Navigating a career path at any law firm requires an associate to have mentors. Development of meaningful relationships with your senior colleagues is not optional if you desire success at the firm. For diverse associates, the natural inclination is to find someone who also happens to come from a diverse background. The unfortunate reality of law firm practice, however, is that partner or senior associate mentors with common personal backgrounds and practice areas are not always a practical or available option for diverse associates. Nevertheless, all hope of finding mentors who will have a positive impact on your career will not be lost if you follow some basic guidelines that are generally applicable to cultivating any impactful mentoring relationship.
Make The Mentor Want To Mentor You
The fact that you are a diverse associate should not be the reason for any prospective mentor to want to take an interest in your career. The reasons prospective mentors will take an interest in your career should be your consistent delivery of superb client service and your enthusiasm, trustworthiness and reliability. These characteristics are unrelated to age, race, ethnic background, color, gender or sexual orientation. Partners and senior associates are much more inclined to take the time to mentor someone who exhibits these essential skills. Successful partners and senior associates want to associate themselves with go-to, responsive and driven junior associates. Be one of them. Practically, this means you must go above and beyond the call of duty to develop an initial level of trust. Be available to your partners and senior associates, even at inconvenient times. Respond to their messages and emails promptly. Do not wait until the last minute to meet client deadlines. Be thorough and prepared at all times. Manage expectations, and provide advance notice of professional or personal conflicts.
