Akash SethiDiversity and Inclusion Champion: Akash Sethi, McGuireWoods
Akash Sethi, a partner at McGuireWoods, is one of only a handful of minority attorneys who serve as office managing partners at Am Law 50 firms in…
September 03, 2019 at 01:00 AM
2 minute read
Akash Sethi, a partner at McGuireWoods, is one of only a handful of minority attorneys who serve as office managing partners at Am Law 50 firms in Dallas. Having served as managing partner since the office's inception in 2014, Sethi has built the office from the ground up, with diversity and inclusion always top of mind.
Under his guidance as lead lawyer for hiring in Dallas, 40% of new lawyers and 66% of summer associates brought into the office since 2018 are diverse.
Sethi also participates in several firmwide diversity initiatives, including serving on the firm's Asian Pacific Lawyer Affinity Network, which is designed to provide a venue to discuss and resolve issues that Asia Pacific lawyers face and enhance their business and career development. He also actively mentors associates through both the firm's first-year associate and diverse mentoring programs.
What is one thing law firms can do immediately to help improve diversity and inclusion within their organizations?
Provide meaningful forward facing client and firm leadership opportunities to diverse attorneys.
What is one piece of advice you would give someone that you wish you had starting out?
Seek and cultivate mentorship. The person does not have to look like you to be a great mentor. Mentorship moves in both directions so be an active participate. Try to be a mentor to others.
Name an important opportunity you got early in your career and what you did with it.
I was blessed very early in my legal career with partners who were willing to take the time to teach me and provide mentorship. I tried to avail myself of their experience at every opportunity. This included taking the time on my own (and off the clock) to review and try to understand mark-ups of substantive legal documents and prepare lists of questions to discuss with them.
An awards ceremony will be held on Sept. 18 at the Belo Mansion in Dallas. The Attorney of the Year award winner will be announced at the ceremony.
Click here for booking information. For information about sponsoring the event, contact Andre Sutton at 757-721-9020 or email [email protected].
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Vinson & Elkins' Veteran Pro Bono Counsel on How Needs Could Change After the Election
7 minute read
Campaign for Judge: 2 San Antonio Justices Compete for Same Seat in Election
7 minute read
Harris County Vote 2024: Mediator Bruce Bain Challenges Judge Ursula Hall
4 minute read
Harris County Justice Meg Poissant Is in Election Race With GOP's Brad Hart
4 minute readTrending Stories
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
