Legislation Corporations
EEOC information requests to legislation companies weren’t obligatory, company says in court docket submitting
August 19, 2025, 4:18 pm CDT
Andrea Lucas is the appearing chair of the Equal Employment Alternative Fee. (Picture by Mariam Zuhaib/The Related Press)
A letter to twenty BigLaw companies searching for detailed details about diversity-program candidates and different legal professional job seekers constituted “casual data gathering” quite than a compulsory demand, based on a court docket submitting by the Equal Employment Alternative Fee.
A lot of the 20 legislation companies didn’t present any data requested by the EEOC, and people who did reply didn’t embody figuring out details about any particular particular person, based on the July 31 EEOC submitting searching for to dismiss a lawsuit difficult the knowledge gathering. Three nameless legislation college students are the plaintiffs.
Any data offered to the EEOC didn’t embody particular person names, telephone numbers, electronic mail addresses or different contact data, the movement says, and in consequence, the legislation college students who sued lack standing.
And if the plaintiffs had been discovered to be injured, any hurt can be attributable to unbiased selections of legislation companies receiving the letters, quite than the EEOC request, based on the movement.
Legislation.com has a report on the submitting.
The March 17 letters by EEOC appearing chair Andrea Lucas expressed considerations concerning the companies’ range hiring practices, saying they could quantity to discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The scholar plaintiffs had alleged the EEOC acted past its authority when it demanded delicate private details about the legislation companies’ candidates and staff courting again six to 10 years. The scholars utilized to or labored at a number of of the legislation companies.
Of their Aug. 14 reply to the EEOC’s movement, the coed plaintiffs say the EEOC defendants “try to reduce their conduct—an implicit acknowledgment that they’ve overstepped.”
The company’s place, the scholars say, is an try to bypass statutory necessities for a proper cost of discrimination earlier than an investigation can start “just by calling an investigation one thing else.”
In accordance with Legislation.com, Goodwin Procter “is the one legislation agency identified to have submitted voluminous hiring information to the EEOC.” The agency didn’t present applicant names, nonetheless.
Six of the focused legislation companies resolved the EEOC requests for data after they reached professional bono offers with President Donald Trump, Legislation.com studies. These companies are: Kirkland & Ellis; A&O Shearman; Latham & Watkins; Milbank; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.
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