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.
