The holiday season is a time to give thanks for the important things in your life. Loved ones, good health, and a safe home are commonly on Thankful Lists, as is a meaningful career.
Think back to the beginning of your career. What stands out? Many may cite endless hours of legal research, document review, and brief writing. While these are all essential tasks, they are not necessarily exciting or the reason you became a lawyer.
Now consider where you are today. How did you get there? Without a doubt, there were people who supported you along the way. These people were fundamental in your progression from the monotony of entry-level legal work to the areas you focus on today.
Consider the mentors, sponsors, and colleagues who provided you with advice, guidance, and feedback. These lawyers were your sounding boards, teachers of new skills, and openers of doors that led you to new opportunities.
This support was not likely part of their job description, but they gave it to you anyway.
Now, we ask that you consider giving back too.
Mentor a new lawyer
Since 2011, the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism has developed the curriculum and administered a Lawyer-to-Lawyer Mentoring Program. The Program has been used by more than 100 law firms, bar associations, corporations, government offices, and other organizations throughout the state to mentor thousands of attorneys in their first years of practice.
The Lawyer-to-Lawyer Mentoring Program matches new and more experienced lawyers for a one-year term grounded in legal professionalism. For example, mentors are encouraged to teach their mentees things like:
- How to effectively communicate with clients
- Tactics for analyzing and resolving ethical challenges
- Strategies for maintaining professionalism in highly charged workplaces
Mentors are also encouraged to introduce their mentees to the legal community by supporting them at networking events and familiarizing them with local bar associations or access to justice volunteer opportunities.
While mentees benefit from the mentoring experience, mentors can also improve their practices by gaining access to skills that their mentees were recently taught in law school, like legal research techniques and AI for legal practice.
Develop a strong pipeline of new lawyers
This holiday season, consider joining the thousands of Illinois lawyers who have given back to the legal profession by developing a strong pipeline of new lawyers.
The Lawyer-to-Lawyer Mentoring Program is free. And, importantly, mentors and mentees who complete the program earn six hours of professional responsibility CLE credit, including one hour in the area of diversity and inclusion and one hour in the area of mental health and substance abuse.
To get started:
- Review the eligibility requirements on the Commission’s website.
- Identify a Sponsoring Organization you are involved in and if they administer an open enrollment or in-house program. (Sponsoring Organizations use the Commission’s mentoring curriculum as the structure for their programs. A Sponsoring Organization may be your employer, law school, bar association, or another professional group.)
- If your Sponsoring Organization is an open enrollment program (e.g., bar association, law school), complete the applicable Mentoring Registration Form. If your Sponsoring Organization is an in-house program (e.g., law firm, government office), no registration is necessary, and your matching will be handled internally.
- Wait to hear from your Sponsoring Organization to be matched. Once matched, you will be ready to get started (see items 3 and 4 on the Commission’s Mentoring Eligibility Requirements page here).
Please contact the Commission’s Chief Counsel Mark Palmer (mark.palmer@2civility.org) with any questions.
Thank you for giving your time to support the next generation of lawyers.
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17th Judicial Circuit Aims to Elevate Civility as a ‘Cultural Norm’ Through Mentoring