Perspectives on ISBA’s Lawyer-to-Lawyer Mentoring Program

Looking for a short term opportunity to give back to the legal profession?
Or looking for help launching your legal career?

Enroll in ISBA’s 2016 Lawyer-to-Lawyer Mentoring Program by December 18!

Hear what some of our 2015 participants have to say about the program:

Daniel Saeedi, Taft Stettinius and Hollister LLP, was admitted to the Illinois bar in 2008 and served as a mentor this year for Madeleine R.L. Goldfarb, a newly admitted attorney working at CinnamonMueller in Chicago. Daniel says the best thing he experienced being a mentor is satisfaction in helping new attorneys make contacts, identify marketing opportunities, find short cuts and time savers to practice more efficiently, and deal with whatever challenge they are facing at the time. He likes the one year length of the program because the new attorney will encounter a variety of issues over the course of the year and he is there to be a resource as those new issues arise.

Daniel feels that he has a helpful perspective for young lawyers because, having practiced just 7 years, he remembers the issues facing the new attorneys and can empathize with them, while at the same time help them to see where they need to go and what they need to do next. In his efforts to help Madeleine make connections in her practice area and related bar association groups, Daniel also made some new professional connections for himself along the way. He highly recommends the program and would love to see additional ISBA members get involved.

Madeleine is grateful for her participation in the program because it exposed her to different people, practices and opportunities in the legal community – and especially helpful when Daniel introduced her to his own colleagues and other ISBA members. In addition to gaining new connections, Madeleine feels that the mentoring program was beneficial by providing her with someone outside of her own firm to ask questions and seek advice – and because Daniel had been through similar experience, he was able to understand her concerns about being a new lawyer and offer her useful and considerate advice.

Karen Graham Thimke Jansen of Chicago is a mentee in the 2015 ISBA program and reports that she has really benefitted from the program. Karen hit it off immediately with her mentor, Elizabeth (Lizzy) A. Garlovsky of Robbins, Salomon & Patt, Ltd. In Chicago. Lizzy met with Karen on a regular basis and invited Karen to participate in her professional life on a variety of levels. For example, Karen was able to go to court with Lizzy on multiple occasions and followed one of her cases. This allowed her to gain invaluable insight on what a probate litigation practice looks like. Lizzy invited Karen to attend a CLE event in Champaign, Illinois where Lizzy was speaking. Karen was able to network and get exposure to many other lawyers in the estate planning field, an area of interest to Karen.

Lizzy reports that she too has really enjoyed the ISBA mentoring program. She didn’t have a mentor when she started her practice and wished she had, so it was always a goal to someday become a mentor. Lizzy has intentionally given Karen exposure to what it is really like in a “day in the life of a practicing attorney.”  She thinks that the talent of younger lawyers can sometimes be overlooked because they don’t have experience. This program gives them an opportunity to experience what it is like to practice law.

Lizzy reports that it is not just a one way street and she too has reaped benefits as a mentor. She gained insight on the perspectives of new lawyers and what they are facing as they enter the profession. “[Mentoring] doesn’t take too much time, especially when you just engage the new lawyer in things you are doing in your practice anyway. And the added bonus is getting Professional Responsibility MCLE credit in a way that is a great alternative to attending a seminar.” Lizzy recommends becoming a mentor if you care about the future of the practice and want to be a part of changing the profession for the good.