From the Yld President

• Publication year: 2021
• Pages: 0010
• Citation: Vol. 27 No. 2 Pg. 0010

From the YLD President No. Vol. 27 No. 2 Pg. 10 Georgia Bar Journal October, 2021

ELISSA B. HAYNES

From Mentee to Mentor:

Encouraging the Next Generation of Leaders

Just like our lives are shaped, in large part, by those who raised us, the same can be said for our careers and the mentors who supported us along the way. Despite my relatively short tenure practicing law, I have reaped the benefits of being both a mentee and a mentor. I also recognize that I would not be where I am today if it were not for the countless hours my mentors spent teaching me not only how to practice law, but how to be a leader in the legal profession.

I was like many other young lawyers that did not have the benefit of participating in an externship or legal clinic or working as a summer associate at a firm before I started practicing law. Candidly, I started off clueless about how to be a lawyer. I vividly recall the experience and feeling lost and overwhelmed. I would spend my days nervously sitting at my desk—then located in a large plaintiff personal injury firm—wondering what exactly I was supposed to do and how in the world I was supposed to figure it all out.

Of course, there were always other lawyers at the firm around to ask for help. But everyone seemed either too busy or simply disinterested in helping a new, young and eager lawyer. So, for months, I went to work, kept my head down and focused on getting my work done to the best of my then abilities. Before long, it became a monotonous routine and felt remarkably unfulfilling. It was not at all what I expected my life as a practicing lawyer to be and, honestly, it was a bit discouraging. Leaving law school, I knew I wanted to litigate, but at the time I was not getting the opportunity to do so and felt like I was stuck. Fortunately, all of that changed with my first mentor, Brian Parker.

I will never forget the day that Brian first approached me. Brian was the firm's outside litigation counsel and he routinely came to the office to discuss litigation strategy with the other, more senior lawyers. Usually, when complicated cases required litigation, they would be referred to Brian for handling. On one of Brian's routine visits to the office, I had a pre-suit premises liability case that met Brian's criteria for taking. However, Brian noticed my interest in litigation and, rather than sweeping in and taking control of the file himself, he suggested that I work the case with him and invited me...