Columbia Law students have been advised to stop using phrases such as “grandfathering” and other antiquated terms in a mandatory training session, the Washington Free Beacon reported on Tuesday.
The class, led by Marguerite Fletcher, a former corporate lawyer at WilmerHale, centered on a single case study involving a student’s complaint that scheduling events around Jewish holidays was difficult. In audio of the training, Fletcher, who the outlet noted has previously wished clients a ‘Happy ChrismaHanuKwanzakah,’ described the complaint as a classic example of a ‘microaggression’ and invited students to suggest additional examples.
In another part of the training, Fletcher cautioned lawyers against using the term ‘grandfathering,’ citing its roots in the Jim Crow South. She also recalled being reprimanded at a Massachusetts ‘lawyer well-being group’ for referring to a ‘crazy uncle,’ as the phrase was seen as stigmatizing toward people with mental health conditions.
“I learned from it,” Fletcher recalled in the audio obtained by the outlet. “I’ve never said it again. If you said something that landed on somebody badly or was inappropriate in some way, wouldn’t you want to know?”
The university announced in July that it was implementing a series of reforms aimed at antisemitism on campus. Protests riled the university in May after it announced it would be laying off close to 180 employees due to the Trump administration pulling $400 million in federal funding over Columbia’s inability to combat the anti-Israel sentiment plaguing the school. The arrangement had Columbia pay a $200 million fine and share their hiring and admissions data with federal authorities. The class facilitated by Fletcher was not intended to meet the new federally mandated antisemitism obligation, but some of the examples echoed similar concerns.
A Columbia Law School spokesperson told the outlet the training was designed to meet American Bar Association accreditation standards, which mandate that law schools introduce students to education on bias, cross-cultural competency, and racism at the outset of their legal studies.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
