For 12 years, Kirkland, alongside and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, represented a coalition of students, faculty and alumni of Maryland’s four public HBCUs that sued Maryland for failing to dismantle the remnants of its former segregated higher education system. In 2021, led by litigation partner Michael Jones, the Kirkland team secured a historic $577 million settlement — one of the largest pro bono settlements ever — to help level the playing field for the HBCUs. In addition to funding, the settlement required the state to add 10 new positions to the program-approval unit of the Maryland Higher Education Commission and proposed new offerings at the HBCUs.

At the top of the list was a veterinary medicine school at UMES with offerings through the doctorate degree. The school is slated to accept students in fall 2026, pending approval from the accrediting body. Other UMES offerings in the works include additional faculty professional development, student scholarships, enhancements to current programs, and new doctoral, master’s and bachelor’s degrees across several areas — from applied computing to fashion design to biomedical engineering.

Similar efforts are underway at Maryland HBCUs Morgan State University, Bowie State University and Coppin State University, which have launched research centers, new online programs, and undergraduate and graduate programs in areas like cyber operations analysis, data science and software engineering. They have also taken steps to make tuition more affordable for students and to modernize campus buildings.

“This case is among the most important pro bono matters that Kirkland & Ellis has ever handled and will have generational impact on Maryland’s public HBCUs and the educational opportunities they provide to students,” said Jon A. Ballis, chairman of Kirkland’s Executive Committee. “We couldn’t be more proud to have been part of this case.”

The Kirkland team devoted more than 38,000 pro bono hours to this case, which involved two seven-week trials, five multiple-week-long mediations, a Fourth Circuit appeal and three legislative hearings.

Following the 2021 settlement, Kirkland announced the donation of the $12.5 million it received in legal fees to seven HBCUs and civil rights organizations. Among the recipients were the Dillard University Center for Racial Justice in New Orleans, which Mike helped establish, the Robert M. Bell Center for Civil Rights in Education, and the Lawyers’ Committee.