Thank you for agreeing to serve as a peer mentor. Mentoring relationships are key to associates' career growth and their development of thriving practices and networks within the firm.
The Power of Peer Mentorship Peer mentoring pairs professionals of similar or slightly different levels of experience together so that both mentor and mentee have the opportunity to learn from each other. As a peer mentor, you will be helping a newer associate integrate into the firm by sharing your Holland & Knight knowledge and experience and being available as a guide as questions arise for your mentee. Your mentee will share experiences from previous employment, and share information about Holland & Knight that is new to you as well. Peer mentorships help recruitment efforts, associate retention and associate engagement.
Building a Meaningful Peer Mentoring Relationship Reach out on your mentee's first day, or as soon as possible after the mentor pairing, to set up an initial meeting. Let the mentee know you are invested by being available, relatable, transparent and candid. At your first meeting, take the opportunity to learn about your mentee. Has your mentee worked in a legal environment? What brought your mentee to the firm or to a particular practice? Knowledge about your mentee's background and career goals will help you to provide appropriate guidance and point them to helpful resources. Commit to checking in on your mentee on a regular basis. Include your mentee on any office, group or social Zoom calls that you think may be appropriate and introduce them to other lawyers and staff. Consider attending events together when your office has open seats available for concerts, charitable or sporting events.
Suggested Discussion Topics • •
Practice Highlights. Share details about your practice area and your day-to-day work life. Communication. Give guidance on effective communication, including best practices for communicating with clients, opposing counsel and other attorneys within the firm.
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Managing Assignments and Workload. Suggest questions that your mentee should ask when receiving a work assignment to understand expectations more fully, and how he or she should follow up during the assignment. Give guidance on managing concurrent deadlines, including how the associate should communicate that he or she needs help with prioritizing. Discuss the importance of being proactive and the helpfulness of providing more frequent status updates and check-ins on projects.
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Work Product. Advise on effective and efficient approaches to preparing written work product, particularly if your mentee is new to practicing in a firm environment.
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Professionalism. Share lessons learned about time management, organization, responsiveness, problem solving, issue spotting, judgment, initiative, reliability and building an internal reputation.
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Insights and Experience with Daily Working Life. What is something you wish someone had told you as a new associate? Provide your mentee with information – such as how to handle a mistake or missed deadline, how to prioritize work when deadlines are in conflict, and effective ways to develop relationships with partners and clients – along with stories about your own experiences. When possible, share tips on attorney preferences and styles. Point out the resources within the firm that have been helpful to your own development and connections.
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Connection. Discuss the importance of developing a network – inside and outside the firm – and share your own efforts in that area as an example. Point your mentee to colleagues with similar interests, or, better yet, make an introduction. Remember that you are an especially important connection for your mentee and get to know each other. Encourage your mentee to invest in the firm's culture and engage with colleagues.
Track your Time The firm has a non-billable number that you can utilize to keep track of any time you spend on your peer mentoring relationship (888081.00005 Mentoring/Career Planning).
Mentor Expenses Mentor lunches and other mentoring activities, except for lunch on a new hire's first day, are generally not reimbursable.
Additional Resources • • • •
Getting Started as a Mentor (SkillBurst) Mentoring Across Differences (SkillBurst) Mentoring Attorneys in the 21st Century (PLI) How to be a Great Mentor to Associate Attorneys (MLA Global)