The benefits of a legal mentor for law students and junior lawyers

With a life in law an ever-popular career option for students and young professionals, budding lawyers are always seeking unique ways to get themselves noticed when it comes to training contract and job application season. Seeking a mentor should increasingly be an option to consider at the beginning of a legal journey. It’s a fantastic opportunity to discover what life is like as a lawyer outside of the legal textbooks.

I’m currently volunteering as a mentor through the University of Aberdeen’s Careers Service scheme, and I’ve seen first-hand the benefits which this programme can bring for its law students. The scheme allowed for mentees to choose their mentor based on their mentor’s experience and expertise. This means that law students have the opportunity to work with a lawyer whose specialism is extremely suitable to their own legal interests, whether this be property law, family law or another practice area. Working alongside any lawyer will be a positive for training contract applications, but working with a specialist in the legal field you’ll be applying for will provide experience that does wonders for your application.

The university scheme gave detailed explanations on the expectations of mentors and how they can be of most use to law students. Mentees could go to their mentors as an independent source of objective advice, to use as a sounding board to test ideas and suggestions, to seek encouragement and motivation to achieve in their studies, and to seek opportunities for personal development. Not only this, the meetings allowed for students to seek professional advice, which could include looking at future law careers options and perfecting a CV for applications, as well as having practice interviews by a seasoned lawyer. This can be vital for students to understand legal practice as a business and what they can bring to a firm to take its business further - a trait that interviewers are always on the lookout for.

Having a mentor can also give an insight into wider legal life which can help give a running start at the beginning of a career in law, such as understanding about the different types of legal staff within a firm and how to act appropriately with colleagues of varying seniority. Mentors can also advise on current issues and hot topics facing the profession: with many law firms around the country now developing their practices to ensure a high standard of wellbeing for their staff, having an understanding of the physical and emotional demands of the legal industry and how to consider your and others’ wellbeing can put you one step ahead.

Outside of the personal benefits which mentoring can provide for a training contract application, gaining a perspective of the legal profession from a mentor can give you an insight into what type of practice you may wish to work in. Law firms are often stereotyped in the media as big-city, corporate practices. While this may be the dream for many, it’s important for new lawyers to understand the range of choices available to them. Smaller high-street practices give the opportunity to try many different areas of law before specialising upon qualification, for example. These are all things which a mentor can give their perspective on to help you choose the right path for you.

The legal market is always changing and evolving, and face-to-face contact with a lawyer can provide an insight into the legal profession beyond what can be found in a textbook or a law report. Memorising Lord Denning’s key quotes may help with getting the top grades, but seeking out a mentor can be a real game changer in helping you take that step from the classroom to the boardroom.

Linda Lamb is a director and solicitor at LSL Family Law.