The Wisconsin Supreme Court will soon deliberate on whether lawyers in the state can earn continuing legal education (CLE) credit for courses focused on “cultural competency” and “reduction of bias.” A public hearing is set for Wednesday to discuss a petition from the State Bar of Wisconsin, proposing that lawyers be able to earn up to six of their required 30 CLE credits through these types of classes.
The petition, which advocates argue will help lawyers better serve clients amid Wisconsin’s increasingly diverse population, has already sparked significant debate. Proponents suggest that expanding CLE offerings to include diversity and bias training aligns with the state’s evolving demographic landscape, providing legal professionals with the tools to improve their practice in an inclusive manner.
This proposal comes at a time when diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are under intense scrutiny across the country, especially in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling that prohibited the consideration of race in college admissions. Legal advocacy groups, particularly those aligned with conservative ideologies, have voiced opposition to similar initiatives, calling them politically motivated or ineffective.
For instance, the Florida Supreme Court last year ordered the Florida Bar to cease funding diversity programs and removed “bias elimination” from its list of approved ethics topics for CLE credit. Wisconsin’s proposal comes in the context of similar nationwide conversations on the role of diversity training in professional settings.
In 2023, the Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected a similar proposal to allow CLE credit for diversity training, with Justice Rebecca Grassl Bradley criticizing the terms “diversity, equity, and inclusion” as a “smoke screen for a divisive political agenda.” However, the composition of the court has since shifted, with a new Democratic majority now in place, potentially altering the landscape for such decisions.
The State Bar of Wisconsin has emphasized that under the current petition, CLE credit for diversity-related courses would be voluntary rather than mandatory, in line with a number of states, including California, New York, and Minnesota, which have already integrated diversity, inclusion, and bias training into their CLE requirements.
Not all are in favor of this shift. The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) has opposed the petition, arguing that DEI courses lack proven effectiveness and often lack quality control. WILL has previously pushed for changes to both the American Bar Association’s and Wisconsin Bar’s diversity programs, citing concerns over racial discrimination against white law students in connection with such initiatives.
The debate over whether to include diversity and bias training in CLE requirements underscores broader discussions about the role of diversity in the legal field and other professions. As the legal community continues to evolve, the question of how best to incorporate cultural competency into professional education remains a pivotal issue.
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