Posted In: LawVision News
Don Akins – In Memoriam
We are deeply saddened to report that our dear friend and valued colleague Don Akins passed away after a brief illness on June 9, 2016. Don will be missed greatly by our firm, his friends, family and the greater legal community.
Don’s work with law firms and lawyers spanned more than 40 years. He was one of a small group of pioneers who built the law firm consulting industry. He spent most of his career with Hildebrandt International and was a past president of the Association of Legal Administrators. Over the past few years he was a senior advisor to The LawVision Group’s clientele, where he focused his efforts on serving as a trusted advisor to law firm leaders, including Managing Partners and members of the Executive Leadership teams. He also continued to serve as a mentor and invaluable resource to all of our consultants.
Don will be be missed, but his spirit and energy will live on in everything we do.
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So sad to hear about the passing of Don. He was a great man, a friend and mentor, and probably one of the hardest working people on the planet.
Don was a wonderful person – he was one of the most important mentors I ever had and I will miss him dearly.
Very saddened to hear of Don’s passing. He was a wonderful man and of great help to our law firm many many years ago.
On behalf of the Association of Legal Administrators, we are sadden to hear of Don’s passing. His contributions to the legal industry and in particular to the early years of the development of the ALA were critical to the legal management profession. He certainly has been one of the early pioneers for the profession, and his contributions will be recognized for many years to come.
Teresa Walker
Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP
Immediate Past President of the Association of Legal Administrators
I could not agree more with, or better articulate, the preceding comments. With respect to Don’s contributions as a mentor, it is always the highest display of integrity when a professional consultant designs services to educate the client on not only substance but also the “know-how” aspect, so that the client can continue efforts in the future without necessarily needing outside help every time. Don Akins and Brad Hildebrandt literally invented the law firm consulting profession. Those of us who have been their clients have truly “walked with Giants.” I can only add that Don was even more than a trusted advisor and teacher. He was a true friend.
He was a good friend and trusted advisor to Ward and Smith’s leadership for decades. I worked with him for the past 11 years in my role at the firm. He always told it like it was. I appreciated his frankness because it came with a genuine interest in our success. He praised what we did well and helped us with what needed to be improved. His knowledge of our history and culture was outstanding. He just worked with us on a project last fall and recommended his partner, Sylvia Coulter, to us who will visit us next week. We will miss him, but look forward to continuing our relationship with the fine folks at Law Vision Group.