Finding The Right Mix Of Mentors In Your First Year

"Ask about their mentoring programs," urged a recent law school graduate and friend of mine when I began interviewing with firms during the summer before my 2L year. Dutifully, I followed her instructions, and in each interview I asked about the firm's mentoring program and personal experiences with mentorship in various firms. The responses I received were interesting—most firms did have mentorship programs, but the attorney responses about their personal experiences with mentorship, both as a mentor and a mentee, ranged from almost non-involvement to completely career-shaping encounters.

It was not until I actually began my summer at Duane Morris a year later, however, that I realized the importance of mentors in Big Law. During my summer at the firm, I was fortunate to be paired with mentors—both partners and associates—who were invested in mentoring and invested in my success at the firm. These were individuals who had actual experiences with the work environment that quickly became my daily reality. They had gone through the same daily challenges and triumphs, navigated the maze of corporate hierarchy, and mulled over the same choices that I was facing.

My mentors reflected on their own experiences as newcomers. For example, my partner mentor, Sarah, told me a story about how her mentor gave her the opportunity to first-chair a trial while she was just an associate and how that catapulted her to excel in courtroom advocacy. They helped me find work that interested me, helped me review how I approached the work assigned to me, and briefed me on best practices in engaging with attorneys at different levels in the firm.

When I came back to work at the firm full-time after graduation and joined the employment, labor, benefits and immigration group, I was able to continue working with Sarah as my mentor. I quickly realized how invaluable her mentorship was in guiding me to diversify my workload; pushing me to develop and grow in my legal writing and take initiative in my own legal education; exposing me to different opportunities, like various trainings, and getting to observe proceedings like Equal Employment Opportunity Commission mediations; and helping me feel the pulse of the firm's employment practice and prioritize accordingly.

Sarah taught me to follow up with the partners I worked for, to check back in a few days after completing an assignment to make sure that they did not need any additional work from me on a particular issue...

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