Akima joined Hogan Lovells in 2021 as a partner. She has a long history of work on diversity, equity and inclusion matters over the last 15 years including as a Committee member of the Black Solicitors Network’s City Group, and founder of Creating Pathways, a bespoke mentoring programme for black and minority lawyers. She plays a pivotal role on D&I matters at Hogan Lovells. She supports the Co-Chairs of the REAHL Network (a network established for the successful integration and promotion of ethnically diverse lawyers and staff) as a Partner Champion. She sits on the firm’s Steering Committee for Black History Month. She is a Mentor on the firm’s INCLUDED trainee mentoring programme and serves on the firm’s Moderation Panel for qualification of trainee solicitors, ensuring fairness on retention on beyond. She has been instrumental in amplifying the firm’s pro bono offering for the Black Community including on Windrush Compensation claims. She has been listed in The Lawyer Hot 100 2022 and was the BBBA Senior Leader of the Year in Professional Services in 2022. Akima also blogs on diversity and inclusion issues in her weekly #FrIDay blog on Linked In. Some of her contributions have been amplified in Legal Business, Bloomberg News and The Lawyer.