ISBA Lawyer-to-Lawyer Mentoring Program

Mentoring imageThe 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.

The ISBA offers:

  • An Illinois Supreme Court’s Commission on Professionalism-Approved Lawyer-to-Lawyer Mentoring Program
  • CLE training for new lawyers to meet Commission requirements
  • Online discussions groups
  • Links to mentoring resources

ISBA’s Lawyer-to-Lawyer Mentoring Program

This year-long mentoring program pairs ISBA lawyers with new admittees to provide them guidance during their first years of practice. All participants will receive 6 MCLE credits, including 6 PMCLE credits, upon successful program completion of the year long program. Credit is issued by the Commission on Professionalism when you attest completion of the program. This program can be used as an alternative to the new MCLE requirement of 1 hour of Diversity & Inclusion PMCLE credit and 1 hour of Mental Health/Substance Abuse PMCLE credit.

Mentors

In addition to the above MCLE credit, mentors will also receive an ISBA Certificate for a complimentary live, on-site ISBA CLE program (up to 6 hours of MCLE credit), upon completion of the program.

Enrollment deadline is extended to December 31, 2023

This was a great program, and my mentee and I have developed a great relationship which I am sure will continue over the years.
– David Rudolph (Mentor)

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Mentees

Information about fulfilling the Commission's 15-hour accredited MCLE requirement for newly admitted attorneys, including the Lawyer-to-Lawyer Mentoring Program.

Enrollment deadline is extended to December 31, 2023

The mentoring program has been truly wonderful for my professional development. Thank you for putting together such a wonderful CLE opportunity.
Judson Graham (New Attorney)

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Program Overview

  • Acceptance into the program
  • Matching with an experienced ISBA attorney mentor
  • Attend the required orientation meeting January 25th, 2024 at the ISBA Chicago office or via live webcast. 
  • Development of a mentoring plan (templates provided)
  • Completion of the plan through a minimum of 8 in-person meetings between mentor and mentee within the one-year mentoring term.
  • Completion and submission of the Plan Completion Attestation
  • Completion of Attorney Application for Mentoring CLE Certificate for receipt of 6 MCLE credits, including 6 professional responsibility MCLE credits. This program satisfies the 1 hour of Diversity & Inclusion PMCLE credit and 1 hour of Mental Health/Substance Abuse PMCLE credit requirement.

Scope of ISBA Program

ISBA’s program will focus on matching new attorneys who live and/or practice in areas of the state unserved by other commission-approved mentoring programs. To see if there is already a program in your geographic area, visit https://www.2civility.org/mentoring/sponsoring-organizations/

We will notify you in early January with the outcome of our mentor/mentee matches, but we cannot guarantee a match.

Find Out More from Past Participants


ISBA Central Communities and Discussion Groups


ISBA Central is a group of communities with discussion groups where ISBA members can as questions and get answers including:

Mentor-Mentee Discussion Group

Open to all new lawyers and experienced lawyers who want to give back. It is a place where no question is too dumb!

Other Open Discussion Groups

We also have very active groups open to all ISBA members for general discussion and several broad practice areas which require some form of section membership.

Section Discussion Groups

Most ISBA sections also have a related discussion group restricted to members of those sections.

Find out more about ISBA Central Communities


Other Mentoring Resources


Contacts

For more information about ILSCCP approved mentoring programs, contact Mark Palmer, Professionalism Counsel, at 312-363-6211 or mark.palmer@2civility.org

For questions about the ISBA Mentoring Program, please contact Jeanne Heaton, ISBA Director of Continuing Legal Education, at jheaton@isba.org or the CLE Registrar Or call (217) 525-1760 or (800) 252-8908.