Akin - The Inside View

Finding your people in BigLaw isn't always a given, but associates at Akin seem to have managed it. “Thanks to the culture of the firm, the partners actually care about developing you as an attorney, rather than just hours on a spreadsheet,” one associate surmised. Others agreed, noting that “Akin was described as ‘the more humane version of BigLaw’ with down-to-earth and family-friendly people,” and that, according to insiders, holds up in practice. Speaking of practices, Akin has plenty to answer to on that. Over in Chambers USA, Akin picks up top marks for its expertise in bankruptcy/restructuring, alongside government relations, healthcare, international trade, privacy & data security, as well as Native American Law nationwide. The firm's global footprint is equally broad, with offices spanning the Middle East, Asia, and Europe alongside a strong US network.

"...the partners actually care about developing you as an attorney, rather than just hours on a spreadsheet."

Stateside, New York, Washington DC and Dallas host most of the associates, with the rest spread across Boston, Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco and the firm’s shiny new Chicago hub. Smaller class sizes across each office means exposure to senior lawyers and partners comes early for newbies joining the ranks: “The firm is big but it’s not enormous, so you get a lot of exposure to more senior lawyers and even partners that you end up working directly with; that offers so many training opportunities!”

Akin is recognized as a Strong Performer for Junior Satisfaction and an Excellent Performer for Mid to Senior Satisfaction in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Strategy & Future

Back in 2025, Abid Qureshi and Daniel Walsh took the reins as Akin’s new co-chairs, with the former based in New York and the latter in London. Speaking with Qureshi, he tells us, “We’re coming off a very strong year at Akin.” In addition to robustly growing its associate headcount, Akin promoted 12 new partners internally and hired 28 laterally.In turn, Qureshi says, “every one of the lateral partners that we add generates incremental demand, new and interesting work, and more opportunities.”

And, talking about opportunities, the firm’s “expansion mode” also includes growing new offices and teams. Following on from a move into the Boston market in 2023, Akin is now set on deepening its strength across the Midwest to the Middle East. “We started in Chicago in the real estate funds and infrastructure M&A space, and very soon as we continue to grow that office, it will come to mirror the firm as a whole,” Qureshi explains. In addition, a recently established base in Riyadh is “a significant development. We were one of the first firms in the UAE – we opened in Abu Dhabi almost 20 years ago; we have a long history of strength in the Middle East,” he adds.

Akin is recognized as a Strong Performer for AI Integration in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Read more from Abid Qureshi under the ‘Get Hired’ tab.

Summer Program

Instead of being rotated through a set series of practice groups, summer program participants dive right into a free-market system, and are able (with a bit of guidance) to sign up for assignments in areas that interest them. Nonetheless, insiders advised incoming summers to “keep an open mind about the type of work and try out assignments from practice groups you don’t know about,” as “you might end up falling in love with the work.” Juniors praised the program structure and how “the work was similar to a first-year associate, as you truly are getting substantive work – the real experience – which is great.” At the very end of the program, summers rank their top three practice areas, which will inform their permanent assignment to a team. They also have the opportunity to get involved in the firm’s pro bono offering.

Of course, it’s not just about the work. “The biggest goal and responsibility is to meet as many people as you can,” one former summer reported, “and everything is set up for you do that: panels introducing you to the different groups, coffees, lunches, and firm events.” Indeed, we heard that the firm lays on “millions of events when the summers are here,” and while this might be an exaggeration, it seems to be only a small one; interviewees reeled off an impressive list of summer activities, with recent examples ranging from pickleball and cooking classes to theatre shows, as well as horse racing and baseball games. Overall, “it’s a lot of fun,” according to one associate’s enthusiastic verdict.

The Work

Most Akin juniors are found in the firm’s corporate and litigation practices, followed by investment management and regulatory, with a good handful in others like financial restructuring and tax too. These juniors receive work through something of a hybrid system. In the larger offices, a work coordinator is available to assign matters based on a weekly survey indicating associates’ availability to take on short- or long-term projects.However, it’s also possible for juniors to get on matters through relationships that they’ve built organically, which they felt provided a good balance of approaches. “You can forge your own path,” one said, “but at the same time, the resources are there if needed.”

“As Akin is a big bankruptcy firm, naturally there is a decent amount of that work, especially as the market goes into Chapter 11 more often.”

Akin is recognized as an Excellent Performer for Work Allocation & Autonomy in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Starting with the litigation practice, which an insider described as “broad, interesting and fast-paced,” this spans business disputes, white-collar investigations, and administrative proceedings, with a particular focus on areas such as data privacy, employment, and financial services. “As Akin is a big bankruptcy firm, naturally there is a decent amount of that work, especially as the market goes into Chapter 11 more often,” a source noted. Often acting on behalf of creditors, the firm represents institutions such as hedge funds and capital management companies. While associate responsibilities depend on the matter in question, juniors recounted handling plenty of research tasks, reviewing discovery, and flagging key documents to create chronologies, as well as getting opportunities to write the first draft of memos and briefs. One litigator recalled taking on “huge responsibility” involving a motion in limine which played a major role in a case, enthusing that “it’s the reason why you go to law school: to advocate!” Some also mentioned having the opportunity to step up to the plate with depositions, drafting outlines, and assisting with witness prep and interviews. As such, juniors were pleased with the level of responsibility available to them, and noted that “once a claim is filed, getting to see everything that led up to that process is very instructive.”

Litigation practice: NBC Universal, Vince McMahon, Hudson Bay Capital Management. Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 cases of Diamond Sports Group.

Moving along to the corporate team, our sources noted that this is “a big practice, with many subgroups” including private and public M&A, private equity, and capital markets, as well as private credit and special situations. Clients such as private equity houses, private credit groups, sovereign wealth funds, and public and private companies collectively make up the firm’s books. Pleased with the variety of the work, a source reported that “So far, I’ve really loved the distressed situations, dispositions and reorganizations, where you have to think outside of the box.” As a rule of thumb, juniors are tasked with preparing checklists and doing due diligence, as well as picking up the pen to draft ancillaries or even potentially taking a stab at the main transactional documents such as the purchase agreement.

Corporate clients: Viper Energy, Apache Corp, Cinemark Holdings. Advised Millrose Properties, a homesite option purchase platform on multiple transactions totaling $8.3 billion.

Over in the investment management practice, Akin handles the entire lifecycle of a fund from formation onwards, including secondary sales. It advises sponsors, managers and investors, across a spread of private equity, sovereign wealth, real estate, energy, venture capital, and emerging market funds. “It’s a specialist area, but the work is still very broad,” an insider noted, adding that “you’re learning new things all the time.” Working across a mix of general and limited partnership funds, on a day-to-day basis it’s common for juniors to find themselves running the checklist and making initial drafts of offering memoranda or subscriptions documents to limited partnership agreements (LPAs), alongside incorporating comments from specialist teams such as tax and trade, as well as from co-counsel. “It’s very hands on,” we heard. Rookies also liaise directly with clients, such as by “corresponding back and forth getting signatures for the fund launch.” There is also a regulatory element to the practice, featuring SEC and FTC work.

Investment management clients: Blackstone Alternative Asset Management, Lunate Capital Limited, Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. Advised Cerberus on its energy storage company investments, including Securities Exchange Act regulatory filings.

Career Development

Juniors praised the support in place for their development, which includes formal training, mentorship, and on-the-job opportunities. Newbies gather for a week-long induction, and from there, training continues to cover both soft skills and substantive tasks, alongside CLEs. For instance, sources mentioned that recently, “a professor from Yale came in for a series of lectures, with personalized coaching on our writing product, which was really cool.” Associates are also encouraged to get involved in business development through inviting their professional counterparts to networking events. There are tailored retreats and trainings for mid-levels and counsel as well.

As for mentorship, juniors are paired with a mid-level associate who can troubleshoot their day-to-day issues, alongside a partner mentor to discuss long-term objectives and career progression.There’s a budget for them to meet with both, though many juniors found mentoring opportunities outside the context of these formal partnerships. “It’s encouraged; a lot of people are open to it,” one junior put it, and we heard that “you learn so much from the other partners and associates you work with.” This learning process is backed up by the ‘Akin Thrive’ program, whereby associates can request feedback from anyone, and by the ‘Akin Jump’ initiative, which lets associates spend several weeks in another office to connect and network with colleagues there.

“You’re able to find a place here and excel, focusing on your skills and the career you want.”

When considering their future prospects, associates were confident that “you’re able to find a place here and excel, focusing on your skills and the career you want.” While some felt that it was too early to engage in those conversations, they mostly agreed that the path to partnership is transparent: “The trajectory is clear when it comes to promotion from associate to counsel in sixth year,” one said, “and a little less clear from counsel to partner.” For those considering other avenues, such as going into the government or in-house, we heard, “Akin values the alumni networks it creates, and that begins while you are here.” This manifests through an alumni association and annual networking opportunities, while the firm also has career development coaches on hand to help attorneys navigate their options.

Akin is recognized as an Excellent Performer for Career Development in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Culture

“There is a warmth to most folks here,” one source said of the culture, before noting that “individuals are caring and interested in your development and success.” Other sources agreed that “somebody who is motivated, willing to raise their hand and volunteer for projects, and takes ownership of their work” will always be able to fit right in. As one attested, “it’s BigLaw, so it’s demanding at times, but people are pleasant to work with, which makes it a heck of a lot more manageable.”

When it’s time to down tools, “people get along and have other interests, and engage beyond the substantive work.” For example, one divulged, “a group of the partners have a band, who will email the practice saying ‘come to this bar tonight and see my Green Day cover band play,’ and it’s always a fun event.” On that note, you’d have to be an American Idiot (or maybe just destined for the Boulevard of Broken Dreams) to pass up on all the official firm socials on offer. Regular events in the diary include sponsored galas and seasonal holiday parties, as well as the breakfasts and happy hours which the associate and counsel committee puts on throughout the year.

Akin is recognized as a Strong Performer for Culture in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Hours & Compensation

Billable hours: 1,850 target

In order to be bonus eligible, associates are required to hit 1,950 hours, although there is a general target of 1,850. The overarching target was deemed to be “pretty achievable” by associates, especially as it can be made up of uncapped pro bono, up to 75 hours of client development, and up to 100 firm citizenship hours (including mentoring, participating in the summer program, and helping with general counsel matters). Sources detailed how “each month we get a capacity report which outlines what you need to hit your [market-level] bonus, and the hourly requirement; it’s transparent.”

As for hours, sources described billing around 40 hours or more weekly on average. Although they noted that this is subject to fluctuations, with busier periods of closings and filings requiring later stints and weekend work on occasion, one shared that “if it’s not absolutely necessary to ruin your weekend, they don’t. People here have lives and kids, and understand you are a person too, so expectations are reasonable with deadlines.” Associates are expected to be in the office three days a week and generally appreciated this arrangement, with one noting that “it’s nice to have that flexibility.”

Akin is recognized as an Excellent Performer for Benefits & Quality of Life in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Pro Bono

“This is where we really shine… You can do as much as you’d like, and the infrastructure to support it is huge.”

“This is where we really shine,” an insider told us, beaming. “You can do as much as you’d like, and the infrastructure to support it is huge.” Specifically, there is a dedicated pro bono partner backed up by support staff, who ensure that a weekly pro bono digest lands in attorneys’ inboxes outlining recent achievements and available projects. According to one junior, “it’s almost too easy! You can scroll and click to join, and also talk to associates and partners to join that way.” Opportunities include shorter-term commitments such as conducting housing clinics, as well as assisting with criminal justice cases such as expungements, and matters involving veterans, small businesses, and civil rights. Associates are encouraged to hit at least 20 hours annually, with those who do receiving a sticker on their office door in recognition, while those who reach the 60 hour milestone are eligible for awards at the end of the year; this contributes to associates’ sense that pro bono is “celebrated” and “taken very seriously.” Not only is it rewarding work, but “you get a lot of direct, hands-on experience early,” a litigator explained.

Pro bono hours

• For all US attorneys: 74,627
• Average per US attorney:88

Akin is recognized as The Elite for Pro Bono in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Inclusion

Sources were quick to praise the firm’s inclusion efforts, saying that “there is a strong commitment” to these programs and that “people feel comfortable and welcomed.” Akin hosts a variety of firm-wide resources groups (FRGs), which bring together colleagues for engagement and education. Open to everyone in the firm’s community, current FRGs include the Asian FRG, the LatinX FRG, the Black FRG, and the Out & Allied FRG.  Juniors also praised the community it builds, saying “It’s nice to be know not just those outside of your practice but firmwide.” The firm frequently holds events for Black History and AAPI months, as well as holiday celebrations such as Diwali and in-office trick or treating hosted by the Parents and Caregivers group. Family-friendly events like the last of these helped some associates to feel that “becoming a partner here is as sustainable as it gets,” with one reflecting that “BigLaw is BigLaw, but when I look up to the partners in my group, all of them have families and work hard. It is inspiring to see them do that, and it makes me feel that I can do the same.”

Get Hired 

The first stage: recruitment on and off campus   

OCI applicants interviewed (2025): 0 

Interviewees outside OCI (2025): 171 

Akin encourages students to apply directly through the Firm website. 

During initial interviews, we focus on identifying candidates with strong analytical abilities, clear and thoughtful communication skills, and a sincere interest in our practice. Our questions are designed to assess whether applicants embody Akin’s core values—being future-focused, diversity-minded, dedicated to excellence, service-oriented, and collaborative. 

Top tips for this stage:  

“Even if someone is ridiculously qualified, it’s taken very seriously if they wouldn’t work well with others and fit the culture of the firm.” – a third-year associate  

Callbacks  

Applicants invited to second stage interview (2025): 136 

During callback interviews, candidates typically meet with four attorneys in a series of one-on-one conversations. We thoughtfully tailor those meetings based on each student’s expressed interests, pairing them with lawyers across different seniority levels and practice areas to ensure they gain a broad, authentic perspective on the firm. 

The callback process is also an opportunity for candidates to demonstrate genuine interest in Akin and in practicing in Big Law more broadly. We encourage students to draw on specific experiences to illustrate how their skills and goals align with our work. The most successful interviews feel like substantive conversations—candidates come prepared with thoughtful questions that reflect meaningful research on the firm and their interviewers. 

Top tips for this stage:  

“Take time to do your research and get to the know firm and its practice areas before your callback interview.” – a second-year associate   

Summer program    

Offers (2025): 62 

Acceptances (2025): 237 

Summers have the opportunity to take on substantive assignments aligned with their individual interests. The process is coordinated by a dedicated team of attorneys who meet with summers weekly to discuss workflow and identify projects that match their goals. Summers who wish to be more enterprising can also seek out assignments directly through the connections they make in the office. 

Our comprehensive mentoring structure is designed to ensure every summer feels supported. From mentor pods and small-group mentors to first-year buddies and more organic connections, summers have consistent access to our attorneys. Feedback is ongoing and informal throughout the program, complemented by structured mid-summer and end-of-summer evaluations. 

The program also features a wide range of social, service, and wellness events that reflect our culture. Highlights include cooking experiences—from friendly cooking battles, food experiences at Eataly, to a New York City food tour with influencers Sister Snacking—as well as volunteer initiatives such as our firmwide Community Service Day and The Great Sandwich Race with Grassroots Grocery. Wellness programming has included lunch breaks with puppies from The Good Dog Foundation and fitness classes both in and outside the office. And, of course, summer traditions wouldn’t be complete without a Mets, Astros, or Nationals game, a stop at a Broadway show, or a casino-themed evening. 

Top tips for this stage:  

“Equally important with work is getting to know people so you have relationships in place; they organize a lot of events structured around introducing you to the firm’s attorneys.” – a second-year associate

“Our summer program is designed to give students a real sense of what it means to build a career here—through meaningful work and close mentorship. We want our summer associates to leave not only with strong legal experience, but with a clear understanding of how they can thrive and grow at the firm.” – Parvin Moyne, Firmwide Hiring Partner. 

And finally…   

Associates say that when it comes to hiring at Akin, everyone’s opinion matters: “Obviously partners have more authority but there needs to be buy-in from the associates as well as the recruiting team. I’ve been in meetings where people are discussing candidates, and even if all the partners like someone and they have great grades, that person won’t get an offer if very few associates and recruiting does not agree.” 

Interview with Abid Qureshi, Co-Chair

Commercial strategy, market position and trends

Chambers Associate: How would you define your firm’s current position and identity in the legal market? What differentiates your firm from your peer firms in the market?

Abid Qureshi: We’re coming off a very strong year at Akin. We’ve had robust lateral partner and associate headcount growth, and we’re in a position of strength across all our core practices. When you think about our firm, in addition to our extremely strong transactional practices, we’re obviously known in the market for our government facing presence primarily out of our D.C. office, both the trade and regulatory side as well as our lobbying & public policy practice. In addition, we have a strong presence in the Middle East where we have a long history of success. I would characterize where we are in the market as being in a position of strength right across the board in terms of all the practice groups at the firm. To add to that, when you talk about the identity of the firm, I do believe that culture has always been a point of strength. It’s a differentiator and it is important to all of us here, and therefore to me and my co-chair Daniel Walsh. We view it as a competitive advantage for us, both in terms of attracting new associates, counsel and partner talent to the firm, and retaining all of those people.

CA: Have there been any developments at the firm over the past year that you’d like law students to know about?

Qureshi: Law students should be aware that, like a lot of full-service law firms, we are in expansion mode. A couple of years ago we opened Boston, and recently we launched in Chicago as well as Riyadh. We started in Chicago in the real estate funds and infrastructure mergers and acquisitions (M&A) space, and very soon as we continue to grow that office it will come to mirror the firm as a whole. Those office openings benefit everybody, providing opportunities for everybody, even if you are student who is interviewing or even thinking about joining the firm in New York, Washington or Dallas. Riyadh is a significant development. We were one of the first firms in the UAE—we opened in Abu Dhabi almost 20 years ago; we have a long history of strength in the Middle East. I often say internally in connection with our launch in Riyadh that it’s an office that is going to impact every single practice group at the law firm. And so, if you’re a student thinking about where you want to begin in your legal career, doing it at a firm that has the breadth that we do, it makes for a more interesting career, more varied work and more collaboration with partners and associates across the law firm.

We promoted 12 new partners internally to the firm this year, and we have had one of our most robust, if not the highest lateral partner tally yet: 28 new lateral partners. With our internal promotions, we have 40 new partners, and that is a very healthy number. If you’re an associate looking ahead to the rest of your legal career or law student thinking about where to start your career, there is no question that kind of partner growth is a positive, because it just leads to more opportunity. Every one of the lateral partners that we add generates incremental demand, new and interesting work, and more opportunities.

CA: Are there any domestic or international events/trends that are affecting any of the firm’s practices at the moment? Are there any trends that you think are affecting the business of law firms more generally, and how is that playing out with your firm?

Qureshi: Certainly, artificial intelligence (AI) comes to mind although I would not call it a trend. It’s a strategic imperative of the law firm as a source of opportunity. We have an AI practice where we provide legal advice across a number of different areas to clients in AI and related sectors. In that sense it’s an opportunity, but also, how we and the industry as a whole use AI. We continue to invest a great deal of time and attention to training, not just our associates but our business services teams and all our lawyers, in how we use AI tools. It’s very important that law firms have robust internal training programs to go along with the growth of AI. We focus on it for all different levels, whether it’s our practice group benchmarks to ensure everybody is progressing or the academies we run for our associates and counsel. It’s important that it continues both in terms of how to use AI appropriately, but also in terms of the development of legal skills necessary to operate at the high level that we do.

We have rolled out Microsoft Copilot, and we have developed customized AI tools in a number of different areas to streamline and make the work that we do for our clients more efficient. From the perspective of law students and associates, it makes the time they spend more meaningful because they are able to spend it on higher value, more interesting and more demanding work, allowing the technology to take care of the repeatable, more commodity-like work. I view it as a positive because somebody like me had to go through years of document review, where scores of corporate lawyers spend endless weeks and months in conference rooms doing due diligence–that type of work is where AI has come into play to take that off the table is a significant deal as it allows associate time to be spent on higher value, more complex tasks. At the end of the day, I don’t think it will affect the services that we provide in that clients come to leading law firms like ours because of very thorny and very important legal and strategic issues that they face, but it will make us more efficient in terms of how we deliver those services.

CA: What is your firm’s commercial strategy focusing on, and how do you expect the next year to unfold?

Qureshi: We really have gone from strength to strength throughout 2025 across all our practice groups, and we expect that trend to continue into 2026.

Inside the Firm

CA: How is the firm evolving to accommodate the needs/expectations of the next generation of lawyers?

Qureshi: In multiple ways, one is flexibility. By flexibility, I mean where people work, and while we do have an in-office policy, we recognize that people want more flexibility today, and they have that here. At the same time, it’s about finding the right skills and relationships and mentors in order to progress and succeed. We’ve struck the right balance with that, and beyond that investing heavily in training. We have both general expectations as associates move up the ranks; we call it our ‘Akin Client Excellence’ framework, which clearly defines expectations for associates and counsel at different levels of seniority. We effectively have the same framework at practice group level, for skills that are specific to that practice. We have mentor and advisor programs that go along with that to ensure that everybody is developing the skills that they need, that is something we continue to invest heavily in. I talked about our culture earlier, and that is a critical part of all of this, as part of that we have a partner upward feedback program here as well where our associate and counsel have the opportunity to provide specific feedback to partners so that partners become better in terms of providing leadership, management and mentoring skills for the associates. So those are all the things that we are going to continue to focus on in the coming year.

The Legal Profession

CA: How do you predict the legal profession will change in the next five years? Are there any particular challenges the industry is facing?

Qureshi: The most talked about challenge is one we’ve already talked about, which is AI. There is no question that it is going to continue developing at speed, and that law firms are going to need to be very much on top of those developments, and ready to move quickly. Also, the industry has become much more competitive in terms of the war for talent, and that is something that I expect to continue. And so, when we are operating in the market where there’s so much movement between law firms, where partners are so mobile, it’s really important to have a culture that is both a place where lateral partners can thrive and a place where you can succeed in hanging on to talent. When I look at the year that we’ve had, we’ve been able to do exactly that, hang onto the people that we want and attract many new ones to the firm.

The Fun Bit

CA: Throwing it back to law school: it’s been a long day of classes and studying. What’s your go-to easy meal to have before you crash?

Qureshi: Pizza! It’s an easy one.

CA: What was the first concert you attended?

Qureshi: That’s funny; I just had that conversation with somebody. The first concert I ever attended was David Bowie. It was great, his Modern Love tour.

CA: Thinking about the ways in which the legal profession is developing, what is the one skill you have learnt in your career that you think is key for young attorneys to learn?

Qureshi: There is no such thing as a dumb question. It’s absolutely important when you are a young attorney, and you have to remember that law school teaches you how to think like a lawyer, how to write and how to research, but it teaches you pretty much nothing about the practice of law. So when you arrive at a law firm and you’re thrown into some transaction in the private equity (PE) space, a restructuring or whatever it may be, and all kinds of acronyms are flying around the room, it is really helpful to speak up and say I don’t know what that means, if you don’t then the conversation will continue and you will be clueless, and so that skill of just being able to say in the middle of a meeting with a dozen people that somebody needs to explain what that acronym means or explain how this is working, is a really important skill.