Mentoring in a Large Firm Five Tips for Mentoring a New Associate
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By Blair R. Loocke and Tony L. Visage lair Loocke and Tony Visage are trial partners in the Houston office of Bracewell LLP. For eight years before Blair became a partner, Tony served as her supervising attorney and mentor. Based on their experiences in a large firm, the authors offer this advice for successful mentoring. Being a new associate can be daunting. Similarly, the transition from a new associate to a senior associate or partner brings new challenges, including supervising younger associates. A successful supervising lawyer does more than just monitor deadlines to make sure Blair Loocke that younger associates turn in projects on time; he or she takes the time and energy to mentor younger associates. We have, and continue to be, both mentors and mentees. Here are five tips for a mentor to consider: • Invest time and be honest. Providing Tony Visage honest feedback is immeasurably more valuable than glossing over a bad project. But it takes time and effort and, when a mentee/ mentor relationship is new, it can be awkward. Stick with it. Not taking the time to give your associate honest feedback is a disservice to both of you: the associate will not learn to address the issue, and you will miss the opportunity to practice with an even better attorney. 26
September/October 2016
thehoustonlawyer.com
Show your associate how his or her assignment fits into the bigger picture. Understanding how their assignment fits into the larger case strategy or transaction structure helps invest new associates with ownership in the case or deal. For instance, when the “smoking gun” email he found during document review is later used at a deposition or trial, the associate realizes he is an integral part of that line of questioning and of the overall case. Or, when an associate participates in a client meeting, the associate will have a face to put with her next assignment on the deal. The associate will not only be more involved in the case or deal, he or she will also begin to appreciate the complexities that go into the bigger picture. • Advocate for your associate. An advocate is one of most valuable things to have inside a law firm. An advocate aligns himself with someone else, here a younger and less experienced lawyer. But when you demonstrate that you are confident in an associate, other people begin to share in that confidence and the associate will gain more experience. Many of us are where we are today because we had an advocate pushing for us. Help your associate reach a place where you feel confident in supporting him or her and then provide that support publicly. • Maintain confidentiality. Trust is an important part of a successful mentor/mentee relationship. Developing trust takes time and honesty. When an associate comes to you with a personal issue, maintain the confidentiality of your conversation. If you cannot maintain confidentiality for some reason, be honest about that as well. • Show your associate that we are all still learning. Often we are so busy that we simply forget how much you can learn by watching a really good lawyer practice law— or how much you can learn by watching a really bad lawyer practice law. Whether you have been practicing for 10 days or 20 years, we are all still honing our craft. We are all mentors, and we are all mentees. Help your associate understand that the ongoing learning aspect of being a lawyer is part of what makes it fun and challenging. Each lawyer has an individual style in the courtroom or during deal negotiations; likewise, there is no one set way to mentor an associate. These themes have helped us in our roles as mentors and mentees, and we hope you will find them useful as well. Blair R. Loocke and Tony L. Visage are trial partners in the Houston office of Bracewell LLP.