Great
lawyers
have
an
intimate
relationship
with
words.
They
know
how
words
feel.
They
know
what
words
mean.
As
do
the
writers
at
Merriam-Webster.
That
is
why
when
someone
uses
a
word
incorrectly,
the
staffers
at
Merriam-Webster
take
it
upon
themselves
to
set
the
record
straight
on
word’s
behalf:
Another
important
word
to
remember
is
the
word
“retreat.”
Merriam-Webster
defines
retreat
as
“an
act
or
process
of
withdrawing
especially
from
what
is
difficult,
dangerous,
or
disagreeable”
and
“the
process
of
receding
from
a
position
or
state
attained.”
Keep
this
definition
in
mind
as
you
read
this
snippet
from
the
ABA
president’s
address
on
the
importance
of
diversity.
From
Bloomberg
Law:
The
American
Bar
Association
isn’t
“retreating”
from
diversity,
equity,
and
inclusion
in
the
face
of
the
Trump
administration’s
efforts
to
block
such
initiatives,
the
group’s
leader
told
a
Cleveland
audience
on
Tuesday.“Bias
is
real,
and
we
have
to
confront
it,”
ABA
President
William
R.
Bay
said.
His
comments
at
a
City
Club
of
Cleveland
forum
came
after
the
group,
amid
pressure
from
the
White
House,
in
February
suspended
its
DEI
mandate
for
law
schools.
William.
The
ABA
has
been
retreating
from
diversity
since
the
SFFA
v.
Harvard
decision
by
failing
to
meaningfully
define
what
it
is
or
why
it’s
important
because
doing
so
would
be
“dangerous”
or
“disagreeable.”
One
may,
as
a
matter
of
taste,
prefer
to
say
that
the
ABA
has
acquiesced
(Bloomberg
Law
preferred
the
more
scathing
route
and
opted
to
say
that
the
ABA
bowed
to
the
administration)
from
DEI
commitments
because
of
pressure
from
the
White
House,
but
the
decision
to
extend
the
moratorium
on
the
DEI
accreditation
standard
because
of
the
Trump
administration
still
falls
squarely
under
the
“process
of
receding
from
a
position
or
state
attained”
prong
of
retreating.
One
thing
the
ABA
definitely
isn’t
doing
is
advancing
(an
antonym
of
retreat)
DEI
causes
in
the
face
of
the
Trump
administration.
The
ABA
has
offered
diversity
truisms
like
“We
must
fight
for
what
we
believe
in”
and
is
fighting
to
regain
ground
after
the
administration
targeted
Biglaw
for
its
diversity
programs,
but
catching
up
to
where
things
were
is
not
an
advance.
We
should
hold
institutions
to
a
higher
standard
than
pretty
words
and
maintaining
the
status
quo
if
things
we
actually
value
are
under
attack.
ABA
President
Touts
DEI
After
Delaying
Law
School
Diversity
Rule
[Bloomberg
Law]
ABA
Likely
To
Extend
Suspension
Of
Diversity
Requirement
For
Law
School
Accreditation
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 [email protected]
and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.