DTO Law Statement on the U.S. Supreme Court Ruling on Affirmative Action

On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in the cases of Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina. The 6-3 majority determined that the use of race in college admissions violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI, effectively outlawing affirmative action programs in higher education. 

We wanted to take this opportunity to affirm our firm’s unwavering commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

One of DTO’s founding principles is that, by fostering an inclusive environment and having diverse teams, we are able to provide better legal services to our clients. In fact, that core value has driven our success over the past four years.   

We realize that our long-term goal of diversifying the legal profession may be more difficult to achieve if, as many predict, the pipeline of talent is interrupted or altered as a result of the Court’s decision. That said, this is not the first challenge those committed to DEI have faced (and it won’t be the last). We at DTO remain committed to sourcing and hiring diverse talent and will continue to champion diversity and inclusion in the legal community.