The bar faced pressure from the Florida Supreme Court
The Florida Bar has cut its internal diversity and inclusion policy in the face of pressure from the Florida Supreme Court to pull back on race- and gender-focused diversity efforts, reported Reuters.
The board of governors elected to eliminate the policy stating that the bar was “fully committed to the enhancement of diversity and inclusion” in the profession, legal education and the justice system, and affirming its “commitment toward a diverse and inclusive environment.” Instead, an “Improvement of the Quality of Legal Services” policy has been put in place indicating that the bar is “fully committed to the improvement of legal services” and affirming its “commitment to an environment that fosters equal access and opportunity for all.”
The new policy does not specify diversity and inclusion. Dwayne Robinson, who presides over the Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. Bar Association representing Miami-based Black lawyers, described the DEI policy’s removal as “a grave concern” and warned that it could result in a less diverse judiciary.
“A less diverse legal profession hinders access to justice,” he said in a statement published by Reuters.
The Florida Bar and the Florida Supreme Court have been butting heads over DEI as early as 2021, when the court shot down a policy by the bar’s business section that required continuing legal education programs with at least three presenters to include at least one speaker from an underrepresented demographic. Earlier this year, the bar dissolved its diversity and inclusion committee after the Supreme Court ordered it to stop funding diversity programs in January on the grounds that all members must receive impartial and unbiased treatment.
The bar was also ordered to remove diversity training from eligible continuing legal education topics for attorneys.
In August, the American Bar Association’s legal education branch pitched eliminating the terms “race and ethnicity” from the law school diversity standard before pulling back when the proposal was met with significant outcry. Last year, the Supreme Court also determined that judges could not be credited for completing CLE courses on fairness and diversity.
Reuters noted that Republican governors appointed all seven Florida court justices.
