When I was attending law school, I always heard about the importance of having mentors.\u00a0 I recall Professor Fallone quipping about his professor, Archibald Cox, and encouraging my Constitutional Law class to adopt heroes in the law.<\/p>\n
When I first started to think about legal mentorship, I envisioned the following:\u00a0 I work at a firm or organization and my boss, who is a more experienced attorney than I, gives me useful tips and tricks that will help me get my sea legs more quickly.<\/p>\n
As it works out, this perception of mentorship really fails to encapsulate the many dimensions of mentorship, and misses some of the greatest benefits mentorship has to offer a less experienced attorney (like me).<\/p>\n
The breadth of knowledge I\u2019ve learned from my mentors is striking.\u00a0 Certainly I\u2019ve gotten a lot of technical support, but I\u2019ve also learned about living as a lawyer and even as a human being.<\/p>\n
Since starting practice a little over a year ago, I have been fortunate to find tremendous mentors.\u00a0 A lot of these relationships are informal\u2014some of my mentors may not even know that I consider myself their mentee.\u00a0 Having a formal label on the relationship isn\u2019t what\u2019s important\u2014all that matters is that you have someone who\u2019s been there and can point you in the right direction.<\/p>\n
I think the best way I can illustrate how I\u2019ve learned from my mentors is to describe a few of the mentors I\u2019ve had in my brief legal career.\u00a0 This list is far from complete, and I want to extend my deepest thanks to those who have guided me that practicality prohibits me from writing about.<\/p>\n
My first legal mentor was my uncle, Prof. Gregory O\u2019Meara.\u00a0 I admit, this one was kind of handed to me.\u00a0 His role as my mentor started long ago when he used to read aloud his criminal law exam fact patterns to our family at Christmas time.\u00a0 This sparked my interest in the law\u2014I wondered what the heck his students were supposed to do with a story about Paris Hilton shooting people (or dying gruesomely, I can\u2019t recall).<\/p>\n
Later, he would be a valuable resource as I considered attending law school.\u00a0 He helped me plan which classes and professors to take, or which internships he had heard were particularly good.\u00a0 He introduced me to people.\u00a0 As I got closer to graduation, he helped me think about the trajectory of my career.<\/p>\n
Much more than this career or law advice was the insight he gave me on living well.\u00a0 I loved law school, but it was also a tumultuous time in my life.\u00a0 I married during the summer after my 1L year only to divorce the next.\u00a0 More than anything else, talking to my Uncle Greg helped me get through some of these difficult times.<\/p>\n
I continue to turn to Uncle Greg as a lawyer.\u00a0 He has brought me tremendous insight on what it means to be successful\u2014that paycheck size or suit cut aren\u2019t the best criteria.\u00a0 We\u2019ve talked about how life can get messy and how in some ways that messiness defines the human experience in a way that is beautiful and remarkable.\u00a0 And heck, sometimes he will even help me sort through a legal ethics issue.<\/p>\n
I have found in practice that what the law says a client is entitled to and how to get there are two very different questions.\u00a0 In immigration, an area where benefits are doled out by a faraway processing center through submission of myriad forms, it is far from obvious how to turn eligibility under the Immigration and Nationality Act into a green card.<\/p>\n
This is why my supervising attorney, Barbara Graham, has been such a wonderful mentor.\u00a0 Time and again, she has patiently lent me her experience both when cases are complicated and unique, but even when the answer is easy and I just need someone to point it out. \u00a0When I\u2019m researching something for a case, she is my last stop.\u00a0 Often, even if I get the law right, she helps me find a way that\u2019s easier, will be of greater benefit to a client, or can act as a plan B if my first course of action fails.<\/p>\n
What really makes Attorney Graham valuable is how easy it is to talk to her.\u00a0 Her door is always open.\u00a0 She never makes me feel stupid for asking something, even if I\u2019m asking a stupid question.\u00a0 She\u2019s passionate about the law, and likes to grapple with interesting questions.\u00a0 She doesn\u2019t mind if I argue with her about a point, though I admit she usually is right.<\/p>\n
Most importantly, Attorney Graham also provides a lot of support when I\u2019m freaking out, have made a mistake, or feel overwhelmed.\u00a0 Having a reassuring voice in those times helps.<\/p>\n
She also gives the best cooking tips\u2014I guess graduating Le Cordon Bleu lends her some authority there.<\/p>\n
The last mentor I\u2019ll describe is one that is newer to me.\u00a0 Last week, I had the biggest case of my brief career before the immigration court in Chicago.\u00a0 Fortunately, not long before commencing the case, a retired partner from Quarles and Brady, Attorney Stuart Parsons, volunteered to do pro bono work with our office.<\/p>\n
An experienced litigator as well a kind and engaging man, Attorney Parsons helped me prepare for the hearing.\u00a0 Even more valuable, he was generous enough to accompany me to Chicago and sat as co-counsel.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t ask any questions himself, but gave me a few crucial notes when he caught something I hadn\u2019t.\u00a0 His being there made me feel more comfortable through the hearing.<\/p>\n
A week or so after the hearing, Attorney Parsons met me at my office on Milwaukee\u2019s south side.\u00a0 He had taken extensive notes from the hearing, and was able to give me a thorough critique.\u00a0 To be able to get that kind of feedback from an attorney with the experience of Mr. Parsons is an invaluable lesson.\u00a0 I can\u2019t wait to put it into practice.<\/p>\n
Law school builds a great foundation of a legal career.\u00a0 It teaches how to write, think, and conceptualize the law.\u00a0 I\u2019ve found, however, in my brief time as a practitioner, that mentors have helped me grow as an attorney in a way that the classroom cannot.<\/p>\n
Law students:<\/em>\u00a0 build relationships with attorneys not only with the hope that they can help you get a job, but that they can help you learn what practice is all about.\u00a0 I think you will find generous benefactors of experience and wisdom.\u00a0 Experienced lawyers:<\/em>\u00a0 your advice and assistance are appreciated and valued, please continue to help us rookies.<\/p>\n To the attorneys listed above and the many others that have helped me on my way so far:\u00a0 thank you, you have given me more than you know.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When I was attending law school, I always heard about the importance of having mentors.\u00a0 I recall Professor Fallone quipping about his professor, Archibald Cox, and encouraging my Constitutional Law class to adopt heroes in the 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