Father uses AI to pursue college discrimination lawsuits after law firms declined to help
Nan Zhong filed lawsuits against the University of California, University of Washington, University of Michigan, and Cornell University on behalf of his son, who was rejected by 16 of 18 colleges despite a 4.4 GPA and near-perfect SAT score. The family pursued the cases without legal representation after dozens of law firms declined to take them.
Stanley Zhong, now 21, was hired as a software engineer at Google following his college rejections in 2023. He received an outstanding impact performance rating in 2025, which his father said exceeded the ratings of most Google engineers.
Nan Zhong said the family spent a year discussing the rejections with UC officials before deciding to act. A turning point came when a UC admissions director wrote that discrimination allegations were unfounded because California law bans the practice-a response that convinced Zhong the family would need to pursue legal action.
With statutes of limitation approaching and no law firm willing to represent them, the family turned to AI to analyze legal questions, compare answers across multiple models, and prevent errors. "It's like having a team of deep lawyers, top lawyers, all working for you," Zhong said.
The strategy has produced tangible results. In the University of Washington case, a judge rejected the university's motion to stay the case. Zhong noted that Stanley's situation creates an unusual legal advantage: because he has not yet enrolled in college, he maintains what Zhong called "evergreen legal standing" to pursue the lawsuit.
The family launched a nonprofit called SWORD (Students Who Oppose Racial Discrimination) and has received financial support through GoFundMe to continue the cases. Zhong said the lawsuits address issues beyond his son's situation, particularly following the Supreme Court's decision to ban affirmative action in college admissions.
For legal professionals exploring how AI can assist with case research and document analysis, resources on AI for Legal work and AI Learning Path for Paralegals offer practical frameworks for these applications.
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