Bring Back Meaningful Mentorship for a Stronger Profession

For generations, mentorship has shaped our profession. Whether through articling, clerkships, or informal conversations, lawyers have long relied on experienced colleagues to help them grow, not just as practitioners, but as professionals who practice ethically and exercise sound judgment and resilience. Historically, mentorship has been at the heart of how the profession grew and sustained itself.

But ask almost any new lawyer today, and you will likely hear a different story. The opportunity to form meaningful mentorship relationships is becoming harder to find. For those of us committed to the health and future of the profession, it is time to stop and ask: What’s happened to mentorship, and why do we need it back?

Mentorship Is More Than Transmitting Legal Skills and Career Advice

Mentorship is not only about career advice or learning how to draft pleadings or manage a file. Fundamentally, it is about shaping how a lawyer thinks, behaves, and contributes to the profession. Good mentors model the mindset, ethics, and values that define good lawyering. They help young lawyers learn things like how to handle pressure, make ethical decisions, and navigate the many complexities of practice.

More importantly, they provide perspective. They share hard-won lessons, offer guidance in tough moments, instill a sense of purpose in the practice of law, and build confidence and resilience.

The Mentorship Gap

There are a few reasons why mentorship has faded over the years.

First, the pressure to bill is higher than ever. Senior lawyers often struggle to find time for mentorship, especially when it does not count toward their billable targets. In many firms, mentorship is little more than a formal review process, completely disconnected from the kind of personal investment that true guidance requires.

Second, while there are many benefits to remote work, it has made connecting with others and spontaneous learning harder. It is much more difficult for junior lawyers to learn by observing or asking questions when they are not physically in the same space as their colleagues. There are fewer opportunities for a casual chat in the coffee room or to wander down the hall to ask a colleague a question.

Third, the traditional long-term career path within one firm is no longer common. Nowadays, lawyers move firms often, disrupting continuity in mentorship and leaving junior lawyers feeling untethered and unsupported.

Why The Mentorship Gap Matters

The decline in mentorship is not just unfortunate—it is risky. Without strong guidance, new lawyers are more likely to make avoidable mistakes, feel isolated, experience mental health problems, and leave the profession early. This is not good for them, their clients, or their firms.

The consequences go beyond individual development. When mentorship fades, we risk losing one of the profession’s most effective tools for transmitting values, professional norms, and ethical culture: how we work, what we value, and what we stand for. Without it, we risk raising a generation of lawyers who are technically capable but disconnected from the deeper responsibilities of the profession.

It also impacts efforts to build a more inclusive profession. Lawyers from underrepresented backgrounds often lack access to the informal networks that have historically supported advancement. Strong mentorship, formal or informal, can be a powerful equalizer to help create real pathways to advancement, leadership, and inclusion.

A Chance to Reset

The good news is that this is something we can fix, but it requires intention and deliberate effort.

For firms, it starts with creating an environment where mentorship is expected, supported, and valued. That might include establishing formal programs pairing junior lawyers with more experienced lawyers, but it also means encouraging informal, day-to-day mentoring. The key is creating regular opportunities for meaningful interaction through collaborative file work, shadowing, feedback sessions, or simply making time to connect over coffee. It also means providing incentives to mentors for their efforts, such as counting mentorship hours towards billable targets.

Firms should also recognize that mentorship benefits the organization as much as the individual. When experienced lawyers take time to teach, guide, and support junior colleagues, they help build a more capable team, one that is better equipped to serve clients and grow sustainably. Investing in mentorship also yields lasting dividends in morale, retention, and leadership development.

For individual lawyers, rebuilding mentorship starts with a shift in mindset. Senior lawyers do not need to have all the answers to be great mentors. They just need to be accessible, willing to listen, and open to sharing their experiences. Even brief conversations can have a big impact. Offering insight into a tricky motion, talking through how to handle a difficult client call, or simply checking in with a new lawyer can make a real difference.

Junior lawyers should also seek mentorship by taking the initiative to ask for feedback or guidance or simply observe how more experienced lawyers approach their work. Mentorship is most effective when it is a two-way street, rooted in mutual respect and a shared commitment to growth. New lawyers bring energy, curiosity, and fresh perspectives that can reinvigorate senior lawyers, benefiting both sides.

Rebuilding What Makes Our Profession Strong

When the demands of practice are high and time is scarce, mentorship slips down the priority list. But we cannot afford to treat it as optional. The next generation of lawyers is watching and learning, not just from what we say, but from what we do. So, whether you have years of experience or are a newer lawyer, consider what role you can play. Start a conversation. Offer your insight. Ask a question. Create space for learning. Mentorship does not have to be formal or time-consuming to be meaningful. It just needs to be intentional.

Mentorship is a responsibility we all have to transmit core values and preserve the quality, integrity, and humanity of this profession. When we take the time to guide, support, and invest in one another, we strengthen the entire legal ecosystem, creating a more competent, ethical, resilient, and inclusive community of lawyers.