Analysis: Rokita bans DEI in state legal contracts, calls for “merit-based” counsel

Staff Report | The Bloomingtonian | Sept. 25, 2025

INDIANAPOLIS — Attorney General Todd Rokita unveiled a new policy Thursday banning Indiana state contracts with law firms that use diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, saying the move will ensure that only firms “committed to merit-based excellence” represent the state.

The rules, effective in October, prohibit law firms from engaging in practices such as requiring DEI training, setting diversity goals, or running fellowship and hiring programs aimed at underrepresented groups. The Attorney General’s office, which must approve most executive branch contracts with outside counsel, will now screen for compliance.

“Shipbuilding is a national security priority and a stopgap against foreign threats and coercion,” Rokita said in his release. “This policy is a firewall to protect our state’s legal representation, ensuring that law firms reject divisive ideologies and uphold the meritocracy and fairness that reflect the values of hard-working Hoosiers.”

Rokita framed the change as a continuation of Indiana’s broader push against DEI under Gov. Mike Braun, who earlier this year signed an executive order banning state agencies from spending taxpayer funds on DEI programs. The policy cites recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings striking down race-conscious admissions and employment policies as its legal foundation.

---

Analysis: Who does “meritocracy” really serve?

Rokita’s office is rebranding the shift as “MEI” — merit, excellence, and inclusion — but critics argue that meritocracy is often less about fairness and more about preserving existing power structures.

On paper, MEI suggests that everyone competes on a level playing field, and the most talented rise to the top. In practice, however, wealth and privilege strongly shape who gets access to the training, networks, and credentials that define “merit.”

• Access is unequal. Children from wealthier families attend better-funded schools, hire tutors, and benefit from professional connections. These advantages appear on résumés as merit, but they’re really signals of inherited privilege.
• Barriers persist. Women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities often face systemic discrimination that limits advancement, regardless of talent. Without DEI measures, those disparities don’t vanish — they harden.
• Power consolidates. When the yardstick is narrow — elite schools, test scores, or billable hours — the people already in positions of advantage keep cycling to the top. “Merit” becomes a justification for inequality.

This is why critics of MEI see it less as a safeguard of fairness than as a mechanism ensuring that the most wealthy and powerful keep access to everything, while marginalized communities lose tools meant to balance the scales.

For Hoosiers, the question isn’t just about the Attorney General’s contracts with law firms. It’s about whether Indiana defines fairness as “opportunity for all” — or whether it codifies a system where those with the most continue to get the most.

The post Analysis: Rokita bans DEI in state legal contracts, calls for “merit-based” counsel first appeared on The Bloomingtonian.