2024 DIVERSITY DATABASE PREMIUM SPONSOR Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

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Founded in Texas in 1945, Akin has grown to become one of the world’s largest law firms, with more than 1,100 lawyers across 17 offices around the globe, operating at the intersection of public policy, business, and the law.

From 2 to 1,100+

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 more than 80 years, the firm has grown from two lawyers to a global powerhouse with more than 1,100 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 AI; antitrust; commercial litigation; corporate; cybersecurity, privacy and data protection; energy, environment, and natural resources; financial restructuring; government contracts; healthcare and life sciences; international trade; investment funds; labor and employment; lobbying and public policy; media, entertainment, and sports; private capital; private equity; pro bono; projects and energy transition; special situations and private credit; supreme court and appellate; tax; telecom, media & technology; and white collar defense and 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. In addition, several Akin practices are in the top 20 Vault rankings, including the Bankruptcy/Restructuring; Energy, Oil & Gas; Clean Tech/Renewable Energy; and International rankings.

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. Moreover, 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 advised Nippon Steel Corporation in its monumental merger with United States Steel Corporation, unleashing unprecedented investments in steelmaking in the United States, protecting and creating more than 100,000 jobs.
• Akin represented hundreds of Holocaust survivors and their family members seeking justice against French national railway company SNCF, resulting in a historic bilateral treaty between the USUnited States and France to establish a $60 million fund to compensate those deported to Nazi camps by SNCF.
• Akin represented OpenAI in its multiyear, multibillion-dollar investment from Microsoft, which allows OpenAI to continue its independent research and develop AI.
• Akin advised the ad hoc group of senior unsecured noteholders in Pacific Gas & Electric’s bankruptcy of more than $30 billion, which is the largest restructuring filed in California and the sixth largest in the country.

• 10-time honoree on the A-List of the top 20 law firms in the United States—The American Lawyer
• Legalweek Leaders in Tech Law Awards—Best Use of Emerging Technology (Non-AI) Award, 2025—Law360
• Ranked on the New York, Washington, California, and Texas Healthiest Employers lists—2025, Healthiest Employers
• Three-time honoree of gold-level recognition on the Workforce Well-Being Scorecard, 2021-2023—American Heart Association