DEI tracker: Several law firms retreat from DEI following the Trump administration’s threats

As the Trump administration has ramped up threats against and investigations into companies with DEI initiatives over the last several weeks, more employers have acted toward DEI like a kid trying to hide their veggies under a napkin.

Just two weeks ago, for example, 12 of the 15 biggest US law firms by revenue had publicly available information on their websites touting their commitment to DEI. Now, half of those 12 have reversed course in an apparent response to a Mar. 17 letter from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) acting chair, Andrea Lucas. The letter requested information from 20 law firms about their DEI practices, claiming they may be unlawful, without specifics, HR Brew previously reported.

While some of the firms, including A&O Shearman and Hogan Lovells, rebranded their DEI programs, others scrubbed their sites of their diversity messaging. Some firms, including DLA Piper and Dentons, weren’t on the EEOC’s list but made changes anyway. Dentons deleted its DEI page and appears to have rebranded to “culture and engagement,” while DLA Piper told employees that it would dissolve employee resource groups and no longer participate in external benchmarking, Bloomberg Law reported.

White and Case, another law firm targeted by Lucas, removed from its website DEI language and an associated webpage. “We have discontinued our diversity and inclusion function and introduced a new initiative focused on professional skills training and engagement for all our non-partner lawyers and business services professionals,” a spokesperson for White and Case told HR Brew via email. The firm’s affinity groups remain in place and the diversity and inclusion staff will be moved into new roles. “This change ensures that we remain compliant with applicable US law while fostering a workplace where everyone can thrive and has equal opportunities to succeed.”

Skadden, which struck a preemptive deal with the Trump administration on Friday, also deleted DEI information from its website, leaving just an equal employment opportunity statement in its place. As part of the agreement, the firm will provide $100 million in pro bono work to administration-approved initiatives and will consult with a third party on its employment practices, according to CBS News. In exchange, President Trump will not issue an executive order against Skadden.

“We chose to engage proactively and constructively with the administration to align on a productive path forward without the issuance of an executive order,” Jeremy London, executive partner at Skadden, wrote in an email to employees last week. The firm also told the administration that it would not “engage in illegal DEI discrimination,” though it’s not clear that the firm was engaging in any unlawful activity to begin with.

At least two attorneys have left Skadden as a result of the firm’s capitulation to the administration, Business Insider reported.

“Many associates, including myself, joined the firm because its culture aligned with our values marginally more than other top law firms,” one Skadden employee told Business Insider, of their disappointment of the firm’s decision. “That culture, and its emphasis on equity and inclusion, goes back to the firm's origins." Additionally, a student law group at Georgetown University canceled a recruiting event with Skadden, citing the firm’s deal with Trump and promise to end DEI as the reason, Above the Law reported.

For more on the companies that have recently changed their DEI practices, including the six law firms, see the below chart. And for more on how companies have been changing their approach to DEI, check out our regularly updated tracker.