Lawsuit: Northwestern Law School Is Biased Against White Men In Faculty Hiring

Washington Post, Lawsuit: Northwestern’s Law School Is Biased Against White Men in Hiring:

A lawsuit filed Tuesday against Northwestern University opened a new front in the legal battle against affirmative action, alleging that its law school hires less-qualified people of color and women over White men for faculty positions in violation of federal anti-discrimination laws.

The complaint, brought by a group called Faculty, Alumni and Students Opposed to Racial Preferences, targets Northwestern’s law school [ Faculty, Alumni, and Students Opposed to Racial Preferences v. Northwestern, No. 1:24-cv-05558 (N.D. Ill. July 2, 2024)]. But the allegations amount to a sweeping criticism of American universities, alleging that they care more about diversity than merit or compliance with federal law.

The suit argues that racial and gender preferences at Northwestern’s law school are widespread and constitute wholesale discrimination against better qualified White men.

“For decades, left-wing faculty and administrators have been thumbing their noses at federal anti-discrimination statutes,” according to the suit, which was filed Tuesday in federal district court in Illinois. “They do this by hiring women and racial minorities with mediocre and undistinguished records over white men who have better credentials, better scholarship, and better teaching ability.” ...

The suit names three White men [Eugene Volokh (UCLA), Ilan Wurman (Minnesota), and Ernie Young (Duke)] it says were not hired despite strong qualifications, and names four Black women and one Black man who it alleges were offered faculty positions because of their race and/or gender, painting several of these academics in harshly unflattering terms.

New York Times, Lawsuit Challenges Affirmative Action in Hiring at Northwestern Law School:

A conservative group filed a lawsuit against Northwestern University’s law school on Tuesday, claiming that its attempts to hire more women and people of color as faculty members violate federal law prohibiting discrimination against race and sex.

The complaint comes just over a year after the Supreme Court struck down the use of affirmative action in college admissions, and it is expected to be among the first in a wave of new lawsuits that challenge how American universities hire and promote professors.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Federal District Court in Chicago, says that the process of hiring professors at American universities has become “a cesspool of corruption and lawlessness.” It says Northwestern has deliberately sidelined white male candidates for faculty positions, giving preference to candidates of other races and gender identities.

Representatives of the law school did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The complaint, filed by a group calling itself Faculty, Alumni and Students Opposed to Racial Preferences, named several candidates for teaching jobs at Northwestern, including well-known legal scholars, who it said were denied interviews or blocked from advancing. ...

Of the 21 job offers made by the law school over the last three years, three went to white men, the suit says.

• ABA Journal, Conservative Group Sues Northwestern University Law School for Alleged Hiring Discrimination Against White Men
• Bloomberg Law, Northwestern Accused of Preferring Non-White Faculty Candidates
• Daily Northwestern, Lawsuit Against Pritzker School of Law Alleges its Hiring Process Discriminates Against White Men
• Daily Wire, Affirmative Action Suit Details How Law School Blackballed Accomplished White Men, Opted For Unqualified Black Women
• The Federalist, Nonprofit Sues Northwestern University Over Discriminatory Affirmative-Action Hiring Practices
• Law360, Northwestern Hires 'Mediocre' Minorities Over Men, Suit Says
• National Review, FASORP Sues Northwestern University Over Race and Sex Discrimination
• Reuters, Northwestern Law School Sued For Discrimination Against White Men in Faculty Hiring

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