2024 DIVERSITY DATABASE UNDERWRITER Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Find a Mentor: 

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP Mentors

Founded in Texas in 1945, Akin has grown to become one of the world’s largest law firms, with more than 900 lawyers across 17 offices around the globe, operating at the intersection of public policy, business, and the law.

From Two to 900+

The Akin story began when former FBI agents Richard Gump and Robert Strauss started up a small legal practice in post-WWII Dallas. Strauss went on to chair the Democratic National Committee and Jimmy Carter’s successful presidential campaign in 1976, and worked for both the Carter and George H.W. Bush administrations. Over the past 75 years, the firm has grown from two lawyers to a global powerhouse with more than 900 lawyers.

One-Stop Shop

Akin is a future-focused commercial firm that offers full service across a wide range of practices and industries. The firm’s core practice areas include artificial intelligence; antitrust; commercial litigation; corporate; cybersecurity, privacy & data protection; energy, environment & natural resources; financial restructuring; government contracts; health care & life sciences; international trade; investment funds; labor & employment; lobbying & public policy; media, entertainment & sports; private capital; private equity; pro bono; projects & energy transition; special situations & private credit; supreme court & appellate; tax; telecom, media & technology; and white collar defense & government investigations.

Akin boasts one of the country’s largest lobbying practices by revenue, and many politically connected people are currently with the firm, including a number of former ambassadors, members of Congress, government officials, and government advisors. And several Akin practices are in the top 20 Vault rankings, including Bankruptcy/Restructuring; Energy, Oil, and Gas; Healthcare; and International.

Be Well

Akin takes wellness seriously. With its Be Well program, the firm provides resources and activities to promote healthy living through four pillars—physical health, mental health, financial health, and community. The Be Well program includes health screenings, financial planning, team and individual challenges, coaching programs, community service and charitable giving opportunities, educational courses and seminars on facets of well-being, and more. To address mental health, the firm has an on-site behavioral assistance counselor in all of its U.S. offices. And the firm was one of the charter adopters of the American Bar Association’s Pledge Campaign, which focuses on substance use disorders and mental health among lawyers. The firm also looks to do good in the community, hosting an annual global community service event, and has been committed to pro bono work from its early days.

• Akin represented OpenAI in its multiyear, multibillion-dollar investment from Microsoft, which allows OpenAI to continue its independent research and develop artificial intelligence (AI).

• Akin advised the ad hoc group of senior unsecured noteholders in Pacific Gas & Electric’s $30+ billion bankruptcy, which is the largest restructuring filed in California and the sixth largest in the country.

• In Yousuf v Samantar, Akin and The Center for Justice & Accountability persuaded the SCOTUS to remove a statutory immunity shield for foreign officials sued in U.S. courts in cases alleging their involvement in human rights abuses. Samantar admitted his liability for war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture, and extrajudicial killing committed against our clients and their families in the 1980s.

• Akin helped secure critical relief for independent music and arts venues, movie theaters and other small businesses across the U.S. by advocating for the passage of the Save Our Stages Act, as part of the COVID-19 Relief Bill.

   

• Eight-time honoree on the A-List, Am Law’s selection of the top 20 law firms in the U.S.—The American Lawyer

• Fourth consecutive year achieving Mansfield Certification Plus, a certification process to ensure all talent at participating law firms and legal departments have a fair and equal opportunity to advance into leadership—Diversity Lab

• Corporate Purpose Award for five-pillar approach: diversity, equity and inclusion; social justice; pro bono; environmental, social and governance; and well-being, 2022—The American Lawyer Industry Awards

• Legal Services Innovation Award for technology solution OverRuled, 2023—The American Lawyer Industry Awards

• Three-time honoree of gold-level recognition on the American Heart Association Workforce Well-being Scorecard™