NW Lawyer - January 2019

THE WORD “MENTORSHIP” CAN BE A BIT OF A PROBLEM —it conjures images of a wizened old master determinedly bombarding a young protégé with knowledge through rigorous training and, if movies are any indication, a lot of exaggerated beard-stroking.

This stereotype can be a hindrance for the mentor-mentee relationship because it implies an overly burdensome time commitment and an expectation that the mentor is an expert with all the answers at the ready.

But for legal professionals, the reality is likely far less intense: a successful mentoring relationship might consist of a few emails or phone calls—maybe a cup of coffee or casual lunch—to answer questions or bring light to topics that don’t get much coverage in law school.

If you ask Kate Moglia how she
found her most recent mentor, she’ll
tell you “I figured I would just keep
emailing her as long as she kept
answering my questions.”
Moglia met her mentor, Kristina
Larry, at a WSBA MentorLink Mixer
earlier this year. (It should be noted
that MentorLink Mixers are single-day
events and are not intended to establish
a long-term mentoring relationship;
rather, experienced legal professionals
are encouraged to share their
experience and knowledge with other
legal professionals that are
newer to the practice. Learn
about upcoming mixers at
https://www.wsba.org/connect-serve/
mentorship/mentorlink-mixers.)

Larry, who’s been practicing law in Washington since 2009, never really considered her relationship with Moglia to be an official mentor-mentee relationship. Mostly, she wanted to pass along tips she’d learned herself after moving from Houston—where she earned her J.D. from the Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law in 2009—and starting a solo practice in Washington. Larry was a young lawyer in a new state and not working at a firm where there were readily available experts.

“I feel like when I moved here, I didn’t have anyone I could ask questions of,” she said.

So she largely had to learn things on her own, as law school focused more on the law than on managing a law practice. Now Larry often attends MentorLink Mixers to share what she’s learned. The format of these mixers is more structured than a networking event, where “table coaches” are at the ready to answer questions from attendees. Larry said many of the new and young legal professionals she’s met have asked questions at the mixers and a few might follow up with a thank-you email or a request for a form template to use. Moglia just happened to be someone who kept asking questions.

Back in California, where Moglia first started practicing criminal defense law on the Central Coast, she had plenty of experienced lawyers to answer her questions. But when she moved to Washington and eventually started her own practice, she found herself once again with new questions to ask, but no one at the ready to provide answers. So she went hunting for help. Moglia joined the WSBA Solo and Small Practice Section, she signed onto the Solo and Small Practice list serve, and she attended the MentorLink Mixer, where she met Larry.

“I don’t know what I would do without reaching out for help,” Moglia said.

But there wasn’t a formal agreement that Moglia would be Larry’s mentee.

“I think mentorship, for me at least,
works better if it happens organically,”
Larry explained. For her part, being
a mentor is a relatively modest time
commitment, and she’s happy to do it to
help other legal professionals succeed
based on the knowledge she’s gained. “I
would say just don’t be afraid to share
your knowledge.”
In addition to MentorLink Mixers,
WSBA provides a number of resources
to help connect mentors and mentees
and develop mentorship programs such
as the Find a Mentorship Directory, the
Mentorship Program Toolkit, and the
Mentorship Curriculum, all of which,
and more, can be found at https://www.
wsba.org/connect-serve/mentorship.

Many bar associations make mentorship programs available

HELP A NEW OR YOUNG LAWYER DURING NATIONAL MENTORSHIP MONTH

In 2002, the National Mentoring Partnership (MENTOR) and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health spearheaded National Mentoring Month to bring awareness to a national need for mentors and to recruit individuals, businesses, government agencies, schools, faith communities, and nonprofits to serve as mentors. To learn more about National Mentoring Month, visit www.mentoring.org/our-work/campaigns/national-mentoring-month/.

Many new and young lawyers in Washington need mentors to help them start their careers. To find opportunities to lend your legal know-how, visit https://www.wsba.org/connect-serve/mentorship.