Market Areas > Practice Management > Law Firm Mentoring

Mentoring More Than a Handshake: Integrating Legal Mentoring With Law Practice Management

Course Description:

If your firm’s like most you tout your formal mentoring program when wooing potential new associates. Your website, your recruiting brochure highlights how your program provides the key to integrating new lawyers into the firm, helps them learn the fundamentals of law practice, and facilitates professional development.

But here’s the reality, most law firm mentoring programs start out on the associate’s first day with a handshake, and as associates get busy with the real work of the firm, fizzle into a well-intended, obsolete memory.

This isn’t surprising.  As a partner or shareholder, your job is to deliver professional service to your clients. And new associates, it’s a point of honor to survive the rituals of this initiation in order to prove they have what it takes…sink or swim, right?

So, if so many formal mentoring programs fail to work as advertised, what is working?

CoursE highlights:

During this comprehensive audio conference, our expert faculty will explore how successful firms create a culture in which mentoring and coaching becomes an inclusive process that is fully integrated with how it does business. 

They’ll also give you real-life advice on ways to improve the structure of your existing mentoring program, including:  

• How to make sure your mentoring program is more than a “fluffy” recruiting tool
• Why a first day introduction is not enough
• How to make better decisions in the mentor-mentee pairing process
• Ways to build mentoring into the lawyer professional development process
• Best practices for setting and adhering to mutually appropriate, time-commitments for mentoring
• How to assess your program, get “honest” feedback from associates and create a feedback driven culture

Featured Faculty:

Wendy L. Werner, Founder, Werner Associates, LLC

Wendy L. Werner is the founder of Werner Associates, LLC, specializing in the areas of career management, coaching, and attorney and business practice management. She also works with other types of professional services firms, and individuals from the private and public sectors. Werner Associates, LLC also works with law firms and businesses to develop effective recruiting and retention plans, marketing strategies, and attorney development and supervision models. She screens and interviews candidates and makes hiring recommendations to law firms, businesses, and corporations.

She has studied with Richard Bolles, author of the best selling career book, What Color is Your Parachute, and utilizes many of his methodologies in her work. She has co-written a monograph on alternative careers for lawyers called, "The Road Not Taken," published and sold by the National Association for Law Placement. She has written multiple columns for the association on counseling, and conducted workshops at the association's annual meetings. She writes a column on careers and law practice management for The St. Louis Lawyer, the monthly publication of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. She has a master’s degree in Personnel Administration and Counseling from Indiana University, and an undergraduate degree from DePauw University. Prior to opening Werner Associates, she served for many years as the Assistant Dean of Career Services at Saint Louis University School of Law. She is also an accomplished photographer. She believes this background helps her clients ‘see things differently’.

Michael L. Duncan, Shareholder, Volpe, Bajalia, Wickes,  Rogerson & Wachs, P.A.

Michael L. Duncan is a shareholder with Volpe, Bajalia, Wickes, Rogerson & Wachs in Jacksonville, Florida, where he represents businesses and individuals in complex commercial disputes, including class actions, contract litigation, fraud litigation, bank and finance litigation, real estate litigation, intellectual property litigation, insurance litigation, fiduciary matters, non-compete litigation and other disputes.  Mr. Duncan is a member of The Florida Bar (including its Business Law Section), the American Bar Association (including its Section of Litigation and its Torts Trial and Insurance Practice Section), and the American Inns of Court (Chester Bedell Chapter).  Mr. Duncan has, for several years, been rated “AV-Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest possible rating, and has been named to Florida Trend’s Legal Elite multiple times.  Mr. Duncan was recently inducted as a Fellow into the Litigation Counsel of America, an invitation-only trial lawyer honorary society which recognizes excellence among American litigation and trial attorneys based upon effectiveness and accomplishment in litigation and trial work, along with ethical reputation.  Mr. Duncan is an active and engaged mentor in his legal community and has written on the mentoring process.

MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE:

Pricing:

Your CD recording includes the complete audio conference presentation, audience Q&A and presentation materials.

Each CCM event presents a variety of information and is presented for each organization to develop its own approach and methodology.