Michigan Law Review Gets Sued For Allegedly Discriminating Against White Heterosexual Applicants

There are multiple ways to earn a slot in University of Michigan Law Review. Grading-on is the dream, but law students that fall on other points of the curve still have a path to victory. While the lesser known noting-on is an option, the lion’s share of people that didn’t get in on their grades alone are admitted based on the write-in process. Chances are you know what that entails if you’re a regular ATL reader — you get assigned an annoying packet to work through, you submit your less than stellar grades along with a personal statement and wish for the best. The personal statement is meant to offer each applicant a second shot at the Law Review. Your application is already a little scuffed by virtue of not automatically being eligible from your grades alone: the work you show in the write-on process, coupled with the tales of loving hard work and not being paid for that you crammed in your personal statement, are meant to flesh out your odds and provide a second bite at the apple.

But that isn’t how FASORP sees it. Instead, they view the personal statement as a dastardly tool that roots meritocracy out of the selection process in favor for wanton race and sex based discrimination. Is that what’s actually happening? Probably not; the group has fought and failed twice in similar suits against NYU and Harvard, but why suffer the burden of writing better personal statements when you can sue another big name law school? Reuters has coverage:

A conservative legal group sued the University of Michigan’s flagship law journal on Wednesday, claiming its process for selecting student editors and scholarly articles illegally discriminates against heterosexual white men by giving preference to women, minority, gay and transgender applicants.

In a lawsuit filed in a Michigan federal court, the group called Faculty, Alumni, and Students Opposed to Racial Preference said it represents three unnamed tenured or tenure-track white male heterosexual law professors whose submitted articles were rejected by the Michigan Law Review. The group is also representing an anonymous white male incoming second-year Michigan law student who has applied to be a member of the law review—a competitive position that helps bolster law student resumes.

I’ll give credit where it’s due: the last time Stephen Miller & Co. tried to represent an anonymous white male who wanted to make law review they didn’t even wait for him to apply first. Progress!

This really does scream of throwing spaghetti at the wall until something sticks. If the Michigan case doesn’t go how FASORP wants, they’ll just donate more resources toward the same lawsuit they have against Harvard until they get what they want. If that doesn’t do it, maybe they’ll take the witch hunt to Columbia? In the meantime, I’ll leave the unnamed rejected professors and students with a bit of advice many Black children have grown up knowing:

Who knows? Maybe you would have got your article published or accepted on to law review if you were just a stronger applicant? Better luck with your future endeavors.

Earlier: Totally Serious And Not Made-Up Group Hijacks Michigan Law Listserv To ‘Preserve Evidence’ And Expose ‘Unworthy’ Students

Cringe Reverse Discrimination Group Hijacks Michigan Law Listserv To Ask Students To Sprinkle A Little Fraud In Their Personal Statements

The DOJ’s Accusations That Harvard Discriminates Against White Men Are Dressed-Up FASORP Talking Points

Stephen Miller Takes Break From Suing Gay Pop-Tarts To Sue NYU Law Review

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s .  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim, is interested in critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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