A conservative law firm filed a federal lawsuit today alleging that the State Bar of Wisconsin’s “diversity clerkship program” unconstitutionally discriminates based on race, according to the Associated Press. The program offers summer internships for first-year law school students at top law firms, private companies, and government offices. Past participants have included Alliant Energy, Froedtert Health, the Kohler Co., the city of Madison, the Wisconsin Department of Justice, and the state Department of Corrections.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty filed the lawsuit, arguing that the bar is violating the equal protection rights of law students by operating the program that is not open to all law school students and classifies applicants based on race.
The lawsuit also argues that the bar, by collecting mandatory fees from members that help pay for the program, is violating the free speech and free association rights of those who object to having their dues used this way.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of eastern Wisconsin, seeks a ruling preventing the bar association from unconstitutionally administering or promoting the internship program.
