Winston & Strawn has tapped two DEI litigators from Jenner & Block as it defends its diversity fellowship in federal court.
The firm hired partners Ishan Bhabha and Lauren Hartz from Jenner & Block. The pair from Jenner also defended Perkins Coie from similar legal attacks by the same right-wing organization. They are also co-chairs of Jenner’s DEI Taskforce.
Bhabha is a Harvard Law grad who clerked for Merrick Garland at the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He joined Jenner 11 years ago, shortly after a clerkship with Justice Anthony Kennedy at the US Supreme Court. Hartz joined Jenner in 2017 and become partner in January 2022. Winston has also added its own attorneys to build out its legal team on the case including partners Michael Murphy, Robine Grant and Paula Hinton.
The American Alliance for Equal Rights alleges in a lawsuit filed Oct. 30 that Winston’s 1L Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Scholar Program discriminates against straight, white male law students.
The group—led by affirmative-action foe Edward Blum—launched a flurry of threats and lawsuits to law firms after the June Supreme Court decision striking down affirmative action in college admissions opened the door to higher scrutiny of private-sector diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Blum’s group dropped lawsuits against Perkins Coie and Morrison Foerster after those firms revised their fellowship programs to remove references to race.
Winston & Strawn denied the allegations and committed to continuing the program. The firm declined to comment on its legal representation.
“Your implication that the terms ‘disadvantaged’ and ‘historically underrepresented’ necessarily refer to race is baseless,” Winston’s managing partner in Chicago Cardelle Spangler said in a Oct. 13 letter to the group. “Winston & Strawn does not make employment decisions on the basis of race or ethnicity.”
The case is American Alliance for Equal Rights v. Winston & Strawn LLP, S.D. Tex., No. 4:23-cv-04113, 10/30/23.
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