ACS DC STUDENT/LAWYER MENTORSHIP PILOT PROGRAM

MENTORS

The ACS national office, ACS’s Washington, DC Lawyer Chapter and ACS’s Georgetown University Law Center are proud to announce the launch of the DC Student/Lawyer Mentorship Pilot Program.

Since 2001, ACS has grown exponentially from a small campus organization to a national network of progressive scholars, judges, practitioners, advocates, public officials and law students. ACS and its members strive to ensure that the fundamental principles of human dignity, individual rights and liberties, genuine equality and access to justice are in their rightful place in American law. As evidenced by our conservative counterparts, a vital tool in achieving our mission is to create a means by which more senior members can provide career and professional guidance to those more junior.

To this end, we have developed a student/lawyer mentorship program in Washington, DC. In the coming years, ACS hopes to expand this to a national mentorship program in which senior members from various legal career paths will be paired with mid-level attorneys, recent graduate and law student members. This pilot program will match DC Lawyer Chapter members with DC area student chapter members. Participating student chapters include: American, Catholic, George Mason, George Washington, Georgetown, Howard, Maryland and the University of the District of Columbia. To the extent possible, matches will be made based on employment sector and substantive interest area. Please bear with us as this program develops.

To mentor an ACS law student, please read the ACS Mentorship Program Description & Duties sheet and complete the Mentor Profile Form included in this packet. You can also find the documents online at www.acslaw.org/chapters/node/529. Email your profile to or fax to (202) 393-6189. Clearly mark the subject heading as “[Name] ACS Mentor.”

For more information, email .

ACS DC STUDENT/LAWYER MENTORSHIP PILOT PROGRAM

DESCRIPTION & DUTIES

Mentoring program description:

·  Senior or mid-level attorney is paired with a law student from a Washington-area law school (American, Catholic, George Mason, George Washington, Georgetown, Howard, Maryland or the University of the District of Columbia).

·  Relationship is informal and based on the needs of the mentor and mentee.

·  Mentor and mentee should meet in person at least twice a semester.

o  ACS National will host at least one mentor-mentee networking event each semester.

o  Other activities may include meeting for coffee, drinks or lunch, shadowing and other career development opportunities.

o  Mentor and mentee should communicate by email or phone as appropriate.

o  To the extent possible, mentor and mentee will be matched based on interest area indicated in their respective profiles.

Duties as a MENTOR may include:

·  Providing general advice and career guidance to the mentee;

·  Encouraging the mentee to explore his/her various career options;

·  Helping the mentee to assess his/her strengths and weaknesses;

·  Helping mentees think about their place and direction in the legal community and how to establish themselves more fully;

·  Steering mentee towards resources in the community that will strengthen his/her professional skills and assist in career development; and

·  Imparting wisdom by conveying relevant anecdotes and experiences.

Duties as a MENTEE may include:

·  Identifying and preliminarily researching your own career goals;

·  Honestly assessing your own strengths and weaknesses;

·  Being open to advice;

·  Asking for no special favors above and beyond the limits of the relationship;

·  Respecting the time and responsibilities of your mentor; and

·  Expressing gratitude for your mentor’s time and assistance.

Suggestions for establishing an effective mentor-mentee relationship:

·  Define the nature of the relationship: What type of support is most useful to the mentee? What kind of interaction makes sense?

·  Agree on a time commitment (e.g. phone or in-person conversations: once a month, once every two months, as needed etc.).

·  Define objectives and know explicitly what you each want to gain from the relationship.

·  Respect the trust of the mentor/mentee relationship.

·  Keep in touch via email or phone.

Contributed in part by Evan Anderson, Shannon & Manch, LLP

http://www.shannonandmanch.com/


ACS DC STUDENT/LAWYER MENTORSHIP PILOT PROGRAM

MENTOR PROFILE FORM

Email form to or fax to (202) 393-6189.

Name (please include salutation):
Employer: / Position:
Law School: / Graduation Date:
Undergraduate Institution (incl. major): / Other Graduate Institution (incl. degree):
Phone(s): / Email:

Past Employer/Positions:______

______

Employment Sector (select all that apply):

o  Private practice (firm)
à  Litigation
à  Transactional
o  Public Law
à  Litigation
à  Advocacy
à  Policy
o  Judicial Clerkship / o  Corporate/In House Counsel
o  Academia
o  Sole Practitioner
o  Political
o  Additional Education (masters, doctorate, etc.)
o  Non-legal field
o  Other ______

Substantive Area (select all that apply):

o  Antitrust
o  Bankruptcy
o  Civil Rights
o  Criminal
o  Environmental / o  Immigration
o  International
o  Labor
o  Mergers and Acquisitions
o  Regulatory / o  Securities
o  Tax
o  Other ______

Organizational Affiliations (bar associations, affinity groups, clubs, etc.) optional: ____________

Hobbies optional: ______

Other Relevant Information/Preferences:______

*While we anticipate a high level of participation, we cannot guarantee that every mentor will be matched with a mentee. Questions? Email .