Despite firms' efforts, associates struggle with remote work

Porter Wright's Bide Akande was interviewed for the article, "Despite firms' efforts, associates struggle with remote work," which was published by Law360 Pulse on March 19, 2021. The publication interviewed associates about their career and mentoring opportunities during COVID-19.

"The last year for a lot of associates was really difficult," said Bide Akande, a litigation associate at Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP. "A lot of associates, we had a lot of anxiety when the pandemic first started. But [Porter Wright] almost immediately recognized a lot of the difficulties ... and started a bunch of different programs that were catered towards alleviating those pressures."

Porter Wright started having weekly meetings with associates and communicating that associates were valued, he said. It also launched a new mentorship initiative where associates were able to list five attorneys from across the firm they would like to work with, and the firm facilitated those connections to help associates develop a "mentor village."

A lot of the matters he and his colleagues have worked on for the past year have come out of those relationships, Akande said.