Member Resource: Mentoring Tips

Mentoring Tips for year-round success!

FIVE PRINCIPLES should guide the creation and implementation of every Inn mentoring effort:

• Engagement: Create mentoring efforts that provide value and keep members involved.
• Participation: Set expectations that all members should participate, either as mentors or mentees.
• Focus: Primarily address issues of professionalism, ethics, civility, and legal skills.
• Complementary: Inn efforts should work in conjunction with existing bar or court mentoring programs in your jurisdiction.
• Frequency and Intent: Members should know what mentoring activity to expect and how often, ensuring participation.

Click for January's tip! It's Mentoring Month! Make mentoring the focal point of your January meeting. Or set up a special mentoring opportunity by asking your judges to host some “Chamber Chats” where they can impart some wisdom and advice to small groups of Inn members. Click again to close.	Click for February's tip! Play mentor B-I-N-G-O where people share advice or tips that they learned through experience or have been told by a mentor. Click again to close.	Click for March's tip! Organize meet-ups ~30 minutes in advance of each Inn meeting to help less experienced attorneys and pupil members get up-to-speed on the topic in a setting where they will feel more comfortable asking questions in a group. Have Barrister members lead the discussion. Click again to close.
Click for April's tip! It's Civility Month! Trust me, I’m a professional.Hold an Inn-wide discussion on professionalism, set-up a speed-mentoring session, or organize people for scavenger hunts. Use the American Inns of Court Professional Creed as a jumping off point. Details can be found below. Click again to close.	Click for May's tip! Try out triads! Make a mentoring triangle of Benchers, Barristers and Associates: everyone learns from each other. Click again to close.	Click for June's tip! Add mentoring to the next Executive Committee meeting agenda. Mentoring program already established? Consider working with local non-member attorneys. Starting from scratch? The sky is the limit: check out guidelines and samples in the resources below. Click again to close.
Click for July's tip! Add language to your membership handbook that supports mentoring as an Inn priority. Examples available below. Click again to close.	Click for August's tip! Encourage members who argue in court to bring a small contingent of those who have fewer opportunities to observe. Click again to close.	Click for September's tip! It’s the start of a new Inn year. Survey your members to see what they want or need regarding mentoring at your Inn. See sample survey below for a starting point. Click again to close.
Click for October's tip! It's Civility Month! Host an educational program with your local or state bar association and others from the legal community. Focus on inculcating civility into everyone’s practice. Incorporate mentors from history and discuss how they can inform the future. Click again to close.	Click for November's tip! For the networking portion of your meeting, create small groups and give each one an ethics scenario to discuss; have them recap during the meal or business part of the meeting. Find some scenarios to get you started below. Click again to close.	Click for December's tip! Hold dueling holiday “mentoring meet-ups” – coffee and croissants for the early birds, cocktails in the evening for night owls – and assign topics in advance. More details and “how-tos” in the resources below! Click again to close.

And don't forget to check out the resources below.
Better yet, share your own mentoring tips!