But according to yesterday’s brief filed by the veterans, the military would likely suffer a shortage of lawyers if the Solomon Amendment was repealed.

Harvard and the 165 other members of the American Association of Law Schools “are excused from locking the schoolhouse doors to military recruiters only so long as the Solomon Amendment remains in effect in its current form,” according to the brief.

“A lack of military lawyers could increase the likelihood of war violations by soldiers and unacceptable civilian collateral damage during military operations,” the veterans’ groups argued.

FAIR has requested that the Third Circuit Court of Appeals issue a temporary order immediately halting enforcement of the Solomon Amendment.

But in November, U.S. District Court Judge John C. Lifland, a 1957 HLS graduate, denied FAIR’s motion for an injunction suspending the statute.

“The trial court, in reaching its conclusion, had to engage in a balancing of the hardships,” said Howard J. Bashman, a Pennsylvania appellate lawyer who filed yesterday’s brief on behalf of the veterans’ groups.

“We’re trying to draw the court’s attention to the perspective of law students who are interested in joining the military or who are currently serving,” said Bashman. “There’s not so much of a new legal argument.”

“We wanted to offer a perspective based on our personal experience,” said Cpt. Phillip E. Carter, chair of the UCLAW Veterans Society, which spearheaded the filing of yesterday’s brief.

FAIR’s legal team downplayed the impact of yesterday’s brief on the case.

“I don’t think it will have a huge impact one way or another,” said FAIR founder H. Kent Greenfield, a professor of law at Boston College.

FAIR’s lead attorney, E. Joshua Rosenkranz of the New York law firm Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe, declined to comment, saying that he had not yet read the brief.

In an interview with The Crimson last week, Rosenkranz said that the Third Circuit will likely hear oral arguments in the case in early May.

“Harvard’s spring recruiting will most likely be under the current Solomon Amendment regime,” he said.

According to Bashman, the Third Circuit has a reputation for being a moderate court, but the recent addition of three Bush nominees could tilt the circuit’s ideological balance toward the right.

“The three new judges could have a significant impact by making the court more conservative over time,” he said.

—Staff writer Daniel J. Hemel can be reached at hemel@fas.harvard.edu.