Conference Reflects Rising Interest in Mentoring Among Lawyers
By Ida Abbott
Originally published in the IMA "Mentor Connections" Newsletter, Spring 2000
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Mentoring is starting to receive considerable attention in the legal profession. This mounting interest was evident at a recent conference, Growing and Keeping Talented Lawyers: New Directions in Mentoring, held in New York City on January 24, 2000. This half-day conference was attended by 300 registrants from New York law firms, corporate law departments, and government agencies, who were interested in bringing successful mentoring relationships and programs to their workplace. The Association of the Bar of the City of New York (ABCNY), the New York Women's Bar Association (NYWBA), and the NYWBA Foundation co-sponsored the conference.
The purpose of that conference was to encourage legal employers to invest in their lawyers' growth and development by making mentoring an integral part of the law firm or legal department culture and by implementing well-designed mentoring programs.
The keynote Speaker was John Sexton, Dean of New York University School of Law. Other speakers included lawyers from major New York law firms and corporations, as well as representatives from large accounting firms. All registrants received a copy of a newly published book, The Lawyer's Guide to Mentoring (National Association for Law Placement, Washington, DC, 2000).
The first part of the conference demonstrated why mentoring is a powerful strategy for legal employers to stem the tide of attorney attrition, increase productivity, decrease high turnover costs, develop future leadership and promote workforce diversity.
The second part showed employers how to design and implement successful mentoring programs that will nurture the special skills and talents of their lawyers and encourage the retention and advancement of women and minority lawyers.
Experience in Mentoring in Legal Settings
The NYWBA became interested in mentoring in the early 1990s because they knew that mentoring was important for career success but was unavailable to most women and minority lawyers, especially in large law firms.
In 1994, the NYWBA launched a group mentoring program for its members based on successful corporate, accounting firm, and not-for-profit community programs. The success of the program inspired the ABCNY to co-sponsor this conference in order to highlight the benefits of mentoring to a broader segment of the legal community. The overwhelming turnout at the conference validated the importance and timeliness of these efforts.
The soaring attrition rates among law firm associates is driving this huge interest in mentoring. A ten-year study of lawyers' employment patterns, published in 1998, confirmed that the lack of mentoring was a significant factor causing associates to leave their firms. These high rates of attrition - 25% or more in many places - are very costly. Increasingly, law firms are looking at mentoring as a way to attract, develop, and retain talented young lawyers.
Ida Abbott is a lawyer and consultant specializing in professional development.
Her national consulting practice is based in Oakland, California. (IdaAbbott@aol.com)
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