With the momentum of a grand freight train of cowardice, more and more law firms scramble to scrub their public profile of any indication that they’ve ever cared about diversity. Whether it’s nixing references to diversity, purging email signatures of pronouns, or deleting links to diversity handbooks and interviews with their own DEI director, a number of law firms have taken steps to hide from the Trump administration’s interest in weaponizing the government to punish diversity initiatives.
Yet, will this subterfuge even end up helping law firms avoid government retaliation? NOPE! In yesterday’s attack on 20 Biglaw firms, Cooley’s letter included this gem:
However, as of March 14, 2025, Cooley’s DEI Action Plan landing page is no longer available to the public. Cooley’s sudden, overnight removal of its “board approved DEI plan” from its public facing landing page gives me pause.
The moral of the story is that weakness never pays. But that’s not stopping firms from trying.
Bryan Cave is the latest to take steps to downplay diversity efforts, stripping inclusion and diversity language from the website and stuffing its 2024 annual diversity report in the cold storage vault next to Coyote v. Acme.
What makes this move different is that firm leadership was actually upfront about it. According to tipsters, the firm laid out the decision in a firmwide meeting. After watching other firms try to hide the ball from associates (and potentially even partners) with sneaky, behind-the-scenes erasures, it’s a welcome change to see a firm exhibit enough respect for its team to be honest about its decision.
The meeting included assurances that despite the adjustment in outward appearances, the firm’s policies of inclusion will not substantively change. As they realistically could not because, despite the vitriol right-wing media throws toward “DEI,” in reality, it’s just a corporate HR umbrella term for pre-existing required legal commitments to women, minorities, LGBTQ folks, people with disabilities, and veterans.
But honesty doesn’t make the decision any less damaging. Inclusion is about being willing to accept everyone on the team — publicly. No amount of substantive initiatives can overcome the situation where the firm doesn’t want to admit that it accepts traditionally marginalized or otherwise overlooked people. It’s a matter of trust and “diversity is fine, just as long as no one can see it” is a violation of that trust. It drives a stake through the firm culture… and probably for no real gain.
Just ask Cooley.
Earlier: Another Firm Strips ‘Diversity’ From Website
Biglaw Firm Scrubs Pronouns From Attorney Signatures Without Telling Anyone
Biglaw Firm Quietly Begins Purging Diversity Language From Website
Law Schools Respond To The Executive Threatening To Cut Federal Funding Over DEI
Trump Signs Executive Order Calling Out Top 50 Biglaw Firm, With Intent To Wage War Against Other ‘Leading Law Firms’ Over Their DEI Policies
Covington Must Wait Behind Putin To See Classified Documents Like Everyone Else
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter or Bluesky if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.
