Discrimination Lawsuit Prompts Wisconsin Bar To Modify 1L Diversity Clerkship Program To Focus On 'Merit And Diversity Of Viewpoint'

Following up on my previous post, Conservative Group Sues Wisconsin Bar To Block Diversity Clerkship Program For Law Students:  Reuters, Discrimination Lawsuit Prompts Wisconsin Bar to Modify Diversity Program:

The State Bar of Wisconsin has modified the parameters of a diversity program for law students after a conservative legal advocacy group sued in December, claiming the program discriminates based on race.

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty and the Wisconsin Bar on Thursday reached a partial settlement in the case that allows the bar’s Diversity Clerkship Program to continue with a new definition of diversity. That change will open the program to all first-year law students in good standing at Wisconsin’s two law schools and focus on “merit and diversity of viewpoint," according to the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty. ...

The Diversity Clerkship Program provides 10-week paid summer positions at law firms, corporate legal departments, and government agencies after the first year of law school for 20 to 25 students annually.

The program previously defined diversity as “an inclusive concept that encompasses, among other things, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, age, sexual orientation and disability.” Under the new definition, diversity means “including people with differing characteristics, beliefs, experiences, interests, and viewpoints.”