Subcommittee on Lawyers with Disabilities
Mentor Program
Background and Purpose
The American Bar Association's Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law established the national Mentor Program for:
- law students with disabilities
- prospective law students with disabilities, and
- recent law school graduates with disabilities
The Program’s purpose is to give members of these groups the opportunity to learn from an experienced attorney.
In a recent study conducted for the ABA, those immediately out of law school cited having a mentor as an important driving factor of satisfaction with their career. Career satisfaction, however, is just one benefit of having a mentor-mentee relationship. Practitioners, students, and academics have all praised the benefits of a mentor program for those with disabilities, namely the availability of advice, guidance, and support.
Enrollment and Participation
When you complete either the mentee or the mentor online form (links below) we will add your information to the appropriate database. Whenever a mentee completes the online form, we match his or her answers with our mentor database and develop a list of potential matches. Matches are based on the requests of the mentee, such as the disability involved, common interest areas of the law, and geographical location. In order to respect the privacy of the Program participants, the list of potential mentors is sent without names or contact information to the mentee. Once the mentee selects one of these potential mentors, we contact that mentor to see if they are available to work with this particular mentee. If the mentor is available, his or her contact information is then forwarded to the mentee.
From that point forward, how the mentoring relationship progresses is up to the individuals. We are always available to assist our mentors and mentees in order to nurture and develop the relationship. In fact, Commission staff occasionally monitors the status of the relationships to make sure all are being benefited.
Once you join the Mentor Program, by completing the online form, you are eligible to join our Mentor Program e-mail list. The list serves as a general forum for disability mentoring issues, as well as a method of disseminating information related to disability rights and the legal profession.
There is also a brochure for the program. The brochure is a quick and easy form of media that anyone can use to help inform others of the Program. You can print out and fold the brochure or e-mail the file for distribution.
Currently, the Program is also seeking participation from offices and individuals at law schools and law firms who provide disability support services.
If you have any questions about our Mentor Program, please contact William Phelan at phelanw@staff.abanet.org or 202-662-1576. There is additional information about the specific rolls of mentors and mentees on their respective forms:
