After 38,000 Hours, Kirkland Gets Maryland Black Colleges Win

A $577 million bill that Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan signed into law Wednesday is a victory for four historically Black colleges in the state—and a Kirkland & Ellis partner who spent a dozen years on the matter.

“It’s the longest-running case of my career,” said Michael D. Jones, who in 2009 began pro bono work on a federal lawsuit that resulted in the bill signing. He said he had no idea his work with the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights would take this long.

The Maryland General Assembly passed the legislation this year, clearing the way for a decade of ...