Legal Services NYC has quietly scrubbed references to its diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging commitments from its public-facing website. The move, announced internally via email on Tuesday, marks the latest in a growing line of DEI retreats across the legal industry. But this time, it’s not Biglaw chickening out, it’s a nonprofit built to serve communities marginalized by the very discrimination it now feels compelled to tiptoe around.
“We know this does not feel good, but we are not retreating. We are trying to survive,” the email assures.
The message, signed by LSNYC’s DEIB Working Group, explained that they made the “hard but strategic decision” after conversations with “DEIB experts, legal orgs, and legal consultants and with warnings from LSC president Ron Flagg about threats to our funding.” The last point rings ominously as Flagg met with the incel brigade over at DOGE on Monday, suggesting a direct political threat to the nation’s capacity to provide legal services for clients in need from Big Balls or whichever serious professional runs that outfit these days.
LSNYC receives roughly 15 percent of its funding from LSC.
Biglaw collaborators deserve every bit of scorn and derision, both in public opinion and when it comes to their bottom line, but legal services for the poor don’t have the same advantages as a billion dollar (or more) law firm. An organization struggling to help as many people as possible on a meager budget can’t easily redirect resources to fighting the federal government over its website. Leadership clearly felt that embracing some invisibility might offer safety.
It won’t.
The lesson of the last couple weeks is that this administration saves its most brutal kicks for those who try to make peace. Columbia gave the administration everything it wanted and it’s getting another shot to the genitals. The Supreme Court gave Trump a path to save face on deportations and he opted to ignore their 9-0 order. And now all the Biglaw firms that thought they’d bought respite in exchange for some veterans’ charities work are about to get “assigned” work as Trump administration deputies.
Who could’ve predicted except… us and anyone who has ever watched Star Wars.
For the sake of LSNYC and the population it serves, hopefully this gets the administration off their back and their federal funding continues uninterrupted. But it won’t. Whether the administration decides to make the fight about immigration counseling or their LGBTQ+ rights work or just write it off as a simple DOGE cost-cutting move, this White House is going to screw with their funding.
It’s just extra sad to see here at an institution where diversity feels especially core to its mission. Not that diversity isn’t important in all sectors of the legal industry, but when the work is helping clients confront legal systems shaped by inequality, shying from the word “diversity” takes on a measure of self-erasure.
The communities LSNYC serves don’t get to remove themselves from the conversation about race, identity, or inclusion. That’s not an option for them. It’s tragic that the lawyers who serve them are put in this position.
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter or Bluesky if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.
The post Legal Nonprofit Backs Away From Diversity. That Should Scare Everyone. appeared first on Above the Law.
Legal Services NYC has quietly scrubbed references to its diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging commitments from its public-facing website. The move, announced internally via email on Tuesday, marks the latest in a growing line of DEI retreats across the legal industry. But this time, it’s not Biglaw chickening out, it’s a nonprofit built to serve communities marginalized by the very discrimination it now feels compelled to tiptoe around.
“We know this does not feel good, but we are not retreating. We are trying to survive,” the email assures.
The message, signed by LSNYC’s DEIB Working Group, explained that they made the “hard but strategic decision” after conversations with “DEIB experts, legal orgs, and legal consultants and with warnings from LSC president Ron Flagg about threats to our funding.” The last point rings ominously as Flagg met with the incel brigade over at DOGE on Monday, suggesting a direct political threat to the nation’s capacity to provide legal services for clients in need from Big Balls or whichever serious professional runs that outfit these days.
LSNYC receives roughly 15 percent of its funding from LSC.
Biglaw collaborators deserve every bit of scorn and derision, both in public opinion and when it comes to their bottom line, but legal services for the poor don’t have the same advantages as a billion dollar (or more) law firm. An organization struggling to help as many people as possible on a meager budget can’t easily redirect resources to fighting the federal government over its website. Leadership clearly felt that embracing some invisibility might offer safety.
It won’t.
The lesson of the last couple weeks is that this administration saves its most brutal kicks for those who try to make peace. Columbia gave the administration everything it wanted and it’s getting another shot to the genitals. The Supreme Court gave Trump a path to save face on deportations and he opted to ignore their 9-0 order. And now all the Biglaw firms that thought they’d bought respite in exchange for some veterans’ charities work are about to get “assigned” work as Trump administration deputies.
Who could’ve predicted except… us and anyone who has ever watched Star Wars.
For the sake of LSNYC and the population it serves, hopefully this gets the administration off their back and their federal funding continues uninterrupted. But it won’t. Whether the administration decides to make the fight about immigration counseling or their LGBTQ+ rights work or just write it off as a simple DOGE cost-cutting move, this White House is going to screw with their funding.
It’s just extra sad to see here at an institution where diversity feels especially core to its mission. Not that diversity isn’t important in all sectors of the legal industry, but when the work is helping clients confront legal systems shaped by inequality, shying from the word “diversity” takes on a measure of self-erasure.
The communities LSNYC serves don’t get to remove themselves from the conversation about race, identity, or inclusion. That’s not an option for them. It’s tragic that the lawyers who serve them are put in this position.
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter or Bluesky if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.
The post Legal Nonprofit Backs Away From Diversity. That Should Scare Everyone. appeared first on Above the Law.
