seeking to halt President Trump's ongoing renovation to the Lincoln Memorial's reflecting pool, the latest in a string of court challenges to the former real estate developer's efforts to remake Washington landmarks. Read the complaint.
Litigation: The family of a man killed in a 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in Florida federal court, claiming the shooter was aided by ChatGPT in planning the attack.
Litigation: California's Santa Clara County sued Meta, alleging it has profited from Facebook and Instagram ads promoting scams in ‌violation of the state's false advertising and unfair business practices laws. Read the complaint.
Bankruptcy: YesCare, which provides medical care to prisoners in nine U.S. states, has seen its revenue fall by 80% since being hit with a $307.5 million jury verdict over allegations of substandard medical care ‌earlier this year, its bankruptcy attorneys said on Monday.

Attorney Analysis

Much Shelist’s Patrick Richards examines the evolution of AI in lawyer-client relations and legal practice. Read today’s Attorney Analysis.

Additional writing by Namrata Arora.

Contact

Caitlin Tremblay

caitlin.tremblay@thomsonreuters.com

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