Hunton Andrews Kurth’s HAKathon Aims to Reshape the Summer Associate Experience

Aspiring lawyers from around the country gathered this past summer in New York, to face a panel of representatives from leading, global corporations in search of their next legal service provider. Their task: to convince these prospective clients that Hunton Andrews Kurth is the partner they can count on to deliver innovative, collaborative solutions to complex business challenges.

The future lawyers—summer associates participating in Hunton Andrews Kurth’s annual HAKathon—presented to “client” panels composed of Managing Partner Sam Danon, Chief Growth Officer Wally Martinez and Partner Serena Mentor. Presentations were judged on their ability to exemplify Hunton Andrews Kurth’s dedication to client service and the firm’s cultural values, while also addressing the client’s business needs and concerns about pricing and matter management.

“We strive for our summer associate program to provide a pragmatic education about the law firm as a business,” said Rudene Mercer Haynes, who serves as a firmwide hiring partner for Hunton Andrews Kurth. “A lawyer’s individual success and the collective success of the firm depend upon both a commitment to being responsive to the needs of our clients and cultivating sophisticated business development skills.”

As the marquee event of Hunton Andrews Kurth’s summer associate program, the HAKathon serves as a platform for participants to demonstrate their legal acumen and a business development skillset that is often underdeveloped in law school yet equally critical to a lawyer’s success.

Facilitating a blend of collaboration and individual exploration, the HAKathon is also designed to expose summer associates to practice areas they might not otherwise consider, as they embark on their careers.

“I liked the way the HAKathon was structured,” said a summer associate in the firm’s New York office. “It was a lot of work that involved real research, and it pushed you out of your comfort zone. I really liked that we gained experience with different practice groups than the ones we were hired to work in.”

At the beginning of the summer, participants were split into seven teams and assigned a client for whom they were charged with creating a business development pitch centered around a given practice area of need. Each team was supervised by members of the firm’s marketing and business development staff who served as coaches, as well as a client relationship partner.

“I think [our mentors] were instrumental from the get-go, pushing us in the right direction,” said a summer associate in the firm’s Richmond office. “They were a good resource to bounce ideas off of as we didn’t have a lot of experience doing business development.”

One of the clients, a major food and beverage brand, was a company of focus for this year’s HAKathon. Summer associates assigned to this client team were asked to develop a pitch demonstrating Hunton Andrews Kurth’s strength and experience advising on environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters.

During their presentation, the client team addressed the changing legal landscape surrounding the circular economy of packaging and bottling, climate and decarbonization issues, and supply chain and risk management considerations. The team then presented realistic solutions Hunton Andrews Kurth could offer to these real-world challenges.

Another team assigned to a major energy company was asked to present ways in which Hunton Andrews Kurth could provide comprehensive labor and employment counsel and enhanced client service. In their strategic legal proposal, the summer associates pointed to a history of collaboration between Hunton Andrews Kurth and the client.

The team provided tailored examples of how the firm’s labor and employment group could complement existing legal services the firm was providing the client on compliance, energy transition and workforce management matters.

A summer associate in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office described the HAKathon as a unique and advantageous opportunity to learn from the firm’s business development team about the basics of client acquisition and practice area growth strategy.

The HAKathon stands out as a model of collaborative and progressive legal education. The program’s combination of practical challenges, team-building exercises and professional development opportunities aspires to set a new standard for summer associate programs.

Unanimously, the firm’s summer associates expressed enthusiasm for the HAKathon as a means of bridging the gap between an academic law school education and the demands of the legal profession.

"I learned a lot during the HAKathon by getting to do different, practical things,” said a summer associate in the firm’s Miami office. “It felt like I was working in a legal workspace as an actual legal professional.”