Knowledge bank

The 7 key steps for a successful mentoring programme in law firms.

Mentoring has been a familiar concept in the legal profession since the first law firm started. Typically young lawyers have always been taught the application of their academic learning by more senior lawyers without any formal recognition of the teaching relationship. In recent years many law firms have taken this process further and started formal mentoring programmes with much energy but few actually sustain them . Some firms run extremely successful and lasting programmes but in others the programmes collapse. What goes right and wrong and why does all the enthusiasm often fail to last.

The roots of disappointment lie in the structures and the personal attitudes adopted. A new mentoring initiative can sometimes develop with a partner saying that he has heard of dissatisfaction amongst the junior solicitors about a lack of interest and so an email is sent round the firm asking for volunteers to act as mentors and to be mentored. The volunteers are matched as best as possible but are given no training. Older partners acting as mentors do not demonstrate good listening skills and talk at the mentee about how “I’ve succeeded”. Younger mentees start enthusiastically but fee–earning weighs them down and meeting after meeting is cancelled. The mentees meanwhile are hesitant about bringing up real problems as they are concerned about confidentiality and their partnership prospects if they show weakness.

Perhaps it would be useful to identify what we at Cresco mean by mentoring: We work with this definition: Mentoring is an intense work relationship between senior and junior organisational members. The mentor has experience and power in the organisation, and personally advises, counsels, coaches and promotes the career development of the protégé" - Anne Stockdale.

If a mentoring programme is to develop and produce real benefits we suggest the following steps:

• Review the objectives of the mentoring initiative. Primarily what are going to be the benefits and subsequently what is going to be the structure.

• Obtain the backing and involvement of senior management and persuade members of senior management to act as mentors or even mentees.

• Inform those who are targetted for mentoring about the programme , clearly outlining how they will benefit. Call a meeting for those interested. ( Ensure that some partners attend). Stress the positive. Make it clear that the process is about helping make performance (even) better. Unearth.

• Identify what training is required for the mentors. This is important as it sends a clear message that this activity needs appropriate skills and is to be taken seriously. Training will also assist in trying to ensure that there is a generally common approach by all mentors and will build confidence in the mentees that their mentors have a relevant skill level.

• Communicate clearly how information passed from the mentee will be treated. Will everything be confidential? Think very carefully about this process. For example what happens if the mentee thinks he has been negligent but hasn’t told his line manager. Will the mentor want to know what has been said in the mentee’s last appraisal to provide some background.?

• Provide support and encouragement. Attempt to find ways to guarantee that the process is not falling by the wayside.

• Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate. Ask the mentees to complete confidential feedback on the mentors to a respected source- and give the feedback ( in general terms)to the mentors. Examine how the mentors feel and ask them to identify the benefits they are experiencing ( for the mentee and themselves).

All law firms have huge amounts of untapped knowledge which is never pulled together. A comprehensive and sensitively designed mentoring programme can form part of the capture of this valuable intellectual property. Equally younger solicitors have embarked on a very challenging career and will frequently have the need to seek the confidential supportive and informed advice that a mentor could provide.

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