Kim Koopersmith Discusses Akin Gump’s Support for Parents and Caregivers in Am Law Article

For its article “Remote School Is Now a Marathon, Not a Sprint. How Will Firms Support Parents?,” The American Lawyer quoted Akin Gump chairperson Kim Koopersmith on the firm’s programs to help parents at the firm with school-age children adjust to the new academic year and a continued remote working environment.

Koopersmith noted, “One of the things we felt we could offer was how to educate people to make wise decisions.”

As part of that effort, the firm partnered with the Child Mind Institute (CMI), one of the leading organizations devoted to supporting parents and children. The partnership kicked off with a “fireside chat” between Koopersmith and CMI founding president Harold Koplewicz, followed by the first of four August sessions targeted at helping parents at the firm consider ways they can support their children through the pandemic crisis.

The article notes that Akin Gump also contracted with a retired Centers for Disease Control and Prevention epidemiologist at the start of the pandemic to deliver podcast-format conversations based on hot topics and on questions submitted by listeners, which included a discussion of schooling options.

As an example of the effect of these measures, Koopersmith pointed to a recent email from a firm lawyer who, confronted with an urgent question about school, consulted information drawn from the Child Mind Institute and the epidemiologist that prompted him and his wife to change completely the plans they had made.

Koopersmith said regarding the importance of this information, “We don’t always know how to make the best decisions, and as lawyers we want to feel that we’re making the best decision we can.”