Northwestern accused of discriminating against white men during hiring process: lawsuit

CHICAGO (WLS) — A lawsuit is accusing Northwestern University’s Law School of discriminating against white men.

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The complaint was filed in federal court by a conservative group called “Faculty, Alumni and Students Opposed to Racial Preferences.”

The suit claims the school violated anti-discrimination laws by hiring women and people of color over white men with better credentials.

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Dean Hari Osofsky; law professors Sarah Lawsky, Janice Nadler and Daniel Rodriguez; Northwestern University Law Review Editor in Chief Dheven Unni; and Senior Equity and Inclusion Editor Jazmyne Denman are also named in the lawsuit.

The Northwestern School of Law is ranked as a top tier law school in the country, but, when it comes to hiring, the prestigious institution is accused of being a “cesspool of corruption and lawlessness.”

“Yes, that’s the facts that we have is that Northwestern has been passing over people who are white in favor of people who are other races. They’ve been passing over men in favor of folks who are women,” said Chris Hilton, of Stone & Hilton, the plaintiff’s attorney.

The suit is the first of what is expected to be many against higher institutions. The 30-page lawsuit accuses NU of violating federal law by hiring based on race and gender quotas.

“It shouldn’t matter if someone is white, Black, brown or purple. Someone should be getting a job at one of the best law schools in the country based on their merit and not based on their race,” Hilton said.

The suit claims in the past three years, 21 offers were made to minorities and women, and only three to white men. The legal action cites specific examples of what the plaintiff calls mediocre and undistinguished records, including a professor who graduated near the bottom of her law school class.

“The Law Review is looking at who is writing the scholarship, what is their race, what is their sex and making decisions on that basis, all a violation of federal law,” Hilton said.

Attorneys for the group hope the alleged practices end before the case possibly winds up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Northwestern issued the following statement:

“Northwestern Pritzker School of Law is among the top law schools in the country, and we are proud of their outstanding faculty. We intend to vigorously defend this case,” Northwestern University spokesperson Jon Yates said.