by Martin Lipton, John F. Savarese, Adam J. Shapiro, Erica E. Bonnett, Noah B. Yavitz, and Carmen X. W. Lu
It is no secret that American corporations face vigorous — and often conflicting — demands concerning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Over the past year, DEI initiatives and commitments have come under pressure in the face of macroeconomic headwinds, political scrutiny and legal challenges. That pressure has only grown following the Supreme Court’s recent decision against affirmative action in SFFA v. Harvard (as discussed in our prior memo), after which Attorneys General from both red and blue states sent conflicting letters to Fortune 100 companies on what the SFFA decision meant for corporate DEI initiatives.