Insights

Washington – October 20, 2023: The Leadership Council on Legal Diversity awarded Crowell & Moring its Top Performer and Compass awards, noting the firm’s commitment to building a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization and legal profession. This marks the seventh consecutive year that the firm has been honored with these distinctions.

On June 13, 2024, The Supreme Court ruled in Starbucks v. McKinney that the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) must meet the same four-part test that other litigants must satisfy in order to obtain a preliminary injunction. This holding resolves a split amongst the circuit courts, some of which have applied a “less exacting” two-factor test to preliminary injunctions under Section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”).

On June 3rd, 2024, in a 2-1 ruling, the 11thCircuit U.S. Court of Appeals granted a preliminary injunction against Fearless Fund (“Fearless”), enjoining the Fearless Strivers Grant Contest, a privately-funded grant competition open only to businesses owned by black women.  In another victory for the American Alliance for Equal Rights (“Alliance”) and Edward Blum, the legal strategist behind the Supreme Court’s recent rulings against college race-based admissions, the 11thCircuit held that the Alliance had standing to sue on behalf of three pseudonymously named business owners who were “ready and able” to enter the Contest but “were excluded from the opportunity to compete . . . solely on account of the color of their skin.”  The Court determined that plaintiffs were likely to prevail in the lawsuit, finding that privately funded businesses like Fearless can violate 42 U.S.C. § 1981, originally enacted as Section 1 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, through contract-based programs restricted to persons of color.  

The EEOC has released long-awaited Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace, No. 915.064 (Apr. 29, 2024) (the “Guidance"). The Guidance addresses a number of timely issues and should be of great interest and practical use for employers, as it sets out the EEOC’s position on such questions as the tension between pronoun usage and religious practice; abortion in the context of sex harassment; and social media as the basis for a harassment claim. This update is the first of its kind in 30 years, and largely tracks the proposed guidance that the EEOC issued in October of 2023.  

The American Lawyer*quotes partner Ellen Dwyer, chair of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) and chair of the firm’s Executive Committee, regarding the need for LCLD’s membership of general counsel and managing partners to make personal commitments as leaders to make progress in improving diversity in their organizations.  *subscription required

Diversity and inclusion are essential to the growth and prosperity of any organization. Diversity of perspectives, experiences, cultures, genders, and age breeds innovation, while inclusion ensures that everyone has the opportunity to contribute to that success and that the diversity play is not just a tick box on a corporate score card. 

Over the past five years, as the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) has grown in size and scope, the pace of change in all aspects of legal services has accelerated, driven by the forces of technology and globalization. "We're living through one of the greatest disruptions in history," says Professor David Wilkins of Harvard Law School. "The legal profession is never going to be the same." 

The Law Firm Management Forum will take an in-depth look at the law firm model and discuss trends and predictions for the future. From recruitment and staffing to compensation and billing rates, now is the time to take a fresh look at how you run your law firm. Strategic planning will be necessary at all levels of the firm, not just in the management committee.

Please join us for a webinar that will discuss the key business and legal issues that companies will have to navigate as they plan to re-open their businesses in the months ahead. We will discuss lessons learned from the re-opening efforts currently underway in Asia, potential legal and practical challenges associated with wide scale testing, contact tracing, PPE distribution, and other measures intended to thwart a second wave of the virus. We will also highlight varied approaches across industries and preview the anticipated evolution of state laws and ordinances following the federal government’s issuance of “Opening Up America Again” Guidelines.  

As COVID-19 infections continue to mount, reports of employees becoming increasingly concerned about having to report to worksites across the country in service of essential businesses are escalating. Anxious employees are refusing to come to work, and in some cases, have already lodged formal complaints in court and with relevant agencies, notwithstanding the myriad efforts undertaken by their employers both to adhere to CDC guidance and implement wide ranging safety measures. 

Time’s Up – the non-profit seeking to eradicate sexual harassment and foster fairness and inclusivity in workplaces across the nation – took aim at the health care industry on March 1, 2019. With women comprising 65 percent of health care workers, and nearly 50 percent of female medical students reporting being sexually harassed during medical school, the health care industry is rife with potential claimants and risk.