Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, INDUSTRY NEWS, TRENDS—Diversity Lab closes its doors after over 10 years working with law firms and legal departments on their DEI efforts, (Jun 8, 2026)

By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

Coinciding with the consultancy’s announcement, the FTC also issued a press release, expressing satisfaction with this result of its investigation of the business.

Last week, Diversity Lab announced that it was closing its doors after over 10 years working with hundreds of law firms and legal departments on pilots intended to expand access to opportunity and increase transparency, i.e. to “level the playing field for all lawyers.” The founder wrote an open letter explaining that it was closing its doors “because of meritless attacks by government agencies,” starting with the DOJ and EEOC, and ending with the FTC.

Diversity Lab’s founder, Caren Ulrich Stacy, wrote in an open letter to The American Lawyer:

“Two federal agencies, the DOJ and EEOC, targeted us over the last year as part of the administration’s sweeping law firm and DEI takedown. Both walked away empty-handed. In fact, a D.C. federal judge affirmed in a recent ruling that our work was non-discriminatory.

“But then came the FTC. Before conducting an investigation, they publicly issued a press release and 42 warning letters to our clients with unfounded antitrust accusations. These scare tactics prompted many clients to pause their work with us, creating immediate financial pressure and pushing us to the brink of bankruptcy.”

Now, on its website, Diversity Lab states that it is closing its doors as of this month, not because it violated any laws, but because it “ran out of options and funds” to defend against the FTC’s accusations.

FTC responds. The FTC issued a press release on Friday, describing again its formal inquiry into “anticompetitive behavior related to Diversity Lab’s Mansfield Certification program,” which included over 360 law firms. “Participating law firms employed tens of thousands of attorneys who were subject to Diversity Lab’s DEI rules,” the agency wrote. “The FTC investigation sought information relevant to determining whether the Mansfield agreements were collusive in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act and Section 5 of the FTC Act.”

In January 2026, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson issued warning letters to over 40 law firms that participated in that program. As part of that program, the FTC contends, law firms would certify that they considered candidate pools meeting specific criteria. “Hiring on the basis of protected characteristics rather than on merit is as immoral and un-American as it gets,” said Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson. “Colluding with your competitors to set race-based quotas for hiring is not only immoral, but it also may violate the antitrust laws. The FTC will not tolerate agreements rigging the labor markets. I hope today’s developments will encourage law firms to compete to hire the best talent, rather than to enter into agreements that exclude job applicants because of the applicants’ race or sex.”

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