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Lawyers frustrated at lack of mentorship

Practitioners are increasingly disenchanted with the level of mentorship made available to them within law firms, according to the International Bar Association.

user iconJerome Doraisamy 16 August 2018 Big Law
Mentoring, business, lawyers
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Speaking to Lawyers Weekly, IBA legal policy and research unit adviser Kieran Pender said the Association’s latest Women in Commercial Legal Practice Report suggested that many firms lack effective and structured programs to offer support and promote career progression.

“Instead, in most cases, senior partners mentor junior lawyers in an informal, ad hoc and non-transparent manner,” he explained.

“This practice further entrenches discriminatory practices and often takes on a gendered nature.”

According to the research findings, 11 per cent of female lawyers leave legal roles because they are seeking better mentorship.

The research also found that, commonly, if a lawyer wants to progress within a firm, he or she will need the sponsorship of a senior partner.

Mentorship is, thus, essential for younger lawyers, he surmised, because it provides a forum for skill development and a sounding board to discuss the difficulties that any junior lawyer inevitably faces.

“As lawyers progress through the ranks, mentoring (and more structured sponsorship programs) assume increased importance,” he posited.

“Having a senior partner supporting a lawyer through promotional opportunities can be critical in career development, particularly towards partnership level as promotional processes becomes more opaque [sic].”

The IBA is encouraging firms to strengthen their mentoring programs, Mr Pender said, and more importantly, to ensure that any already-existing workplace programs are transparent enough.

“Firms should consider making mentorship programs more structured and transparent,” he said.

“While much mentoring still takes place at the pub on a Friday night, partners should be cognisant that such (traditionally male-dominated, alcohol-fueled) environments might be uncomfortable or inaccessible for many of their colleagues, entrenching barriers to diversity.”

Jerome Doraisamy

Jerome Doraisamy

Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.

You can email Jerome at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

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