Mentoring 101 - practicepro.ca

1 Mentoring 101 Ability and drive provide only part of theanswer. What often sets these lawyersapart is that they have acquired the skillsand wisdomto more effectively applythe information and knowledge that alllawyers share. Some acquire it through the school of hard knocks. Others havebeen guided by a more experiencedlawyer either inside or outside their firm and often have become more successfulmore have benefited from Mentoring : theprocess of passing on skills and wisdom. What is a mentor? Mentors can be friends, colleagues,teachers or complete strangers, who typi-cally have more experience in a relevantarea. The Mentoring relationship can be formal, with set roles, responsibilitiesand expectations, such as those found inthe associate Mentoring programs oflarger law firms.

2 More often than not, therelationship is informal, with the mentoracting as a sounding board for the lessexperienced practitioner. Mentors typicallyplay four complementary, overlapping roles: Coach show how to carry out a taskor activity; Facilitator create opportunities forlearners to use newly acquired skills; Counsellor help mentees explore theconsequences of potential decisions; Networker refer mentees to otherswhen their own experience is example, a mentor can help the menteelearn a new way to tackle a problem bychallenging the mentee s workingassumptions, and encouraging theexploration of new solutions often withthe assistance of other senior do we need Mentoring ?Mentees gain very personal, highly effec-tive, real-world legal training that comeswith the added benefit of the experienceof the mentor.

3 Networking opportunitiesenhance the mentee s professional andpersonal growth. They interact with moresenior members of the bar from whomthey otherwise might be isolated. Thisbreaking down of barriers means juniorcounsel get more diversity in their experi-ence and more opportunity to present theirabilities directly to those who couldaffect their career also benefit and not onlythrough the personal satisfaction thatcomes with giving back to the professionor repaying a debt if they themselveswere once mentored. For the senior lawyer, Mentoring is another way of s new lawyer could one day be ajunior partner whose skills you may needto rely on for a future file. Firms mentor togroom juniors and evaluate their abilities,with an eye to making them a partnersome day.

4 But equally important are the very practical,risk management aspects of today s practice climate, the risks ofbeing sued are very real. And the reality ofclaims is that it is a breakdown of thelawyer-client relationship not actualerrors or a lack of knowledge of law thatis the single largest cause of claims. Howdo juniors learn about non-technicalaspects of lawyering about necessitiessuch as proper file management, clientcommunication, and situation handling,none of which can be found in a book orarticle? These skills and wisdom are onlyavailable from a in the profession is another con-cern and an underlying cause of juniors appreciate the potentialconsequences of a sharply worded letter,coaching juniors on how to conductthemselves in a civil manner in court or inmeetings, fostering respect for the profes-sionalism of the opponent: These are the skills that a mentor can best teach forthe benefit of the mentee and the profes-sion as a whole.

5 Mentors also say that Mentoring sharpenstheir own risk management skills. By help-ing others to manage the risks of practisinglaw and determine the procedures andtools to use, mentors discover that mentor-ing is often a refresher in law, strategiesand is a win-win situation. Thementees gain new skills and gain insight into their own abilitiesand get the satisfaction that comes froma sense of giving back to the can help reduce claims, whichbenefits both the individual and the pro-fession, and it contributes to a betterpractice Claims Examiner David Clark is astrong proponent of Mentoring and isinvolved with an LPIC Mentoring initiativein which he mentors junior counsel workingon LPIC files at several law read the same books and refer to the same body oflaw.

6 So why is one lawyer more successful than another financially, personally and professionally? 2002 Lawyers Professional Indemnity Company. This article originally appeared in LAWPRO Magazine Focus on Mentoring , April 2002. It is available at