The Value of Mentorship in a New(er) Lawyer's Career.

• Author: Lesser, Gary S.
• Position: Florida Bar Special Committee on Mentoring

The legal profession has changed so significantly in many ways over the last few decades, but some concepts are as enduring and important as ever. Among these key concepts is the invaluable and incalculable role a good mentor can play for a lawyer at the beginning of his or her career.

There are those of us practicing law for many years who can remember having a helpful mentor at the beginning of our career. Many years ago, most law students obtained employment after law school, and many of these mentorships occurred organically where they worked, at a private law firm, government agency, or elsewhere.

The legal market has changed considerably over the last couple of decades. Many law school graduates are not getting hired at law firms or elsewhere, and ultimately find themselves "throwing up their own shingle," or sharing space with a former classmate who may have graduated a year or two before. The primary consequence of this dynamic has been that many newer lawyers are quite literally "on their own," not getting as involved in their legal profession or general community, and certainly not getting advice or guidance at the early stages of their professional career. Ironically, these new lawyers could most benefit from guidance on how to navigate the numerous legal, ethical, and business-related challenges that occur every day, especially when running your own law firm. But for the most part, those mentorship opportunities have not been available or accessible, and this crucial mentorship is not happening for many newer lawyers.

The good news is that The Florida Bar has created a Special Committee on Mentoring to tackle the situation, focusing on attorneys with three years or less experience, working in firms of three or fewer lawyers. Other state bars have mentoring programs, but the goal is for Florida to have one of the best programs in the nation, with a focus on professionalism and ethics, the path of a lawyer's career, and getting involved in the legal and general community.

The Special Committee is co-chaired by former Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Presidents Zack Zuroweste and Katherine Hurst Miller, who have been lawyer leaders for many years. We appointed members of the Special Committee from across Florida, including members of the Young Lawyers...