Hunton Andrews Kurth Hosts Shark Tank-style Competition to Elevate Diversity and Inclusion, Engagement and Sense of Community Across Summer Associate Program

This summer, more than 40 Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP summer associates were challenged through a firm-wide “Hackathon” to develop a plan to improve junior associate engagement, inclusion and investment. This initiative is part of the firm’s overall effort to increase diversity and inclusion in the legal industry and foster engagement with the next generation of leaders.

“While Hackathons are typically associated with computer coding, they are increasingly being used in other fields to brainstorm new ways to approach business related issues,” said Judith Itkin, Partner in Charge of Lawyer Recruiting and Development, Hunton Andrews Kurth. “Now in its second year, we have found this tool to not only foster increased interaction and build a sense of community for summer associates in what has been a widely remote working environment, but it has also provided us with innovative and insightful solutions that can be put into action for the benefit of the entire firm.”

This year’s challenge was to create a strategy to promote and sustain junior associate inclusion, engagement and satisfaction, focusing on the associate experience during the first four years of practice. Associates were encouraged to develop creative and aspirational ideas that could be reasonably attainable and easy to implement. Nine teams, each with five to six summer associates from offices across the country and led by a Hunton Andrews Kurth partner and associate, developed and presented solutions to three partners who served as judges.   

“An associate’s experience during their first several years of practice carries tremendous importance. Law firms invest considerable time and resources into their associates during this period and yet, associate retention remains a crucial issue throughout the legal industry,” said Rudene Mercer Haynes, a Firmwide Hiring Partner, Hunton Andrews Kurth. “Studies have shown that the driving factor behind this is not compensation, but rather the professional and personal relationships and other connections developed between the firm and associates, which is why we selected this particular challenge for the 2021 Hackathon.”

The 2021 winning ideas included strategies and processes to help create a greater sense of community and interaction among junior associates and mentors, offered more flexible hours and incentives, as well as ways to explore different practice areas. The process on how best to implement the 2020 winning ideas is underway and plans for the 2021 proposals will soon follow.

The firm’s first Hackathon, held last summer, challenged summer associates to develop proposals aimed at improving and sustaining diversity and inclusion within the firm and the legal profession. The 2020 event produced three winning teams selected by a vote of the judges and summer associates. The firm combined ideas recommended from several different presentations into two pilot pipeline programs aimed at recruiting diverse talent in the upcoming year. To execute the programs, Hunton Andrews Kurth developed two intergenerational steering committees consisting of members of the Executive Committee, hiring partners, managing partners, law school ambassadors and associates. Steering committees for both pilot programs have been working over the past six months to plan the rollout in the fall of 2021 at several law schools across the country.