Ackneil M. Muldrow III, Esq.

Partner
Akin Gump Strauss
Hauer & Feld L.L.P.,
New York City

Ackneil M. ?Trey? Muldrow III began his career in corporate law just months after graduating from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1995. Since then, he has served as lead counsel on a range of U.S. and international transactions ? from public and private mergers, acquisitions and divestitures to joint ventures, strategic alliances and restructurings.

Five years ago, he became a partner in the mergers and acquisitions service of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld L.L.P., one of the world?s largest law firms.

?I found corporate law appealing because I enjoy the art of negotiating and bringing people together in order to complete a transaction,? he remarks.

As a partner, Muldrow, who is popularly known as Trey, is responsible for developing new business and for guiding junior attorneys up the professional ladder. Watching a young attorney grow from limited duties to tackling more complicated tasks and eventually managing clients on his or her own is extremely rewarding, he says. Myriad opportunities for success exist for minority attorneys ? both today?s junior attorneys and those aspiring to be lawyers ? as long as they stay on the often tortuous path of success, he contends.

?Nothing that you find really meaningful will come easy. You have to go through frustrations sometimes to realize the success that you seek,? he says. ?Frustration is part of the process and it builds you.?

In addition to a law degree from the University of Virginia, Muldrow earned a bachelor?s degree from Princeton University?s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 1992. He volunteers with Youth About Business, a program for students ages 10 to 18 that teaches them how to become effective leaders. He hopes to be more deeply involved in education one day, shaping educational policies and, in the classroom, inspiring future generations of lawyers.