Florida’s attorney general will no longer work with outside law firms that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, or environmental, social, and governance initiatives.
Florida AG James Uthmeier (R) announced the policy change Tuesday to prevent taxpayers from supporting unlawful and discriminatory progressive programs.
“The Florida Attorney General’s Office will no longer engage or approve the engagement of private law firms who have or continue to engage in illegal and inappropriate discrimination and bias. Racial discrimination, in any form, is wrong and illegal. Florida taxpayer resources should not redound to the benefit of law firms who pretend otherwise,” Uthmeier said in a memo laying out the new policy.
Uthmeier’s office is going to review its relationships with outside law firms to ensure it is no longer engaging with firms that do not comply. Florida’s Attorney General occasionally works with private attorneys and grants approval when state agencies do so.
“As we have long noted, for too long, left-wing trial law firms have been profiting from lucrative state contracts. Far too often, these contracts fuel massive political giving that goes 99% to Left-wing candidates and committees at the federal level, while the same shady trial law firms work in other cases directly against the policy priorities of their state clients,” said O.H. Skinner, executive director of Alliance for Consumers, a right-leaning activist group critical of partisan trial lawyers.
“Thankfully, there has been a groundswell against these deals in recent years amongst conservative attorneys general, and this move by Attorney General Uthmeier represents one of the most sweeping blows in that fight.”
The memo Uthmeier crafted lists examples of DEI and ESG practices that violate the AG’s state work policy. Diversity targets in hiring, promotion, and contracting, as well as diversity scorecards, mentorship programs, and trainings are among the many DEI programs that law firms use. Net zero groups and ESG-based legal charters are examples of ESG policies that Uthmeier’s office considers to be disqualifying.
“If we are truly committed to the rule of law, then we must be truly committed to equal justice under law. DEI and ESG practices flout these bedrock principles,” Uthmeier said in a statement provided to NR.
Uthmeier’s campaign against progressive law firms is similar to President Donald Trump’s actions against white shoe corporate law firms on the federal level. Trump has signed several executive orders to review security clearances held by the law firms and to suspend federal contracts with them because of their progressive, partisan legal advocacy.
Multiple firms have caved to Trump and agreed to deals with the administration to do pro bono work on causes the White House supports. Other firms are challenging Trump’s executive actions in courts, arguing that they constitute a flagrant First Amendment violation.
DEI programs typically emphasize demographic characteristics and group belonging over individual traits and achievements. Conservative critics of DEI believe such programs are divisive and discriminatory because they obsess over race and other biological traits.
ESG investing philosophies attempt to fuse together progressive environmental and social goals with high returns for shareholders. Opponents of ESG believe practitioners are misleading shareholders and irresponsibly using investor funds for other objectives besides maximizing returns on investment.