Skadden Dumps Employee Affinity Groups After Deal With Trump

Skadden canceled all future events for its employee affinity groups following the law firm’s deal with President Donald Trump to avoid an executive order.

The firm removed affinity group event plans from its calendar for the remainder of the year, according to emails viewed by Bloomberg Law. Several affinity group members were told last week that the Skadden’s employee resource groups are officially ending, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The firm has at least 10 affinity networks for parents, veterans, Asian pacific islanders, Blacks, and Latinos, among others. Mentions of the groups have been removed from the firm’s website. “The ten affinity networks play a key role in the firm’s ongoing efforts regarding law student recruitment, associate mentoring, peer networking, career development, workplace inclusion, attorney retention and community involvement,” the firm said in a 2023 Vault diversity survey.

Skadden did not respond to a request for comment.

The firm in a deal with Trump announced March 28 pledged it “will not engage in illegal DEI discrimination and preferences.” Skadden also committed $100 million in pro bono efforts on causes supported by Trump, including “assisting veterans” and “ensuring fairness” in the justice system. Skadden agreed to make changes to its prestigious fellowship program, saying it will include politically conservative participants and dedicate at least five spots to projects aligned with Trump’s favored causes.

The deal prompted some associates to leave the firm in protest, criticizing Skadden for capitulating to the president and arguing the firm and others had abandoned rule-of-law norms.

Many firms have made changes on longstanding diversity, equity, and inclusion branding and programming amid Trump’s targeting of the legal industry and broader war on DEI. Sidley Austin changed the title of its “chief diversity equity officer” to “chief inclusion officer.” Greenberg Traurig took down references on its website to the firm’s affinity groups, according to archives.

DLA Piper last month disbanded its minority organizations and affinity groups, according to a firm email viewed by Bloomberg Law.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on March 17 said it was investigating 20 firms, including Skadden, Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, and Cooley LLP for possible discrimination in their diversity programs.