Inside Akin Gump's New York Office by Kaitlin Ugolik

Inside Akin Gump's New York Office By Kaitlin Ugolik

Law360, New York (September 15, 2014, 4:46 PM ET) -- If walking into Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP's office in the Bank of America Tower feels like walking onto a movie set, that's because it is. The firm's wide, sleek lobby with sweeping views of Manhattan served as the office of Jim Carrey's character in the 2011 film "Mr. Popper's Penguins" and is frequently in demand by television and movie producers.

The lobby, with its near-panoramic view and extra-long, conversation-starting couch, has played host to many a celebrity from Carrey to former President Bill Clinton, and the exterior of the building itself, at 1 Bryant Park, is featured prominently in the HBO show "The Newsroom."

And it’s in Akin’s New York office that many a law firm star has been born; Estela Diaz, a labor and employment, securities and white collar partner in the nearly new office, recently won the title of the firm’s Pro Bono Partner of the Year for her work with The Bronx Defenders, a legal and social work support group for needy Bronx residents.

And capital markets and M&A partner Kerry Berchem was recognized in December by Law360 as a Female Powerbroker for her role as co-head of the firm's corporate practice and member of the firm's management committee, roles she serves out of the New York office. Firm chair Kim Koopersmith, one of just seven female leaders among BigLaw firms, calls the New York office her home too.

It's easy to imagine the firm's digs inspire its attorneys to lofty heights.

Even as they enter the lobby on a regular day attorneys — and visitors — are treated to a spectacle, thanks in part to the fact that the Bank of America building is one of the tallest in the U.S.

“It's interesting to see guests' reactions,” said Trey Muldrow, a partner who focuses on mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance, adding that no matter the guest, the phone often comes out of the pocket for at least one picture, especially on clear, sunny days.

Though partners on the design committee had seen renderings of the office before move-in day in 2008, nothing could quite prepare them for the views and expansive space of the firm's new home.

“We ... had come up and viewed the slab of concrete before the walls were put in place, but we didn't really get a chance to see the finished product until a day or so before it opened,” Muldrow said. “It was very impressive and a dramatic change.”

Akin Gump had grown out of its space at 590 Madison Ave., where its nearly 200 attorneys occupied several noncontiguous floors. That setup was not conducive to the atmosphere the firm wished to create — one of creativity and collaboration that would help keep it at the top of the pack in commercial law.

Just as the Madison Avenue office was beginning to burst at the seams, Akin Gump was able to snag several floors of the Bank of America Tower as the building was being designed, giving the firm a unique opportunity to create its own digs.

Akin Gump focused resources on its two conference room floors, where it chose to install all-glass interior walls to capitalize on sunlight. The office's color scheme is natural and muted, with mahogany wood paneling and deep reds the predominant features, in an effort to create an aesthetic that is attractive without being “over the top,” according to Daniel Golden, the partner in charge of the firm's New York office and head of the New York financial restructuring practice group.

Though the firm plays host to Hollywood, it doesn’t want to seem flashy; Akin Gump would rather let its attorneys’ work speak for itself.

Led by attorney Michael Byrd out of Akin Gump’s Houston office, the firm guided two oil and gas deals worth $1 billion in July alone. The firm, which has its roots in Texas, also won a ruling against that state’s same-sex marriage ban in February, and is currently defending the decision before the Fifth Circuit.

“Clients don't want to think they're paying for the Taj Mahal, but they want to be in a place that's convenient and congenial and a good work space,” said Golden.

The firm did install a few special features in its New York office, including a cherry wood interior staircase that descends from the main lobby to the floor below, in what Golden said was a design feat, considering the lack of square corners in the office.

That's one of the most unique aspects of the space: Thanks to the design of the building itself, none of the exterior corners are right angles, and Akin Gump continued this theme in its interior, with rounded, oval conference rooms as well as tables and ceiling light fixtures that mimic the same shape.

The office is also unique in how environmentally friendly it is. Designed by BRB Architects, it achieved LEED Gold status for commercial interiors in 2009, becoming the first law firm in New York and the second in the U.S. to do so. The building itself is LEED Platinum.

In addition to optimizing natural light exposure on each floor, the building's heating and cooling system uses recycled water, much of it rainwater collected on the roof.

The firm aimed to use long-lasting materials in its build-out, and the result is a significant amount of granite and stone in the conference rooms and common areas, as well as some wood that it continues to refurbish.

This dedication to sustainability is in line with the firm's participation in the American Bar Association and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Law Office Climate Challenge, and reflects both the firm’s dedication to being ahead of the curve and serving as an example of best practices without showing off.

The very location of the building — so close to busy, tourist-filled Times Square — was a bit of a concern for some attorneys at first, but the Bank of America Tower's spot on Sixth Avenue benefits from the quieter atmosphere of Bryant Park. In the years since Akin Gump moved to the neighborhood, other firms have followed.

“Sixth Avenue has always been a big home for law firms, but we extended that south, and it has become a very popular neighborhood,” Golden said.

Currently, Akin Gump leases floors 41-46, housing its New York litigation team on the 41st and 42nd floors, with bankruptcy also taking space on the 42nd. The 45th floor is the corporate floor and the tax and funds attorneys reside on the 46th. The firm also has control of the 47th floor, which it has subleased for several years but may consider retrieving in the near future.

Other, more attorney office-focused changes, might soon be afoot as well, as Akin Gump adapts to the changing legal industry.

Golden said the firm has begun to rethink the idea of larger partner offices and double offices for associates. As Akin Gump has grown, these variations have presented a challenge, and as with many firms, it is beginning to question whether office size really matters.

The firm's Dallas office recently took a leap away from the traditional office layout, redesigning itself with more of a tech feel than that of a law firm, with communal work spaces in which individual attorneys can display their work on large monitors, as well as treadmill desks and more comfortable furniture. This setup is intended to foster collaboration and transparency, enabling attorneys to work better together and increase morale.

There are no plans to take quite as big a step away from tradition at the New York office, but the firm has commissioned an architect to help it establish how it might reposition its interior space.

Whatever changes the New York office endures and however many celebrities walk through its doors, though, attorneys stay grounded with the help of the words of one of its founders, Robert S. Strauss, which are displayed prominently on a conference room wall:

"Out in West Texas, they taught me not to stick my foot in 'it' without knowing what 'it' was. So I think I won't answer that question if you don't mind."

--Photography by Cara Salvatore. Editing by Jeremy Barker and Chris Yates.