Is Edward Blum Done Suing Law Firms? (New York Law Journal)

New York Law Journal, December 18, 2023 

Is Edward Blum Done Suing Law Firms? 

Already, the SFFA decision and suits against law firms have created more work for people who work to increase diversity in the profession. After the SFFA decision dropped, the New York City Bar Association began fielding calls from legal employers who had partnered with the association to offer summer internships for diverse New York City public high school students and 1L fellowships for diverse law students. “They were writing in saying, ‘Hey, is this still legal? Can we still do this?’” said Tanya Martinez-Gallinucci, executive director of DEIB at the NYC Bar Association, adding that the programs never selected applicants on the basis of race. “That kind of misinformation is harmful for all of our endeavors.” Speaking from her office in New York City, Martinez-Gallinucci noted that 69 years after Brown v. Board of Education, the nation’s most diverse city has the country’s most segregated public school system. “We never achieved the goals of Brown v. Board, and the expectation that they would have fixed everything with affirmative action in 20 years is ridiculous,” she said, referring to when Justice John Roberts, in his majority opinion in the SFFA case, referenced the 2003 Grutter v. Bollinger ruling that proposed affirmative action would no longer be necessary in 25 years. “It’s a sham, and I hope everyone can see it’s a sham,” she concluded.