Any
litigation
could
be
very
expensive,
and
it
also
is
not
a
good
look
to
be
sued
by
the
FTC,
if
you’re
a
law
firm
and
you
do
a
lot
of
business
representing
people
in
front
of
the
FTC.
There
are
real
costs
to
these
law
firms
for
not
going
along.
In
other
words,
it’s
a
bullying
move
that
might
work.
—Vanderbilt
Law
School
antitrust
professor
Rebecca
Haw
Allensworth
speaking
about
the
Federal
Trade
Commission’s
warning
letters
to
42
Biglaw
firms
about
their
participation
in
Diversity
Lab’s
Mansfield
Certification
program.
Though
it
is
highly
unlikely
participation
is
such
a
program
is
anticompetitive
under
antitrust
laws
(as
U.S.
District
Judge
Beryl
Howell
said,
“The
Mansfield
Rule
expressly
does
not
establish
any
hiring
quotas
or
other
illegally
discriminatory
practices,
requiring
only
that
participating
law
firms
consider
attorneys
from
diverse
backgrounds
for
certain
positions.”),
Allensworth
notes
that
it
could
still
scare
off
Biglaw.