ISBA Lawyer-to-Lawyer Mentoring Program
The ISBA proudly supports mentoring and acknowledges the value of having experienced lawyers provide professional guidance and share practical knowledge with new lawyers during the critical transition from law student to legal practitioner.
In addition to supporting the Illinois Supreme Court’s Commission on Professionalism Lawyer-to-Lawyer Mentoring Program through training efforts, the ISBA is piloting a small Commission-Approved Mentoring Program in 2012. This new, year-long mentoring program pairs select ISBA lawyers with new admittees to provide them guidance during their first years of practice. Pairs will meet a minimum of eight times throughout the year to complete the Commission developed structured curriculum.
New Attorneys can select a mentoring program as one option to comply with their MCLE requirement. The MCLE rules – adopted by the Illinois Supreme Court and administered by the MCLE Board of the Court – establish a 15-hour accredited MCLE requirement for newly admitted attorneys, allowing them to choose from the following compliance options described in S. Ct. Rule 793:
- A 6-hour Accredited Basic Skills Course plus 9 additional hours of MCLE credit (of your choice); or
- Participation in a year-long Mentoring Program approved for 6 credit hours by the Illinois Supreme Court’s Commission on Professionalism plus 9 additional hours of MCLE credit (of your choice); or
- A 6-hour Basic Skills Course plus Participation in a year-long Mentoring Program approved for 6 credit hours by the Illinois Supreme Court’s Commission on Professionalism plus 3 additional hours of MCLE credit (of your choice).
ISBA Offers Several Options to Help New Attorneys Comply with This Requirement!
1. Premium 15-Hour (And More) Package
2. Basic Skills Core 6-Hour Package
4. Participation in ISBA’s Commission-Approved Mentoring Pilot Program
New attorneys: Find out more about your eligibility to participate as a new attorney mentee in the ISBA pilot program.
Voluntary Mentors: The ISBA pilot program is not accepting mentor applications at this time. The ISBA anticipates the expansion of its mentoring program after the pilot program completes its first year.
- Find a Local Commission-Approved Mentoring Program
- View the Commission’s Mentoring Plan for complete curriculum
Resources
- Illinois MCLE Rules
- Information on MCLE Rules from ISBA
- Illinois MCLE Board
- Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism
- Illinois Supreme Court Rules of Professional Conduct
- ISBA New Lawyer Survival Guide
- ISBA Ethics Advisory Opinions
- Illinois Lawyers’ Assistance Program – Mental Health or Substance Abuse Issues
- ISBA Practice Resource Center
- ISBA Discussion Groups
Contacts
For more information about ILSCCP approved mentoring programs, contact David Argentar, ILSCCP Deputy Director, at 312-363-6210 or david.argentar@ilsccp.org.
For questions about the ISBA MentorCenter, please contact Jeanne Heaton, ISBA Director of Continuing Legal Education, at jheaton@isba.org, or Mary Kinsley at mkinsley@isba.org. (217) 525-1760 or (800) 252-8908.