So far, Harvard has not requested an interim step, like a preliminary injunction. Although the university has not ruled out seeking some kind of short-term relief, its early approach is a signal that it believes the court may be able to act definitively and quickly on grounds that may not require much spectacle.
To make its case, Harvard has hired a roster of legal heavyweights, many of them with deep experience in Washington and close ties to the conservative establishment.
William A. Burck, who worked in George W. Bush’s White House and now is an outside ethics adviser to Mr. Trump’s company and sits on the Fox Corporation’s board, was the first lawyer listed in the lawsuit. Robert K. Hur, the U.S. attorney in Maryland during Mr. Trump’s first term and later the special counsel who investigated President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s handling of classified documents, came next.
Other lawyers representing Harvard include Douglas Hallward-Driemeier, who was one of Mr. Bush’s Supreme Court litigators; Steven P. Lehotsky, who worked in Mr. Bush’s Justice Department and clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia; Mary Elizabeth Miller, who worked for Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.; and Katherine C. Yarger, a former clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas.
Jonathan F. Cohn was a deputy assistant attorney general during Mr. Bush’s administration. Scott A. Keller is a former solicitor general in Texas who later worked as chief counsel for Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican.
The outcome of the legal case may be beside the point, Professor James said.
“If you lose ultimately at the court but millions of people now believe that all of these institutions are hotbeds of discrimination, that they don’t provide any benefits to the communities in which they operate, that they don’t produce anything of value,” she said, adding, “that might be a win if you are hostile to higher education institutions.”
Seamus Hughes contributed research.
