New York Bar Associations Encourage Law Schools To Bypass SCOTUS Affirmative Action Decision, Report Finds
“Law schools, for instance, are advised to continue granting admissions preferences to black and Hispanic applicants using methods that are race-neutral in theory but race-conscious in practice,” Mukherjee wrote. “Meanwhile, law firms are advised to simply continue their use of affirmative action; the bar associations suggest that because Students for Fair Admissions considered this policy only within the context of university admissions, the decision is inapplicable to employment.”
In the wake of the SCOTUS decision, the NYSBA recommended that universities evaluate race through means of “a non-racial goal or value being pursued by the university,” as well as to document race for “research and evaluation purposes,” the report found. It also recommended using low socioeconomic status, first-generation immigrant status, geographic location, or some kind of percentage plan as other admission factors.
Schools are also encouraged to end early admission policies to align with “broader institutional diversity and equity goals” as well as consider removing standardized testing measures like the LSAT from admission considerations. These recommendations came from a 93-page report produced by the NYSBA Task Force on Advancing Diversity released after the SCOTUS decision to overturn affirmative action for admission into schools.
The report noted that there were some race-neutral pipeline programs been developed and supported by the bar associations to help those from low and middle-income families get into the legal profession with tutoring, standardized test preparation, and mentoring.