The American Bar Association on Thursday asked the Florida Supreme Court to let the state bar accredit continuing legal education programs that have diversity requirements for panels (article available here).
The ABA response is to the Florida Supreme Court’s April 15, 2021 decision to prohibit the approval of continuing legal education for any program with diversity “quotas.” The court’s ruling has temporarily prevented the state bar from approving new continuing legal education programs.
The ABA’s Diversity & Inclusion CLE Policy requires all its sponsored or co-sponsored CLE programs with three or more panelists, including the moderator, to have at least one member from a diverse group. It also requires that programs with five to eight panelists have at least two diverse members and programs with nine or more panelists have at least three diverse members.
“Quotas based on characteristics like the ones in this policy are antithetical to basic American principles of nondiscrimination,” the court said. “It is essential that the Florida Bar withhold its approval from continuing legal education programs that are tainted by such discrimination.”
In its brief, the ABA wrote that its Diversity & Inclusion CLE Policy is one of inclusion, not exclusion, and was designed to help engage diverse lawyers who historically may not have had opportunities to participate on CLE panels.