Mentoring Resource

The D.C. Bar 执业管理谘询服务 seeks to encourage professional mentoring relationships between experienced and less–experienced lawyers to facilitate the transfer of valuable information and insight into the practice of law.

While legal theory and application can be learned during law school, many aspects of the legal profession must be learned in the workplace, 无论是私人执业, government service, 或者公司惯例. The mentor is encouraged to share experiences and provide counsel to less–senior colleagues on such topics as professionalism, 法律实务管理,专业发展, 从而成为一个值得信赖的顾问, advisor, and teacher. 从个人关系来看, 以信任和保密为特征的, 经验不足的澳门赌场官网, or "proteges", can learn what is truly expected of them by lawyers, partners, judges, and experienced opponents in the adversary system.

There are two types of mentoring programs within a professional setting—natural and planned. Planned mentoring occurs within a structured environment or program in which voluntary participants are screened and matched through a formal application process. In contrast, natural mentoring occurs through friendship and collegiality—more of a self-selection process.

The PMSC created a pilot "planned mentoring" program several years ago, but the results strongly indicated Bar members preferred a natural approach to mentoring. Therefore, 而不是扮演媒人的角色, the PMSC has designed this web page to assist lawyers in the establishment of their own fulfilling mentor relationships.

For the Mentor

• 塑造法律实践的未来
• 个人满足感
• 回馈职业
• 回顾自己的优点和缺点
• 向你的前任学习

For the Protégé

• Having a person to turn to with a substantive, procedure, or ethics question
• 学习法律实务
• 提高生产力和性能
• 提高声誉和专业水平
• 对技能的客观反馈
• 职业满意度提高

In the past, mentors usually chose proteges to help them climb the corporate ladder. Today, 门生往往更独立, seeking out a mentor or mentors whom they believe can be a successful match for their future. In turn, the mentor also benefits from the insight and understanding from the protégé–more of a reciprocal mentoring experience.

不匹配往往造就最好的匹配. Conventional wisdom once held that you and your mentor should have much in common to make for a successful relationship. However, the emerging thought in the new world of mentoring is to have a mentor with different skills and background to provide a refreshing and challenging learning experience rather than a confirmation of your existing knowledge.

Know what you want to accomplish in a mentoring relationship–career growth, lawyering skills, 平衡工作与生活, 增强专业, starting a practice, etc. Assess the contributions you can make to the mentoring relationship—what you have to offer the mentor. Define the reasons why someone would want to mentor you—why they should take the time to invest in your future. Share these at the appropriate time with your prospective mentor as you cultivate the relationship.

You may need several mentors throughout your legal career. Different lawyers have different knowledge and skills, just as you have differing needs over the course of your professional development. You may have several mentors at one time to help you with different aspects of practice, 或者你可能只有一个主要导师, with others who assist you on a less frequent basis.

Seek a person who is not in a supervisory relationship with you. Seek someone with whom you can have an open and honest dialogue without hesitation.

Do not be afraid to ask another lawyer to be your mentor. 如果你觉得更舒服的话, ask them to be a mentor for just one aspect of your practice, 比如试用技巧或客户开发.

You may already have someone you occasionally contact to answer questions about case procedures or your practice. 考虑让那个人成为你的导师.

Mentors are most often found through networking. Participate in professional activities to meet lawyers who may be willing to mentor. For D.C. 酒吧主办的活动，参观 在线活动日历.

Spend some time in court to observe other lawyers. If you observe a lawyer exhibit skills or demeanor that you admire, contact the lawyer. Send a note or letter. Invite the lawyer to a business lunch (your treat) to discuss commonalities. If the first meeting works, ask to schedule another.

Scan, LinkedIn, Martindale–Hubbell, or, other social media, online lawyer listings to find biographical information about lawyers who may have experience and characteristics you are trying to find in a mentor. See if they have information on a personal or law firm web page. D.C. 澳门赌场官网协会成员应考虑加入D.C. 领英上的酒吧群.

Join a 自愿澳门赌场官网协会 to find lawyers with similar interests or backgrounds.

Place an ad in your law school alumni newsletter. You need not give your name, but include some characteristics you are seeking in the mentor. 只提供工作单位的澳门赌场官网.

传统的指导是一对一的, but today small groups are often better able to meet the needs of lawyers. Consider forming a small group with one or two senior lawyers, 几位职业生涯中期的澳门赌场官网, and several lawyers in practice less than five years.

• The first few meetings should be initiated by the protegé, and scheduled as far in advance as possible to avoid conflicts. The mentor and the protegé should develop their own protocol for rescheduling meetings that are unavoidably postponed.
• Trust is the foundation of every successful mentoring relationship. As with any personal relationship, it takes time to build trust. Trust is built through open and honest sharing of troubles, successes, and life experiences. The mentoring relationship is perpetuated by honoring that trust and keeping the shared information confidential.
• 准备好参加会议. The protege should spend time before the meeting to consider questions he or she may have for the mentor. The mentor may also prepare for topics to be discussed.
• 设定要完成的现实目标. 你希望达到或学到什么? 跟踪每次会议的进展.
• Stay in touch between meetings using the telephone and email.
• The protegé should refrain from disclosing to the mentor any confidences or secrets of the protégé’s clients to which the duty of confidentiality applies, 如规则1所述.6 of the D.C. 职业行为准则. Any discussions between the mentor and protégé about substantive legal problems encountered by the protégé in the practice of law must always be on a hypothetical basis, to the extent those discussions relate to confidential client information under Rule 1.6.

Discussions between mentors and protegés may focus on general issues related to the legal profession and the practice of law, such as:

• 有效的澳门赌场官网/客户沟通
• 专业精神与法律伦理
• Law office management
• 实践和职业发展
• Balancing careers with family and personal lives
• 法律实践的转变和选择

The discussions may address substantive legal problems, subject to the ethical obligations discussed in Suggested Protocol area above. Also, both participants must recognize that the mentor is prohibited from giving legal advice to the protegé’s clients, and that it is the protegé’s professional responsibility to make all decisions about representation of the protegé’s clients on the basis of preparation independent of any discussions with the mentor.

• 参加最高法院的辩论
• 每月吃一次午餐
• Attend a CLE program
• 一起设计并呈现一个CLE课程
• Attend D.C. Bar functions, such as the annual dinner or golf tournament
• Tour the courthouse
• Invite one other lawyer to join you for breakfast to introduce to your mentor or protégé

• That it takes time to build a relationship of trust and respect; give the relationship a chance to form over the course of several or more meetings.
• Communicate early to try to understand expectations of both mentor and protégé.
• Mentoring is not designed to be a substitute for continuing legal education or to provide job hunting opportunities or client referrals for new lawyers, but to foster the highest ideals of the profession.
• If the mentoring is not of value to either the mentor or protégé, take the initiative to discuss it. Better to resolve the matter and end the relationship on a positive basis. 不要害怕尝试其他导师.
• Don’t expect the mentor to have all the answers. Mentors guide from experience and share that wisdom with the protégé. Guidance to an answer rather than giving the answer is far more beneficial.

The D.C. Bar legal ethics counsel are available to assist all participants in the program on questions about confidentiality of communications and the avoidance of conflicts of interest that might arise during the mentoring relationship.

获取更多关于指导的信息, please contact the 执业管理谘询服务 at 202-780-2762 or 202-780-2764 and consider attending a session of Basic Training if you are interested in learning more about how a solo or small firm functions and in networking with other lawyers.

澳门赌场官网指导指南
By Ida O. Abbott
http://www.nalp.org/bookstore