Firm Citizenship
Participation in firm life is highly valued and encouraged. Our associates and counsel serve on their local office hiring committees and inclusion councils. They serve as mentors to first year and summer associates, and they participate in and serve as faculty for in-house training programs. Our associates and counsel are very active in pro bono matters and in community organizations.
Associates and counsel are also involved in firm governance. More than a decade ago, the firm’s then-chairperson created a committee composed of associates and counsel from each office in the firm to meet with the chairperson, and now co-chairs, several times a year to discuss firm matters. The committee also hears from the co-chairs regarding topics of firmwide importance, including topics related to inclusion, wellbeing and agile work. In the past, the committee has taken on important initiatives for the firm, including enhancement of the firm’s recruiting efforts for both entry-level and lateral attorneys and the development of the firm’s ACE Framework.
Training
The firm’s goal is to develop well-trained, successful lawyers who have a high degree of career satisfaction and add value to the firm.
The Akin Client Excellence (ACE) Framework outlines the core skills that our associates and counsel are expected to achieve at each stage of their careers—junior, mid-level and counsel—to provide exemplary service to our clients and to build a successful career as a lawyer. The ACE Framework is a modern expression of the way in which Akin lawyers have always practiced law.
The ACE Framework consists of three interdependent core skills – prioritizing relationships, delivering excellence, and taking ownership. The ACE Framework anchors Akin’s comprehensive lawyer development program, Akin Advantage, and is integrated into Akin’s recruiting and interview process, onboarding and training curricula, evaluation and feedback program and advisor and coaching program to empower our associates and counsel to deliver exceptional client service and thrive in their careers.
Mentoring
The firm supports a culture of mentoring our associates and we recognize the importance of providing performance feedback and guidance on both an informal and formal basis. Our attorneys receive the benefit of our partners' and senior attorneys' experience through formal training programs, participation in firm committees and through formal and informal mentoring.
Summer associates are provided with partner and associate/counsel mentors and have regular meetings throughout the summer with their mentors, and with the advisors and attorneys with whom they have worked for the purpose of receiving feedback on their work. During the summer program, assigning partners or work coordinators oversee the work assignment process.
Each associate at Akin is assigned an Akin Advisor and Akin Ambassador to assist with the transition into firm life. Several of the firm’s offices have also established formal mentoring programs for all associates and counsel who wish to participate. Additionally, the firm has established an annual Partner Recognition Award to recognize a partner in each office who excels at mentoring and professional development of associates and counsel.
Akin’s Commitment to Opportunity and Inclusion
Akin was founded on the guiding principle that everyone should feel welcome and have the opportunity to thrive and do their best work. We believe that the various perspectives and experiences of our lawyers and professionals enable us to identify creative solutions for our clients and enrich all aspects of our firm and communities.
Our focus is on building an inclusive and collaborative work environment throughout the firm. Across our offices worldwide, we are committed to reaching out broadly to recruit exceptionally well-qualified lawyers and professionals. Practice groups partner with clients to solve some of the most complex legal issues, and lawyers collaborate with organizations to support the communities where we live and work.
Our global strategy provides the vision to guide our efforts and enables everyone in the firm the opportunity to contribute.
We believe the best way to recruit exceptionally well-qualified lawyers to Akin, and the legal profession, is to reach out broadly and share with them what’s possible.
For law students and aspiring lawyers, our summer and year-round programs provide immersive work experiences, mentorship and networking that build a foundation for the future. Our partnerships with clients and nonprofits expand the opportunities to experience real-world legal environments at the firm and beyond. We bring a similar commitment to reaching out broadly when recruiting lateral attorneys and partners.
Robert S. Strauss 1L Scholars Program
This signature two-year program brings outstanding law students to work at Akin following their first and second years of law school, and also introduces them to in-house life by sharing part of their first summer with firm clients. The program is open to all students, regardless of background, who have overcome personal adversity to achieve their goal of pursuing a legal career, or who have helped others facing adversity to achieve their own goals.
Opportunity & Inclusion Councils
For more than a decade our firmwide and local Opportunity & Inclusion councils have focused on building a sense of community and supporting our offerings of flexible work arrangements and holistic wellness benefits.
Firmwide Resource Groups
Open to all of our people, our firmwide resource groups (FRGs) are a natural extension of our commitment to the collegial and collaborative culture our founders envisioned long ago. Formed to encourage an ongoing dialogue of shared interests and concerns between our lawyers and professionals, our FRGs are a place to forge tighter bonds with colleagues while sharing ideas for more creative and innovative ways to solve complex challenges.
Balance
Starting a family, caring for an older family member or pursuing an outside professional development opportunity are never reasons to take a step back.
Our Reduced Work Schedule Policy helps lawyers embrace life changes while continuing as productive and valued team members. Our policy specifically provides that lawyers working on a reduced work schedule remain eligible for counsel and partnership promotion and we have a demonstrated track record of success for such promotions.
Manage Competing Demands With Agility
The firm introduced an agile work program for all lawyers who need the flexibility to balance life events while providing excellent service to our clients. Our program provides technology resources and networking tools to allow lawyers to work efficiently and effectively no matter where they are located.
Health and Well-being Are Our Priority
The demands of a rigorous legal career and personal life can overwhelm even the most seasoned lawyer at times. We launched our firmwide holistic wellness program, Be Well, to support our lawyers’ emotional and physical health. On-site and online offerings include a wide range of self-care and mental health counseling resources including work/life integration, healthy eating, financial management, mental distress and substance abuse.
Akin’s Commitment to Pro Bono
Akin is highly committed to pro bono practice and it is an important part of our firm’s culture. The firm’s pro bono practice is led by a dedicated partner . Over 90% of the firm’s associates participate in pro bono practice. Pro bono hours are counted equally to any other client hours, with no cap on credit. All levels of firm management champion the firm's policy of strongly encouraging lawyers to participate in our pro bono practice as part of their ongoing caseloads.
The firm has extended this commitment to pro bono through our summer associate program as well as through our Pro Bono Scholars program.
The Pro Bono Scholars program is a two-summer program for top law students who show a strong interest in making pro bono an integral part of their Akin careers. The Pro Bono Scholars are rising second-year law students who work both at the firm and at a public interest organization during the summer. The next (rising third year) summer, the Pro Bono Scholars are members of the firm’s regular summer associate program.
Wellbeing
Be Well
Our holistic, award-winning well-being initiative, Be Well, is a personalized program in support of a long-term commitment to your and your family’s well-being. Personnel have access to a wide variety of tools, resources, activities and group and one-on-one coaching to support a healthy, productive and balanced life, from those that support physical well-being like our generous fitness benefits, to those that encourage mental well-being like mindfulness meditation, one-on-one coaching and counseling.
The firm also offers a variety of financial well-being resources and supports social well-being through our Akin in Action charitable giving platform and community service outreach.
Mental health advisors offer:
Individual sessions with licensed mental health providers
Confidential and convenient access and scheduling
Help with any topics you’d like to discuss, including work-life integration, resilience development and stress management
Facilitation of regular firmwide seminars on timely, relevant topics.
All on-site and virtual visits remain confidential, except as required by law. Also, our traditional insurance benefits such as medical support are designed to ensure additional services are available to participants and their covered family members, including treatment for mental health and substance misuse disorders, and telehealth mental health.
Map Your Career Success
Our in-house director of career counseling and planning makes it easy to get guidance. Help your career progress with personalized and confidential resources in planning, behavioral coaching and more.
Be Financially Fit
We offer a wide variety of financial well-being programs, tools and resources addressing everything from preparing for retirement to managing student loan debt and creating emergency savings, just to name a few.