Reuters, Skadden Law Firm Fellowship Revamps Application to Omit ‘Racial Justice,’ ‘Equity’:
The Skadden Foundation, a public interest law fellowship program entirely funded by law firm Skadden Arps, has altered its application criteria to remove language related to racial justice and other topics that became flashpoints for U.S. law firms under the Trump administration.
Applicants last year were required to explain “the role of public interest work in addressing systemic racism” and asked, “to the extent your project relates to racial justice, please describe the intended impact of your project on racial equity in our country.”
That essay question is absent in updated application materials for the two-year fellowship, which funds law graduates to work at non-profit organizations, according to a Reuters review of the current application materials and archived versions from one year ago.
The foundation also removed language encouraging applications from lawyers “who are members of groups that historically have been underrepresented in the legal profession,” and who have “deep connections with or insights into the marginalized client communities they seek to serve,” a comparison showed. …
The foundation’s former executive director Kathleen Rubenstein resigned last week, telling Reuters that she was leaving “rather than endorse actions that I believe will undermine its mission.” She did not elaborate and declined on Friday to comment on the new application materials.
- ABA Journal, Executive Director of Skadden’s Fellowship Foundation Resigns Following Firm’s Pro Bono Deal with Trump
- Above the Law, Skadden Fellowship Sells Out, Gets Rid Of Commitments They’ve Championed Since 1988:
Editor’s Note: If you would like to receive a daily email with links to legal education posts on TaxProf Blog, email me here.
