Akerman never want to lose that entrepreneurial feel
Akerman has flourished over the past two decades, broadening its horizons and rapidly growing to a team of more than 700 lawyers in 25 offices across the USA - nine of which are located in Florida. The scope of the firm’s experience and capabilities has expanded to serve clients across the country and around the world. Now ranked among the largest and most prestigious law firms in the country, Akerman delivers comprehensive counsel with nationally recognized client service. As Partner Megan Costa DeLeon explains, Akerman's entrepreneurial mindset has also seen it embrace global collaboration across the Lex Mundi network.
It all started in the Sunshine State of Florida, back in the 1920s. Originating in Orlando, the founding partners of Akerman LLP had a wealth of banking and real estate expertise. And when a certain filmmaker came to town, the firm was instrumental in many of the landfill and infrastructure deals that brought Walt Disney World to life.
By the year 2000, Akerman had expanded throughout the State of Florida, including in Miami, an economic centre and a gateway to Latin America. This broadened the firm’s horizons, leading to a rapid spell of domestic growth. It also encouraged the firm to embrace the benefits offered by Lex Mundi’s global network – to date it has worked with Lex Mundi firms from every continent where Lex Mundi member firms are located and regularly interacts with Lex Mundi colleagues from jurisdictions across the world.
The depth of our practices across the country are a differentiator for us, and the quality of our lawyers is second to none
Megan Costa DeLeon Partner
A Business Mindset
For Megan Costa DeLeon, a young law and business graduate embarking on her career following graduate school, this ambitious outlook would prove a draw. After joining Akerman in 2002, she’s remained with the law firm ever since, building her specialist field in litigation and working her way from a first year associate to a member of Akerman's Board of Directors.
As a leader at Akerman and a trusted counselor to business executives, owners, entrepreneurs, and investors, Megan Costa DeLeon understands the business mindset. “It is an honor to be that go-to resource for my clients – that first call they make when they encounter challenges and opportunities, and to be the person to address questions or concerns that arise as clients go about running their businesses. Sometimes the clients just need a sounding board; sometimes, they need a relentless advocate. It is my job to provide that balance.”
With the full-service platform of Akerman and the worldwide reach of the Lex Mundi network, when clients need help, Megan marshals the resources to meet the need. “The law is a people business and you have to have that perspective, that mindset, to listen to your clients, assess their needs, assemble the right team, develop and implement a plan of action, and then guide every stakeholder through the process. The goal is not to just solve the problem or capitalize on the opportunity – it’s to exceed their expectations. You do that by seeing the world through your clients’ eyes and applying the skills and resources we have through our experience and our network to achieve their goals.”
As a member of Akerman’s Board of Directors and leader of its Lex Mundi relationship, Megan has played an active role in Akerman’s tremendous growth into one of the largest firms in the United States. “We grow to meet the needs of our clients and build on Akerman’s strengths across its core practice areas, including corporate, litigation, real estate, tax, bankruptcy, consumer financial services, healthcare, government affairs, and intellectual property. The depth of our practices across the country are a differentiator for us, and the quality of our lawyers is second to none.”
“A great attribute of Akerman is its entrepreneurial culture. We grow with our clients, we expand our capacity to serve them, and we know our clients' businesses like our own,” says Megan. “At the end of the day, it’s a privilege to be a trusted resource and to support our clients in whatever way we can. Law is a people business and our goal is to help people solve problems, grow their businesses, and be successful.”
The more you put in, the more you get out, and being an active part of that global Lex Mundi network is really powerful in terms of our credibility with clients working across jurisdictions.
Culture of enterprise
But has the rapid growth of Akerman over the past two decades threatened that entrepreneurial mindset? “Not at all,” says Megan. “It’s encouraged it. Rather than large acquisitions or mergers, growth has been carefully managed and largely organic. We also ensure a lot of inter-connectivity between offices so that we’re talking and collaborating with each other all the time. As a result, the culture has remained true and intact.”
Akerman’s ambitions today are simple: maintain and grow. “It’s all about continued organic growth,” says Megan. “We look for markets that offer opportunities or areas we can bring an even better service to our clients.”
There are challenges of course – and Akerman is far from alone in finding talent acquisition tougher in the post-Covid era. But Megan believes that the firm’s enterprising attitude positions it well for navigating the uncertainties of today and tomorrow – as does its relationship with Lex Mundi, a partnership which has been growing for more than two decades.
Knowledge, confidence, and credibility
“I’ve been involved with Lex Mundi since 2012, and I’ve been on the Lex Mundi board for the past three years,” says Megan. “We see a lot of membership benefits for Akerman. The ability to network and collaborate with our peers across the world is invaluable. It means we can bring together an international team across multiple jurisdictions in a seamless and really efficient manner. That’s a very appealing proposition for our clients.
“The professional development and leadership programs are also excellent for building knowledge, confidence, and credibility.
“Something that has also helped us is that we are proactive and take leadership roles within Lex Mundi, and I don't think the value of that should be understated,” adds Megan. “The more you put in, the more you get out, and being an active part of that global Lex Mundi network is really powerful in terms of our credibility with clients working across jurisdictions.”