June 2007

Resources for Mentors & Mentees

As a Mentor, there may be occasions when you don't know the answer to a problem or situation raised by a Mentee. When that time comes, we encourage you to use the many resources that are available to help you. Listed below are some resources with which that you may not be familiar. These resources may also be helpful for Mentees who wish to pursue an issue on their own.

I. Substantive Law Issues

    • ISBA Section Council members are a valuable resource and may be able to provide general help in their practice areas. Many Section Council rosters are listed on the ISBA website.

    • ISBA Website has numerous practice resources as well as Illinois research links and Fastcase.

    • Conflicts – An excellent website is (www.freivogelonconflicts.com). Freivogel is an Illinois lawyer who has compiled summaries of recent decisions and opinions on conflicts of law. The site also includes samples of waiver letters.

    • Engagement Letters – The American College of Trust & Estate Counsel ("ACTEC") has a website with numerous links to help with estate planning and administration issues. In its resource section, it has several very useful checklists and sample engagement letters. www.actec.org

II. Ethics

    • Both the ISBA and the ARDC have ethics inquiry programs which allow you to pose hypothetical issues to attorneys familiar with the rules of professional conduct.

    • ISBA Ethics Opinions are available on the ISBA website.

    • ARDC Website has Illinois Supreme Court disciplinary opinions as well as board reports of all disciplinary proceedings. The decisions are searchable by key word. www.iardc.org (see Rules and Decisions section)

    • ABA/BNA, The Lawyer's Manual on Professional Conduct

      • Found in most law libraries or on WestLaw under "ABA-BNA," it is a subscription service, consisting of a substantive discussion on the state of the law on professional responsibility, recent ABA ethics opinions, digests of ethics opinions issued by state and local bar associations, and recent developments in the filed of professional responsibility including opinions, case law and reports of conferences and law reviews.

    • ABA Annotated Model Rules of Professional Conduct (5th Ed.)

      • An ABA publication found in most law libraries or can be obtained on WestLaw under "ABA-AMRPC". A one volume reference guide, it contains the ABA Model Rules, the committee commentary to each rule, a discussion of each rule's meaning, application and interpretation with citations to ethics opinions, case law and law review articles.
       

      ISBA Standing Committee on Mentoring
      2007-08

      Jill O'Brien, Chair
      Christopher Haaff, Vice-Chair
      Janet Grove, Secretary, Secretary
      Richard Caifano
      John Gilbert
      James Hansen
      Edward Huntley
      Valerie Lipic
      Peter Rotskoff
      Honorable Elizabeth Sexton
      Linnea Thompson
      John G Locallo, Board Liaison
      Melinda J Bentley, Staff Liaison

      Illinois State Bar Association
      424 South Second Street, Springfield, IL 62701
      217-525-1760 Fax: 217-525-9063
      mbentley@isba.org