A lawsuit filed in Federal District Court in Chicago against Northwestern University’s law school claims the school’s hiring practices take away opportunities from better-qualified white men. It alleges the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law gives preference to less-qualified women and applicants of color.
The lawsuit — which more broadly, negatively critiques faculty hiring practices at universities in the United States — argues that the law school is in violation of federal law that prohibits discrimination against applicants on the basis of race and sex.
The plaintiff is Faculty, Alumni, and Students Opposed to Racial Preferences, represented by America First Legal and attorneys Jonathan F. Mitchell and Judd Stone.
The organization, a voluntary membership organization that litigates against race and sex preferences in academia, reportedly has sued other universities unsuccessfully in the past because it lacked standing.
The lawsuit is the latest in such challenges that follow the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 29, 2023, ruling in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, which limits the use of affirmative action in college admissions.
