So a law firm in Chicago is looking at hiring one of two candidates for their litigation practice group. Their litigation practice group handles primarily cases pending in Cook County, including taking dozens of medical negligence cases to trial before Cook County juries.
Candidate #1: White. Attended University of Wisconsin Law School; undergrad at Notre Dame University. Grew up in rural Wisconsin. Finished in Top 10% of graduating class. Was on the Wisconsin Law School National Moot Court team. Spent a summer clerking for a judge in Madison where he got to see motion practice and a couple of jury trials.
Candidate #2: African-American. Attended University of Minnesota Law School; undergrad at Mankato State. Grew up in the metropolitan Minneapolis area. Finished in Top 20% of graduating class. Spent a summer clerking for a small law firm in Minneapolis, primarily doing research.
Chicago law firm recognizes that a large number of Cook County juries will include a significant number of African-Americans. The law firm believes that African-American jurors in Cook County, in many instances, may respond more favorably to an African-American's representation of a firm client at trial. In making its decision to hire Candidate #2, the law firm uses the applicant's race as not the exclusive factor but one of the factors in the hiring decision. It believes that its clients, as a whole, will benefit from Candidate #2 being part of the litigation practice group.
Did the Chicago law firm engage in illegal discrimination based upon race?
Reality. Neither candidate is from a top 14 law school so partners at amlaw firms look at both as charity hires. Minnesota is currently ranked 16 while Wisconsin is ranked at a cringe 29 up from a flyover 43. So they hire the black kid because of rankings and because they can hit the double double on hiring outside the real law schools and he is a minority. Drinks all around at how benevolent they have been and a quick reminder that neither should be considered for early partner tracks.
I noticed you didn't include gender. Could have been the trifecta of benevolence.