David Botter Speaks with Corporate Counsel Business Journal on Recruitment and Hiring at Akin
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Akin Gump hiring partner David Botter spoke with Corporate Counsel Business Journal for a Q&A column titled “Help Wanted: Seeking Really Smart Lawyers Who Are Really Good People.” Botter spoke at length about the firm’s search for “exceptional talent.”
Botter began by talking about Akin Gump’s culture and the spirit of its hiring process, highlighting the firm’s interest in the development of its lawyers, “both as human beings and as lawyers.” He noted that the firm looks for people who “are hardworking, smart and who embody the firm's core values: collegiality, commitment, excellence, integrity and intensity.”
The conversation then shifted to Akin Gump’s new director of career counseling and planning, Carrie Marker, who was hired, as Botter said, “to strengthen [the firm’s] talent retention efforts and to identify opportunities that add value” to its lawyers. This includes career counseling, Botter noted, for lawyers who might need assistance developing business plans.
Botter then turned to Akin Gump’s Be Well program. Developed in 2016, he explained that it serves as a resource for employees “that supports our long-term commitment to individual well-being. It spans the spectrum from physical well-being to mental and behavioral health, financial security and social responsibilities.”
Another topic discussed was the firm’s Legal Scoop blog—“an information portal mainly focused on on-campus recruiting, but also is [on] lateral recruitment.”
Botter also discussed a new application being piloted by the firm offering feedback to associates on a more frequent basis than annual evaluations. Any associate, Botter explained, “can go into the system at the conclusion of a project and solicit feedback from senior lawyers on that particular project, whether it’s writing a brief, a deal closing, whatever it may be.”
To read the full Q&A column, please click here.