Akin Gump’s Eric Muñoz, Houston Office Get Houston Business Journal Diversity Awards

(Houston) – Akin Gump is proud to share that, in its Diversity in Business Awards 2022, Houston Business Journal recognized partner Eric Muñoz and the firm’s Houston office.

At a ceremony held today at the Journal’s 2022 Diversity in Business Awards luncheon, Mr. Muñoz was honored as an Outstanding Diversity Champion, and the Houston office was recognized in the category Outstanding Diverse Organizations, Medium companies (100-499 employees).

The Outstanding Diverse Organizations recognition identifies for-profit or nonprofit organizations that have contributed to harnessing diversity within their workforces and actively taken the lead to promote and champion the business case for diversity within the community or their industries.

The Outstanding Diversity Champion award recognizes individuals who have shown outstanding initiative to promote diversity and inclusion either within the community or their for-profit and nonprofit organizations, making a positive difference in others’ lives through contributions to social justice, equality and diversity.

Mr. Muñoz was one of four Diversity Champions selected for a Q&A, from which the following highlights were excerpted:

• Why is diversity important?: “I believe that diverse viewpoints and ideas lead to better outcomes. We all have our own set of experiences, education, upbringing and understanding that we bring to whatever it is we are doing…By encouraging input from folks with diverse viewpoints and experiences, I think we decrease the likelihood that we miss out on something and increase the chances of a better result.”
• How to boost/sustain diversity?: “The legal field is still struggling with diversity. As a firm we have to continue to focus on finding talent from diverse communities to provide encouragement for those that are coming up through law school or thinking about going to law school. And once we find the talent, we need to encourage and foster it, while understanding that different people and different communities may approach situations differently and relate in different ways.”
• Proudest D&I accomplishments?: “We have done a lot in our office and in our firm to encourage and foster diversity, including mentoring, education and recruiting, but for me the most encouraging moments have been increasing awareness and generating conversation about events and circumstances that people don’t always have an appreciation for and which often leads to a greater appreciation of different cultures and experiences.”

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 900 lawyers in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

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