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Why be a mentee?

Because having a mentor can “jump-start” your practice and contribute enormously to a successful and satisfying career in law.

If you’re a newly called lawyer, you’ve likely heard that “the real learning starts after law school ends.” Much of that learning happens not through books, but through real world experience. Without a mentor, it occurs by trial and error. Having a mentor lets you tap into the learning that has gone before you.

Similarly, sole practitioners, and lawyers new to a firm, discover that being a mentee shortens the learning curve for acquiring the skills and knowledge that are critical to a profitable law practice.

Other benefits that accrue to you as a result of being a mentee in a mentoring relationship include:

• Learning new things about yourself: The self-reflection that can result from a mentoring relationship can be a powerful growth experience and provide you with new insights about yourself.
• Making more of your strengths and exploiting your hidden talents: A good mentor will push you to do more with your strengths, and help you discover and exploit hidden talents.
• Contributing to the success of your practice and firm: A mentee who builds a strong practice ultimately contributes to the success of the practice or firm.
• Career satisfaction: You will be more satisfied with your career if you have a successful and profitable law practice.
• Expanding your personal network: Entering into a mentoring relationship adds your mentor to your personal network, and may lead to an introduction to the individuals in the mentor’s network.
• A source of referrals: Your mentor may refer work to you once s/he knows and trusts your abilities.

How can a mentee prepare?

Set goals

Your first step is to identify your goals for the mentoring relationship. What do you hope to learn?

For example, you may have a general goal: To become a better personal injury litigator.

However, you should also have some specific goals, such as: to develop the skills necessary to conduct an examination for discovery; or to properly cross-examine expert witnesses; or to gain an understanding of the various no-fault insurance regimes.

Identifying your goals will help you identify a prospective mentor. In choosing a mentor, search for someone who has the background and experience to assist you in attaining the specific goals you have identified.

Don’t be afraid to ask

One obstacle that many mentees face is their own reluctance to ask someone to be a mentor. This reluctance is quite common, and for many is rooted in the embarrassment of having to acknowledge that they may need help, or in a fear of rejection.

How do you overcome this reluctance? Focus on your goals and needs. There is nothing wrong with admitting that you need help. Moreover, you’ll likely find that the prospective mentor responds to your request in a positive way, even if that lawyer declines to be your mentor. The fact is mentors consistently say they are flattered at being approached, and welcome an opportunity to “give back” to the profession.

Consider too that mentoring is making a comeback in the legal profession, prompting many organizations to launch mentoring initiatives, including some that attempt to match prospective mentors and mentees.

Why Should I Be a Mentor?

While mentees usually participate in mentoring for one basic reason, the reasons for mentors wanting to do so are more numerous and varied. They include:

• A desire to repay a debt to society: Successful lawyers often want to pass some of their success on to others.
• An obligation to give something back to their profession: Lawyers who are successful, or had mentors themselves, often feel that they should give something back to the profession through a mentoring relationship.
• Mentoring is part of a firm’s culture: In some firms mentoring is thoroughly ingrained in the firm’s culture, and acting as a mentor is an accepted part of each lawyer’s contribution to the firm. It is seen as an important investment in the future and success of the firm.
• It is a calling: For some individuals mentoring is almost a vocation. It is something that they are very passionate about and feel very positive about participating in.

The many benefits that can come from acting as a mentor include:

• Learning new things about yourself: The self-reflection that can result from a mentoring relationship can be a powerful growth experience and give you new insights about yourself.
• Satisfaction of passing on knowledge: Many mentors simply gain great satisfaction from passing on and sharing knowledge.
• Contributing to the success of the mentoring partner’s firm: A mentee who builds a strong practice ultimately contributes to the success of the firm.
• Acquiring new knowledge: You may find your mentee has skills or experiences that you can learn from. Similarly, acting as a mentor often becomes a refresher in law, strategies and attitudes.
• Expanding your personal network: Entering into a mentoring relationship adds another individual to your personal network, and you become one removed from all the individuals in the mentee’s network.
• A source of referrals: Your mentee may refer to you work that she or he is not comfortable with. Having someone to delegate to: Your mentee may become someone you trust to delegate work to.
• A confidence builder: Having someone regularly turning to you for advice and direction can help build your confidence.
• Staying in touch with the younger members of your local bar: Mentoring a younger lawyer ensures you stay current with issues and developments in the next generation of professionals.

How Can a Mentor Prepare?

Assess your experiences

We are all the sum of our own experiences. Self-reflection helps you bring those experiences—and the learning that results—to the fore, which in turn can bring added perspectives to the mentoring relationship.

To better understand themselves, mentors should reflect on the significant events in their lives, their successes and failures, the obstacles they encountered and the lessons they learned along the way. Any previous experience as a mentor or mentee should also be considered, as it will help you better understand how you should act in your role as mentor.

Assess the mentee’s needs

Consider also your understanding of the mentee’s experience and needs, in light of your own background. This will help you better determine what contribution you can make to the mentoring relationship, and how you can assist the mentee in attaining the goals that have been set for the relationship.

Be prepared to withdraw

If, after some self-reflection and consideration of the mentee’s goals, you realize that you do not have the skills and experience necessary to attain the goals identified for the relationship, be prepared to say so. This should be seen as a positive outcome that will help the mentee find a mentor who is a more appropriate match.

Setting terms for a Mentoring Relationship

Agreeing on the terms of a mentoring relationship is not simply and solely about drawing up a formal written agreement—which, although useful, is not a necessity. Instead the goal is to ensure both partners understand why they are working together, what they want to accomplish, and how they are going to reach the desired result. Setting the terms for the relationship in some detail at an initial face-to-face meeting will make the relationship stronger and more productive.

The first meeting

At the core of most successful mentoring is a relationship with another person. An initial face-to-face meeting, at which there is an open and honest discussion of backgrounds and experiences, will help the prospective partners get to know each other. This first meeting will help build trust and rapport, elements that are essential to the relationship’s growth and success.

At this first meeting the mentor and mentee should discuss the following issues:

• the goals for the relationship;
• the scope of responsibilities each partner is assuming, including what the time commitments will be;
• the logistics of the relationship, that is, how, when and where meetings and communications will occur;
• how to deal with confidential information;
• what topics or issues are outside the scope of the relationship (boundaries);
• how obstacles or problems are to be dealt with; and
• how and when to end the relationship.

These issues are reviewed in more detail in this and the next two sections of this booklet.

Identify goals for the relationship

Before embarking on a mentoring relationship, the prospective mentor and mentee should review the mentee’s goals. The goals should be specific, attainable and measurable. The mentor can help by pushing the mentee to set challenging or “stretch goals” that push the mentee outside of their comfort zone.

The next step is determining if the mentor can assist the mentee in attaining those goals. This will prevent a mismatch of mentor and mentee. Assuming the mentor and mentee are a match, there should be some discussion of how the mentor and mentee can work together to achieve the specified goals.

Do personalities and mentoring styles match?

Mentors and mentees will have to adjust as they find their own mentoring style and preferences. Having two individuals with matching chemistries can make for an easier relationship. A mentor and mentee can get a reasonably good idea of how they will get along at a first meeting.

Talk about expectations

Inconsistent or different expectations can cause a mentoring relationship to fail. Both mentor and mentee should openly discuss everything, from what they expect to get out of the relationship, to how it will work, including the logistics of how and when to communicate, confidentiality and boundaries.

Discuss time concerns

Lack of time is the reason cited most often for failure of a mentoring relationship. Mentors and mentees need to understand from the start that mentoring involves a commitment of time, and should deal up front with any time concerns they may have. If necessary, the partners can set parameters as to when and how interactions should occur.

Set boundaries

Both mentor and mentee should clarify, at the outset, any limits placed on the relationship in terms of subject matter, time, or confidentiality.

Professional issues that often arise in mentoring relationships include strategic, ethical and moral concerns, marketing and networking. Inquiries related to more practical matters can include advice on how to handle a difficult client, opposing counsel or member of the bench.

Strictly personal issues are frequently, but not always, out of bounds. Some firms make personal matters out of bounds. To encourage full and open disclosure, other firms assign a mentor outside of the mentee’s practice group to deal with personal issues in complete confidence. When mentor and mentee are from different firms, it will be up to the partners to agree on how to handle personal matters.

Activities that are commonly out of bounds in mentoring relationships include:

• direct involvement in dispute resolution;
• acting as an advocate for career advancement; and
• lending money or discussing financial matters.

Although generally within boundaries, questions related to pure substantive law issues are not the primary focus of most mentoring relationships. If substantive questions occur too frequently, it could indicate that the mentee is using the mentor as a crutch. Partners are well advised to address and resolve this issue promptly, including ending the relationship if necessary.

Ultimately, it is up to the partners in the relationship to agree what is in and out of bounds. Boundaries will not always be clear-cut, and circumstances can change them. An issue that was initially identified as being out of bounds could be dealt with at a later stage, if both partners consent.

Be alert to issues of confidentiality and conflicts

Confidentiality and conflicts of interest can be sensitive and complex issues in a mentoring relationship. Because of the very nature of the relationship, personal information, as well as information that should remain confidential in the context of a solicitor/client relationship, may be disclosed.

Privileged or confidential client information

Where the lawyers in a mentoring relationship are from different firms, they must consider the content of their discussions in the context of the Rules of Professional Conduct. Rule 2.03 (1) states that a lawyer must hold in strict confidence all information received from a client in the course of a solicitor/ client relationship. Disclosure is only permitted or justified in limited circumstances.

Where they are from different firms, mentees must maintain this confidence in all dealings with their mentors.

Other confidential or personal information

It is important that partners recognize and agree what is to be confidential at the start of any mentoring relationship. Is the relationship itself confidential? Under what circumstances will anything that is discussed be disclosed to parties outside the relationship? You should not simply assume that the relationship or your discussions will be confidential.

How mentoring partners handle information discussed in or related to the relationship varies. In some mentoring relationships it is simply agreed that the mentee will not disclose confidential or personal information to the mentor. Although this approach can limit the topics dealt with in the relationship, it does ensure that mentor and mentee avoid issues or problems arising out of the disclosure of sensitive information.

To promote open communication between mentor and mentee, some firm mentoring programs provide that all mentoring discussions remain confidential.

Other firms allow disclosure in limited circumstances. If you are participating in a firm mentoring program, you should make sure you understand how any confidential or personal information is to be handled. If the mentoring partners agree that discussions can include confidential or personal information, they will have to agree on how and when disclosure can occur. Some options that could be considered include:

• Everything is confidential indefinitely, unless disclosure is required in law;
• Disclosure can occur on a demonstrated need to know basis, with permission;
• Disclosure can occur to a supervisor only;
• Disclosure can occur with permission only;
• Some identified things can be disclosed, others will not;
• The nature of the discussions, but not the details, can be disclosed; or
• Everything can be disclosed.

Partners who have agreed that confidential or personal information will be included in their discussions may want to confirm how and when disclosure can occur in a mentoring contract (see next page). If confidential or personal information must be disclosed to a third party for legal or other reasons, the mentor should advise the mentee that a disclosure of confidential information will occur, and why.

A mentoring contract

The form that a mentoring contract or agreement takes is not as important as its contents. Although a formal contract is not necessary, the very act of putting something in writing can help the partners better understand what the relationship is to accomplish, and agree on the practicalities of how it will actually work.

In the best case, a mentoring agreement should set out:

• the goals of the relationship, including what the mentee wants to learn;
• the ground rules for the relationship–including how often and in what manner communications and meetings will occur;
• any special or specific responsibilities that either partner is to assume;
• any boundaries on the relationship–what topics or issues are not to be dealt with;
• what is to be treated as confidential information, and the circumstances, if any, in which this type of information can be disclosed to others;
• a release and hold harmless clause;
• how and when the relationship is to end;
• any other terms agreed on by the parties; and,
• an acknowledgement of the guidelines required by the Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company to allow a mentor to avoid a deductible and claims levy surcharge in the event of a claim arising from the relationship (See the next section).

Here is a simple one page mentoring agreement. This agreement can be easily adapted to suit the specifics of your mentoring relationship.

This is an excerpt from the Managing a Mentoring Relationship booklet, published by the Lawyers' Professional Indemnity Company.

A Simple Mentoring Agreement

The undersigned do hereby agree to enter into a mentoring relationship for a period of xx years
The Mentee’s goals for this relationship are:

• To become a better personal injury litigator;
• To improve skills for conducting examinations for discovery;
• To improve skills for cross-examining expert witnesses.

The parties hereto agree and acknowledge:

• To be available for consultation by telephone or e-mail during regular business hours,
  and occasionally in person;
• To meet in person quarterly to review the progress of the relationship, and to discuss
  how the relationship can be improved;
• That the Mentor will look for opportunities to introduce the Mentee to other members
  of the local bar;
• That they will meet in person to deal with any events or circumstances that make
  continuing the relationship difficult or awkward;
• That all matters discussed in the course of the relationship shall be confidential, unless
  both parties agree that disclosure can occur;
• That the Mentor will not assist the Mentee on following types of matters:
• Direct involvement in dispute resolution;
• Acting as an advocate for career advancement; and
• The lending of money or financial matters;
• That the Mentor will not have any contact with the Mentor’s client that would create
  a solicitor/client relationship;
• That the Mentee understands that she was responsible for individually and independently
  satisfying herself of the soundness of any suggestions, recommendations or
  advice-like comments made by the Mentor;
• That the Mentee will hold the Mentor harmless for any professional liability claim
  arising on a matter that the Mentor provided advice to the Mentee; and,
• That the Mentor will not be subject to any deductible or claims levy surcharge on
  any claim against a Mentor arising out of this mentoring relationship.
  

_____________________________ as “Mentor” Date:_______________
______________________________ as “Mentee” Date:_______________

Dan Pinnington (dan.Pinnington@lawpro.ca) works for the Lawyers' Professional Indemnity Company (www.lawpro.ca) to help the 20,000 practising lawyers in Ontario avoid malpractice claims. He speaks and writes frequently on a variety of risk management and legal technology topics. Through practicePRO (www.practicepro.ca) he provides Ontario lawyers with practical how-to resources aimed at helping them succeed in the practice of law.