We provide the TOOLS for success.

At Akin Gump, our professional development program is built on the principle of transparency because we want our attorneys to grow and develop and to succeed in their careers. The tools we provide to guide our attorneys include—

• a core competency framework that clearly outlines expectations for associates and counsel
• practice specific benchmarks that show our attorneys how to get from point A to point B
• an innovative training curriculum to support them along the way.

Akin Gump uses a competency-based approach to professional development which provides our lawyers with clear expectations, the opportunity to develop their skills and the benefit of receiving the most meaningful evaluation of their progress. The framework is anchored by the four core competencies of ownership, professional excellence, service and teamwork, and client focus.

The firm’s professional development program includes practice-specific benchmarks to guide our lawyers’ professional development, a fair and effective assignment process, on-demand training resources that enable lawyers to learn and excel in the very best way possible – through hands-on opportunities and experiences. At Akin Gump, we believe that the very best training is imparted when our lawyers handle actual matters. Ideally, all of our associates will learn best by working closely with more-senior lawyers on projects that are crucial to our clients. We also work to ensure that our lawyers are allowed to stretch their abilities in their assignments as early as possible.

Attorneys are also given the time to reflect and learn in the classroom with a comprehensive formal training program which is carefully calibrated to each associate’s stage of development and area of practice. From a core curriculum which supports the core competencies, to practice-specific CLE training courses, Akin Gump attorneys hone their skills in a wide variety of subject areas including, among others, legal writing, corporate drafting, finance and accounting, oral communication and leadership, business development and management skills training. In addition, the firm offers a comprehensive advocacy curriculum complete with workshops on deposition skills, discovery and motions practice. Corporate courses include programs on structuring transactions, filings, debt tender offers and corporate negotiation skills.

We INVEST in our attorneys’ development.

Our commitment to our attorneys ensures that—

• formal and informal mentoring and feedback are the norm
• our work assignment process takes individual development needs into account
• our community provides opportunities to shine at the firm and to give back.

At Akin Gump, many formal programs converge and work together to help us develop lawyers who add value to the firm and for our clients. Professional development also requires more than training and defined expectations, and the firm supports a culture of mentoring our associates and providing feedback and evaluations on both an informal and formal basis.

Mentoring relationships often develop naturally between associates and partners. In addition, a formal mentoring program in many of our offices and for specific groups, such as our Women’s Professional Development Initiative, extends our commitment to learning through experience. To strengthen integration into the firm, we assign each first-year associate a peer advisor and a partner advisor to help him or her make a smooth transition to the life and culture of the firm. Summer associates are assigned junior and senior attorney mentors who serve as resources on all aspects of firm life throughout the summer program.

In addition to the ongoing mentoring and feedback received throughout the year, each attorney participates in an interactive formal evaluation process on an annual basis. The formal process includes a self evaluation, third party evaluations, and an annual performance conference. These then serve as the basis for the development and implementation of individualized professional development plans, which also inform the assignment process within each practice area.

The firm values and recognizes the crucial role of its partners in educating and developing attorneys. In recognition of individual partner efforts, an award is presented at the end of the year in each office to a partner who exhibits a strong commitment to the professional development of associates and counsel. This includes mentoring, providing feedback and guidance, delegating effectively and upholding the firm’s core values. The Partner Recognition Award symbolizes the importance of mentoring and its significant impact on associates and counsel.

It is part of our established culture at Akin Gump that attorneys are involved in firm life. Associates and counsel participate in firm committees in each of our offices, including associates committees, diversity committees, hiring committees and pro bono committees. In addition, a group of associates and counsel representing all offices and associate class years serves on the Firmwide Chairman’s Committee. This group meets on a quarterly basis with the firm’s chairman to discuss relevant issues and participate in setting firm policies. We believe that the active involvement of our associates and counsel in so many areas fosters a deep commitment to the firm and its members.

All levels of management champion the firm’s commitment and policy of encouraging associates and counsel to participate in pro bono practice as part of their on-going workload. We recognize that attorneys, especially those less experienced, more junior lawyers, obtain valuable experience on pro bono matters. Under the firm’s competency-based approach to professional development, pro bono plays an important role in further enhancing associate and counsel professional development, and the firm works to ensure that our pro bono program provides opportunities consistent with the competency model.

We share our SUCCESS.

Akin Gump is proud of its success over the last 65 years.  We now stand as a formidable competitor in many of the best legal markets across the globe. This success is built on the strength of individual lawyers at the firm, and we never forget that. We share our success through—

• a market competitive compensation & bonus structure
• advancement opportunities such as our Counsel program
• ample assignments with direct client contact.

The firm’s compensation and bonus structure is an integral part of Akin Gump’s strategy to recruit, develop, support and reward our associates. This structure includes our counsel program, which allows associates who are on partnership track to be promoted to counsel at their sixth year of practice. Counsel are given a higher level of responsibility on matters and with clients. All new counsel participate in an orientation training program designed to provide information, training and guidance that they can use in their new role. In addition, the firm offers counsel other skills programs, including management and leadership training courses, to further their professional development.

All of these opportunities to grow would not be possible without our clients. It is their continued demand and exacting standards that offer opportunities for our attorneys to shine day after day.

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