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This sign caught my eye recently:

The homage to “Black Lives Matter” signs was obvious, and it reminded me of the battling signs of a few years ago, when some folks seemed compelled to react with signs proclaiming “All Lives Matter” and “Blue Lives Matter.” I think once I even saw one with “Our Lord

These days, “merit-based” is being hurled around by some as the purported antidote to their caricature of “DEI.” Behind the food fight is an important question – how do we actually go about being merit-based in deciding who belongs?

As discussed last time, if we’re committed to find actual merit, we must first get

I recently flashed back to a memory from 40 years ago. I was sitting in my old law firm’s main conference room with my fellow brand-new lawyers, listening to senior partner Jim Borthwick present to us on The History & Culture of the Firm. Among other lessons, Jim told us:

When you office a new

If you haven’t listened to this morning’s NYT The Daily podcast, please do: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/podcasts/the-daily/skadden-lawyer-resigned-trump-thomas-sipp.html. Thomas Sipp explains why he’s resigned from his law firm, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.

Sipp is the son of a white American father and a Japanese mother. At age 10 he moved with his family from Japan

This blog’s premise was that I could learn more about diversity, equity, and inclusion by somehow cajoling folks different than me to open up about their lived experiences with professional belonging as lawyers. From the get-go this was hard to pull off, but in today’s climate, it’s nearly impossible.

With the subtlety of a Selma

Great news! A January 21, 2025 Executive Order has declared that we’re going to be a meritocracy! The President’s E.O., titled Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, blames governmental and private sector DEI programs for “undermin[ing] our national unity, as they deny, discredit, and undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and