Kim Koopersmith Joins Board of Equal Justice Works

(New York, New York) – Kim Koopersmith, a partner in the New York office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, has joined the board of directors of Equal Justice Works, the firm announced today.

Equal Justice Works, a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1986 by law students dedicated to working for equal justice on behalf of underserved communities and causes. Today, Equal Justice Works is the national leader in creating summer and postgraduate public interest opportunities for law students and lawyers as well as in urging more public interest programming at law schools. The Equal Justice Works board of directors is a diverse group of national leaders from law firms, law schools, corporate legal departments and the public sector. Board member terms are three years.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Fordham Law School, Ms. Koopersmith focuses her practice on civil dispute resolution, including federal and state court litigation and private arbitration. She has litigated a wide range of issues in federal and state courts. In addition, she is active in firm management, serving on the management committee, the compensation committee, and as chair of the partnership committee.

“Akin Gump has a long history of public service, and I am honored to continue that tradition by serving on the Equal Justice Works board,” said Ms. Koopersmith. “No organization has done more to revitalize the field of public interest law. I look forward to working with Equal Justice Works to ensure that all members of our society have access to quality legal representation.”

Akin Gump has committed to sponsoring two Equal Justice Works fellowships each year. The firm’s current fellow (2006-2008), Carolyn Seugling, is working at the National Center for Refugee & Immigrant Children, a project of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. Akin Gump’s next fellow (2007-2009), Jessa DeSimone, will work at the Legal Aid Society of New York.

Equal Justice Works, formerly the National Association for Public Interest Law (NAPIL), leads the country in organizing, training and supporting public service-minded law students and in creating summer and postgraduate public interest jobs. Through donations from individuals, law firms, corporations and foundations, Equal Justice Works funds law students and lawyers in programs that bring justice to millions of low-income persons and families. For more information about the organization, visit http://www.equaljusticeworks.org.

Founded in 1945, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, a leading international law firm, numbers more than 900 lawyers with offices in Austin, Beijing, Dallas, Dubai, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, New York, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Taipei and Washington. The firm has a diversified practice and represents regional, national and international clients in a wide range of areas, including antitrust; appellate; banking and finance; capital markets; communications and information technology; corporate and securities; corporate governance; employee benefits; energy; entertainment and media; environmental; estate planning, wealth transfer and probate; financial restructuring; global security; government contracts; health; insurance; intellectual property; international trade; investment funds; labor and employment; land use; litigation; mergers and acquisitions; private equity; privatization; project development and finance; public law and policy; real estate development and finance; Russia/CIS; tax; and technology.

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