Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Ghoti]

I'm a junior in-house attorney and I used to have a ‘mentor’ in a firm that worked for my company. By mentor, I mean a senior attorney that I could call to ask questions when I got stumped. Due to things outside of my control I have effectively lost that mentorship and would very much like to replace it.

Do you think that it was very unique to have that mentorship from an attorney in an outside firm, or do you think that this is something that I could replace? If it is something that is obtainable, does anyone have any advice on how to approach it?

[klaviernista]

I'm a junior in-house attorney and I used to have a ‘mentor’ in a firm that worked for my company. By mentor, I mean a senior attorney that I could call to ask questions when I got stumped. Due to things outside of my control I have effectively lost that mentorship and would very much like to replace it.

Do you think that it was very unique to have that mentorship from an attorney in an outside firm, or do you think that this is something that I could replace? If it is something that is obtainable, does anyone have any advice on how to approach it?

I don't think that your circumstances are unusual. 

I would inquire with your bar association about whether they have any mentor programs up and running.  In NH, they have a group specifically set up to establish mentoring relationships between new attorneys and old fogeys.

[Ghoti]

Thanks for your comments.

Unfortuntely I am not a US attorney so I don't think calling the bar association would work (but I'll give it a try). A US mentor is what I am seeking though as most of my work is US based.

Just because it never hurts to ask....does anyone want to be my mentor? I'm a genuine person and a fast learner. Oh well... worth a shot.

[Yak]

Thanks for your comments.

Unfortuntely I am not a US attorney so I don't think calling the bar association would work (but I'll give it a try). A US mentor is what I am seeking though as most of my work is US based.

Just because it never hurts to ask....does anyone want to be my mentor? I'm a genuine person and a fast learner. Oh well... worth a shot.

If that works and you find someone willing to mentor you out of the goodness of their heart, let me know so I can follow in your foot steps. 

[Ghoti]

Sure will Yak.

Actually, that is kind-of my point. Klaviernista stated that "I don't think that your circumstances are unusual" but I'm not sure. I think the mentor I had was mainly being helpful 'out of the goodness of his heart'. While I certainly advocate his firm I'm not powerful enough to throw the quantity of work his way that would financially off-set his mentoring.

I have spent a long time trying to understand how I ended up being mentored in an attempt to try to replicate it...but currently with no success. When working with a new firm, how would you raise it without seeming weak and in-experienced.  I’ve been doing my role for a few years now so I’m not totally green and for the most part I know how to do my job, but I am aware of how much more there is to learn… and I want to learn it.

[klaviernista]

Sure will Yak.

Actually, that is kind-of my point. Klaviernista stated that "I don't think that your circumstances are unusual" but I'm not sure. I think the mentor I had was mainly being helpful 'out of the goodness of his heart'. While I certainly advocate his firm I'm not powerful enough to throw the quantity of work his way that would financially off-set his mentoring.

I think a qualifier or a bit of clarification of my prior point it in order.  In thinking about the issue some more, I probably should have said,
"In the two states I in which I am licensed to practice, cross company mentors are not unusual."  Why? Because the bar association of each state has a program that is specifically designed to set up mentoring relationships between attorneys.  Absent such a program, I can see why it would be dificult to establish a mentoring relationship.  That being said, I myself have an informal "mentor," who I call whenever I need advice about being in-house counsel.  She interviewed me for my current position, and offered (as a favor to my boss) to serve as a resource for me.  Pretty kind of her.  And probably a bit unusual.

[Ghoti]

Thanks for the qualifier.

Your post adds weight to my current conclusion that to get a mentor, you first need to build a strong relationship ... and then when the trust (or other elusive factor) is present you can start asking questions and then have them actually answered (as opposed to being fobbed off with inaccurate one liners). In your case, your boss had the relationship and you got the advantages by proxy.

I think it takes a certain type of person to be a mentor. They need to have a secure enough ego to be comfortable being asked hard questions that they might not know the answers to off the top of their head. I think this is where the 'trust' comes in.