Recruitment

Akin Gump has sponsored and participated in numerous networking events with diverse law students, events and activities initiated by law student affinity groups at the law schools at which we recruit, and community-related initiatives.

Examples of the firm’s recent efforts in the area of law student recruiting include:

• The firm is a sponsor of the 2011 Annual D.C. Road Show Reception. The reception is held each July and is attended by the Washington, D.C. office’s African-American attorneys and summer associates. Through the D.C. Road Show Program, African-American attorneys from large Washington, D.C. law firms visit law schools throughout the country to discuss their experiences and give minority law students their perspective on working in a large law firm environment.
• The Washington, D.C. office’s American Indian Law and Policy practice is a supporter of Native American law student affinity groups and in 2010 sponsored the Arizona State University Native American Law Students Association. Attorneys from the practice also served as judges for the National Native American Law Students Association’s annual moot court competition. In addition, partner Allison Binney served as conference faculty for “Treaty to Trust to Carcieri: The Economic Future for Indian Lands CLE Conference” a CLE program held at ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law in April 2011. The conference discussed policies affecting Indian lands and the impact of the recent Supreme Court decision Carcieri v. Salazar.
• Akin Gump sponsored, and attorneys from the firm’s New York and Philadelphia offices attended, the Penn Law Women’s Association Annual Dinner in February 2011.
• In February 2011, an attorney from the firm’s New York office participated on a panel entitled “Out in the Workplace” hosted by the Outlaw, Columbia Law School’s LGBT student organization.
• In January 2011, the Washington, D.C. office hosted its annual diversity reception for minority first-year law students from Washington-area law schools.  Each year, 40 to 50 law students attend the reception, along with attorneys from the firm’s New York and Washington, D.C., offices.
• Attorneys from Akin Gump’s Dallas office presented a program in November 2010 which offered test taking tips to 1L students in Southern Methodist University’s Women in Law, BLSA, HLSA, and APALSA affinity groups.
• Houston Counsel Phyllis Young participated in a panel discussion at the University of Texas’ Law School’s Diversity Education Weekend in September 2010. The weekend is sponsored by diversity student organizations at UT law school.
• Akin Gump’s Dallas office participated in the Sunbelt Minority Job Fair in August 2010 in connection with the firm’s fall recruiting efforts.
• The New York office participated in, and was a sponsor of, an Early Interview Week Diversity Reception for law students at NYU at the commencement of the fall 2010 recruiting season.
• In March 2010, the Washington office sponsored and participated in the Fifth Annual LGBT and Allied Law Student Networking Reception, hosted by The George Washington University Law School (GW) and the GW Chapter of Lambda Law. All area law schools' LGBT students and allies were invited to attend.
• In March 2010, the New York office hosted a mock interview session for students in the Latin American Law Students Association affinity groups at local law schools.

Pipeline Programs

Akin Gump understands that it must be proactive in identifying and encouraging diverse students to enter the profession. Over the years, the firm has been dedicated to advancing a variety of pipeline initiatives that are aimed at helping diverse students at different entry points join the legal profession. These initiatives include, among others, the following:

SEO Program

The firm is a supporter and participant in the Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) Program. SEO recruits diverse college students and recent graduates from across the country who will attend law school in the fall and places them in summer internships/programs in law firms and financial institutions. In these placements, SEO interns are exposed to the practice of law on a daily basis and get a firsthand view of law firm cultures.

The firm’s New York office has been an SEO Program participant for the past three summers, and the office’s first SEO intern will be returning to the firm as a first year associate in the fall of 2011 following her graduation from Harvard University. Due to the success of the program in New York, the firm has since expanded its relationship with SEO. In the summer of 2010, Akin Gump had the unique distinction among participating firms of welcoming SEO interns in three of its U.S. offices: Houston, New York and Washington, D.C., and these three offices have welcomed SEO interns again in their 2011 summer programs. In addition, a partner from the New York office participated in a panel discussion presented to an audience of SEO interns from the 2011 program. The panel discussed the practice of mergers & acquisitions and corporate law. In addition, the New York office hosted SEO’s 2010 Corporate Law Luncheon and participated in a litigation panel presentation. The firm’s Washington and Houston offices each hosted summer receptions during the summer of 2010 for SEO interns working at firms in those cities.

Akin Scholar Program

In 2004, the firm’s New York office created a scholarship in support of student contributions to diversity initiatives at New York University School of Law. The scholarship is awarded to one minority first-year law student at NYU who has demonstrated both scholastic aptitude and financial need. In addition to the monetary scholarship, the selected Akin Gump Scholar is offered a team of attorney mentors from the New York office and a position in the firm’s summer associate program following the first year of law school. Since the scholarship’s inception, the firm has selected seven Akin Gump scholars, three of whom are African American, three of whom are Hispanic and two of whom are openly gay.

Retention Efforts

Retention and advancement of our lawyers is a critical component of the firm’s efforts in maintaining a diverse employment base.  Akin Gump’s firmwide and office diversity committees play significant roles in the firm’s retention efforts, working on initiatives such as increased mentoring and the development of new educational programs that further individuals’ professional development and growth within the firm. Other examples of the firm’s efforts in the area of retention include:

Women’s Professional Development Initiative

Akin Gump’s female partners have contributed to the firm’s retention efforts by leading the Women’s Professional Development Initiative. This initiative, established over a decade ago, provides a forum for our female attorneys to tackle issues such as retention and professional development. Women’s Professional Development Initiative committees are active at both a local office level and on a firmwide basis.

On local level, the Washington, D.C. office’s Women’s Initiative Committee holds a monthly luncheon series featuring female partners who discuss their career paths and provide meaningful advice on career progression. The monthly meetings are also used to talk about goals and provide a forum for open dialogue about issues facing women in the workforce.  The committee has also established a quarterly newsletter to keep the female attorneys in the office informed of upcoming events.

In the firm’s New York office, female attorneys involved in the Women’s Initiative have organized numerous events, from speaking engagements on topics such as communication skills and work-life balance issues, to networking gatherings for female attorneys and an annual meet-and-greet event for the office’s female summer associates and female attorneys. New York female attorneys and summer associates have sponsored events for the organization “Dress for Success.” The mission of “Dress for Success” is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life, in addition to professional attire through the clothing drives it holds. One such event was sponsored by, and held at, Akin Gump’s New York office and was attended by over 30 women in transition who are clients of Dress for Success. It provided female attorneys and staff at Akin Gump the opportunity to participate in a panel discussion which advised women on a range of topics relating to employment, including interviewing skills, resume building and job search strategies.

Women’s Professional Development Committees are also active in our Texas offices. The Women’s Professional Development Initiative Committee in the Dallas office held a Poker Night in April 2011 for female attorneys and current/prospective clients. In addition, the Dallas office Women’s Initiative Committee sponsored an event in October, 2010 in collaboration with KPMG which offered a valuable networking opportunity for female attorneys from both firms. In 2010, the Houston office sponsored a holiday reception and jewelry event for female attorneys and clients from which 40% of the proceeds went to the Tahirih Justice center to benefit women and children in third world countries. Women’s Initiative events are also planned each year during the firm’s summer associate programs.

The firmwide Women’s Initiative Committee has held a number of successful events which recently included a second two-day retreat for all female lawyers at the firm. The retreats offered seminars on topics such as leadership, communication skills, mentoring and work/life balance. The goal of the retreats was to provide programs reflective of the interests of the firm’s female attorneys, while also providing the opportunity for attendees to connect with lawyers from other offices and practices.

Mentoring and Promotion

We believe that we must actively support our attorneys and create a positive environment to encourage them to continue their careers at Akin Gump.  In addition, we believe as a firm that promotion of women, minority and LGBT attorneys is a key to maintaining an inclusive environment.  A few examples of the firm’s commitment to mentoring and promotion include:

Partner Recognition Award

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. A committee of associates and counsel manages the annual award program and the winner is designated solely by the nominations of associates and counsel at the firm. The award was instituted in 2005 and since that time recipients have included eight female partners, six minority partners and an openly gay partner in offices throughout the firm; a strong tribute to the mentoring efforts of the firm’s partnership.

Core Competencies

Akin Gump recognizes the significance of comprehensive professional development programming in retaining a diverse workforce. The firm’s competency-based approach to professional development provides our lawyers with clear expectations, the opportunity to develop their skills and the benefit of receiving the most meaningful evaluation of their progress. Our professional development program is anchored by four core competencies – ownership, professional excellence, service and teamwork, and client focus.

In addition to the core competencies, our framework includes practice-specific benchmarks to guide our lawyers’ professional development, a fair and effective assignment process, hands-on opportunities and experiences, training programs in the skills that enable lawyers to excel, and practice-specific training to give our lawyers the tools to become outstanding practitioners in their chosen field. Professional development 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.

Community Partnerships

The firm’s diversity efforts also extend to the broader community in which our lawyers practice. Lawyers in all of our offices are committed to diversity-related community outreach and are involved both personally and professionally in a wide array of activities and pro bono engagements that benefit minority groups and organizations.  In the past year, the firm has sponsored and participated in events with such organizations as the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, ACLU, NAACP, National Bar Association, Minority Corporate Counsel Association and Sponsors for Educational Opportunity. In addition, the firm’s Los Angeles office is a signatory to the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles and Los Angeles Country Bar Association joint Call to Action and the New York office is a signatory to the New York County Lawyers Association’s Diversity statement, pledging to work to increase diversity in the legal profession.