Page 5 - Untitled

05

Selecting a Mentor

Generally

Mentors share in your joys when you succeed and, in your disappointments,
when you don't. Getting a mentor is important. But keeping a good mentor is vital.
Some first-year law students meet someone or get assigned a mentor but never speak
to them again. I speak with attorneys all the time that say their potential mentees tell
them that they “don’t have time to speak with their mentors”. Let me put it this way- you
don’t have time NOT to speak to your mentors. Sorry for the double negative but I think
you get my point. Get more than one mentor so that you can “check” the information
one person gives you with another. And sometimes one mentor may not be able to
answer a question you may have. If you are a 1L or 2L, I highly recommend getting at
least both a professional and a student mentor to show you the ropes. But I urge
everyone to get more than one professional mentor.

Selecting a Mentor

Student Mentors – Examine Their

Motivation

They are not in direct competition but sometimes they can be just as clueless as
you. They may have had no idea how or why they succeeded. There are some
upperclassmen that feel that since they struggled through something, likewise, so
should you. No one was there to make it easier for them so why should you have an
easier time than they did? There are others that like having little “Mini-me’s” and
actively seek others out to “groom” them. You shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth
but be wary of people like this. No matter what people tell you in or about law school,
(at least silently) question it. Why is this person telling me this piece of information? Is
it for my benefit? Theirs? What do they have to gain by giving me this information?
What is their motivation? Some other law students like to be considered a VIP, a big
shot, a major player in the goings-on of law school or law school organizations. They
like hearing the sound of their own voice or give advice to you simply as a validation of
their own choices. Other law students may just want to mentor you so that you join their
organization or so that you buy their old casebooks.

This pamphlet contains
copyrighted material. All rights
reserved.