Akerman Joins OnRamp Fellowship; Advances Careers for Women in Law
New York, New York (PRWEB) September 22, 2014 -- Akerman LLP, a top 100 U.S. law firm serving clients across the Americas, today announced it has expanded its national platform to advance diversity and promote careers for women lawyers by joining the OnRamp Fellowship program. The initiative matches experienced women lawyers returning to the profession after an extended hiatus with a select group of 15 national law firms for a one-year, paid position.
"We are very proud to be involved in the OnRamp Fellowship, a program that aims to increase gender diversity within the industry," said Andrew Smulian, Akerman Chairman and CEO. "The OnRamp Fellowship will benefit our clients and the firm, providing access to experienced, high-performing women lawyers who are returning to the practice of law."
OnRamp fellows are provided with a partner advisor, an external career counselor, unlimited online continuing legal education through the Practising Law Institute, and a variety of training from experts in negotiations, oral advocacy, social media, technology, project management and business development.
Women lawyers applying to the program must have at least three years of experience, possess excellent credentials and a strong desire to return to and advance in a law firm. The fellowship commitment is no less than one year. Participant law firms are expected to assign selected fellows high-level, complex work commensurate with their experience and training to help ease them back into practice.
Akerman has a long history of promoting diversity and inclusion measures among its lawyers and staff, as recognized by several prominent industry publications. The firm has recently advanced its ranking among the nation's leading law firms for diversity for a second consecutive year. The firm rose 10 spots to number 40 on The American Lawyer's annual Diversity Scorecard and ranked no. 6 in the U.S. for Hispanic lawyers in MultiCultural Law magazine, a testament to Akerman's ongoing hiring and professional development practices for a diverse group of men and women.
About Akerman LLP
Akerman LLP is a leading transactions and trial law firm known for its core strengths in middle market M&A, within the financial services and real estate industries, and for a diverse Latin America practice. With more than 600 lawyers and government affairs professionals and a network of 20 offices, it is ranked among the top 100 law firms in the United States by The National Law Journal NLJ 350 (2014). Akerman also is ranked among the top 50 law firms for diversity in The American Lawyer's Diversity Scorecard (2014).
More information can be found at akerman.com or twitter.com/akerman_law.
About OnRamp Fellowship
Created in January 2014 by lawyer recruitment, development and diversity veteran Caren Ulrich Stacy, the OnRamp Fellowship is a re-entry platform that matches experienced women lawyers returning to the profession with law firms for one-year, paid positions. This unique experiential learning program gives returning women lawyers — many of whom have opted out of the legal field for a period of time to raise children — an opportunity to demonstrate their value in the marketplace while also broadening their experience, skills and legal contacts. The goal of the fellowship is to replenish the talent pipeline in law firms with experienced women lawyers who have the potential and the desire to advance into leadership roles. Law firms that participate in the fellowship gain access to an untapped group of experienced, diverse lawyers who want to return to the profession but face unique challenges due to the law firms lockstep structure.
Visit http://www.OnRampFellowship.com for more information.
Marlisa Serrano, Akerman LLP, http://www.akerman.com, +1 3053494942, [email protected]
Share this article