Americans for Equal Opportunity Files New EEOC Charges Alleging Religious Discrimination by SEO Law Fellowship (Copy)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans for Equal Opportunity (AEO), a nonprofit organization dedicated to enforcing civil rights laws and equal treatment in employment, filed a new series of discrimination charges against Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) and law firms participating in its SEO Law Fellowship.
This is the second time the SEO Law Fellowship has faced charges alleging racial discrimination. AEO first filed charges against SEO and 44 participating law firms in May 2025. The 2025 charges remain the subject of an active EEOC pattern or practice investigation.
AEO alleges that SEO gives preferential treatment to applicants it identifies as Muslim or Middle Eastern, despite publicly stating that the program is open to applicants of all backgrounds.
SEO operates a pre-law-school internship program that places incoming law students in paid summer positions with many of the nation’s largest law firms.
AEO alleges that after facing U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC) charges in 2025 over racial and national origin discrimination, SEO did not abandon demographic preferences. Instead, SEO expanded or shifted those preferences to include religion.
The organization further alleges that SEO attempted to rebrand its program following the Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard by adopting seemingly neutral language while continuing to favor applicants based on legally protected characteristics.
“For years, SEO hired Black and Hispanic students almost exclusively. That was the program’s stated purpose,” said AEO President Clegg Ivey. “After the Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions, SEO realized its practices would face increased legal scrutiny. SEO could have stopped discriminating. Instead, the program added new preferences, particularly for applicants who staff can identify as Muslim or Middle Eastern.”
“Applicants should be judged as individuals,” Ivey added. “Equal opportunity means equal opportunity for everyone.”
SEO is a New York-based nonprofit organization that operates the SEO Law Fellowship, a pre-law school employment program that places incoming law students, known as “Fellows,” in well-paid summer associate positions with many of the nation’s largest and most prestigious law firms. SEO is the largest discriminatory pipeline program in the legal profession.
The law firm respondents are:
Alston & Bird
Cooley LLP
Covington & Burling LLP
Cravath, Swain & Moore LLP
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
Foley Hoag LLP
Jones Day
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP
Proskauer Rose LLP
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
White & Case LLP
Williams & Connolly LLP
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP (WilmerHale)
AEO also filed charges against SEO and MR BEAST LLC, which hired an SEO fellow for an in-house legal internship.
Law firm participation in SEO has decreased significantly following AEO’s charges. AEO has confirmed that at least seventeen firms have withdrawn from SEO.
About Americans for Equal Opportunity:
Americans for Equal Opportunity is a nonprofit civil rights organization dedicated to advancing equal opportunity, opposing unlawful discrimination, and promoting faithful enforcement of federal civil rights laws. AEO advocates for colorblind and equal application of anti-discrimination protections for all Americans.
AEO’s 2025 charges received significant media attention. A selection of past articles is available on AEO’s website.
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