FOLLOW US

ILLINOIS — A conservative legal advocacy group led by the architect of the Supreme Court's recent decision striking down affirmative action in college admissions has filed suit against the American Bar Association (ABA), alleging that its race-based scholarship program unlawfully excludes white law students.

The ABA scholarship discrimination lawsuit, filed Saturday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, accuses the ABA of violating Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act by restricting eligibility for its Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund to students from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds. The lawsuit was brought by the American Alliance for Equal Rights, an organization founded by Edward Blum, known for his role in the landmark Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard decision.

Race-Based Criteria Under Fire

The ABA scholarship program, administered by its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Center, awards $15,000 over three years to approximately 20 to 25 first-year law students annually. To qualify, applicants must belong to a racial or ethnic minority group—specifically Black, Native American, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, or another underrepresented demographic in the legal field.

The lawsuit claims the criteria are unconstitutional and discriminatory, arguing that at least one Alliance member—identified anonymously as “Member A”—was excluded solely due to being white, despite meeting all other eligibility requirements. According to the complaint, Member A is struggling to cover a $20,000 annual tuition gap at law school.

“This blatant discrimination is not only unbecoming of an association of lawyers, but it's also illegal,” the complaint states. The plaintiffs are not seeking to eliminate the scholarship but to open it to race-neutral alternatives, such as financial need or academic merit.

Questioning Representation and Legal Justification

Blum’s group also questions the program’s rationale, noting that Asian Americans—a group eligible for the scholarship—are not underrepresented in the legal profession, comprising 7% of lawyers while representing 6.4% of the U.S. population.

“The ABA would not give the scholarship to a white student, no matter how badly that student needed financial assistance,” the suit says. “The ABA's scholarship thus rests on racial stereotypes, using whiteness as a proxy for advantage.”

Blum said in a statement that the goal of the lawsuit is to shift the basis of ABA’s scholarships away from race and toward more equitable standards. “The fact that America's largest lawyer membership organization is flagrantly discriminating… is flabbergasting,” he added.

ABA Responds, Legal Teams Named

An ABA spokesperson, Matt Cimento, declined to discuss the litigation specifics but reaffirmed the organization's commitment to fostering diversity and full participation across the legal profession. “Updates to our programs… will ensure all members who share these objectives have an opportunity to participate,” he said.

The American Alliance for Equal Rights is represented by Adam K. Mortara of Lawfair LLC, and by Thomas R. McCarthy, Cameron T. Norris, Matt Pociask, and R. Gabriel Anderson of Consovoy McCarthy PLLC.

Counsel information for the ABA was not immediately available.

The case is American Alliance For Equal Rights v. American Bar Association, case number 1:25-cv-03980, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.