The Insider Outsider Podcast: Executive Order 13950 Banning Racial Awareness Training: The NAACP LDF’s Response
May 13, 2021
O’Melveny partner Chris Hollinger joined Jin Hee Lee, Senior Director of Litigation at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, on The Insider Outsider Podcast, hosted by WMFDP co-founder Michael Welp. Lee and Hollinger discussed their experiences on the front lines of the response to President Trump’s now-rescinded Executive Order prohibiting diversity training.
Recognizing O’Melveny’s history of providing legal support to help protect inclusion and equity and long-time relationship with the NAACP, Lee called upon the firm to serve as counsel in the NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s challenge to the EO. Lee noted that the collaboration was a prime example of private law firms “stepp[ing] up in terms of addressing this moment of national reckoning.”
Hollinger emphasized the importance of this pro bono matter both on a personal level and in his work as a Labor & Employment lawyer. “There is an enormous gap, and there has been for quite some time, between the reality and the idea that all people are created equal or all people should be treated equal,” he said. “And I just encourage everyone, including corporate America, including my law firm, that we should have the commitment and the fortitude to really move our country closer to the ideal of equality for all people.”
Listen to the episode below or access the full podcast series here.