#058: Abigail Kohlman - Investigations Lawyer with Extensive Pro Bono Practice

How I Lawyer Podcast with Jonah Perlin

In this episode I speak with Abigail Kohlman who is a Counsel at Akin Gump in its Washington D.C. Office. Abby’s practice focuses on representing corporate and individual clients in internal and government-facing investigations including criminal, congressional, and regulatory proceedings. She also has experience counseling clients in a variety of white collar defense matters, representing companies and individuals in a broad range of congressional inquiries, and trial experience in federal and state courts.

In addition to this work, she maintains an extensive pro bono practice. She started as an Akin Gump Pro Bono Scholar and initiated Akin Gump's Pro Bono Parole Representation Project, which was recently awarded an Outstanding Achievement Award by the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. A regular listener who recommended Abby for the show described her as someone who is supportive of juniors lawyer and who has an incredible “ability to spearhead massive pro bono projects while maintaining a super demanding billable practice.” She is a graduate of Cornell University and Georgetown Law.

In our conversation we discuss her somewhat surprising path to Big Law, what it means to be an investigations lawyer and how to stand out in that practice, securing and succeeding as a summer associate, choosing a practice area, the importance of doing pro bono work and how to make time for it, and more.

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