L – Lawyers providing professional guidance
E – Excellence in service to clients
A – Advance highest standards of civility
D – Develop strong relations with the Bench and Bar
The Mentor Program of the Chattanooga Bar Association was established in 1999 to pair new lawyers with more experienced members of the profession to provide guidance as they begin their legal careers.
The mentor is there to share his/her knowledge and experience with his/her mentee. Having a one-on-one professional relationship between the experienced attorney and the mentee is the most effect way to pass on the values, ideals, and best practices of the profession.
Through this mentor program, it is the goal that the entire legal profession is strengthened by the support of the mentors given to the young attorneys who may not have a guide; and that the mentees develop competence and a deeper appreciation for the responsibilities of the profession.
This mentor program can be viewed as promoting pride in the profession; promoting excellence in service; and building strong relationships with the bar, clients and the community. This is accomplished through teaching the core values and ideals of the legal profession; and the best practices for accomplishing those ideals. The objectives of our program are: to promote excellence in the practice of law; to promote the highest standards for client representation; to promote public service as an indispensable component of professionalism; to promote professionalism and collegiality among members of the bar by exercising ethical and civil behavior; to provide instruction in sound and reasoned judgment and the best practices of law office management; to teach the value of networking and client development; to understand courthouse procedures; and to raise awareness to the Association of the importance of effective mentoring in promoting these values and best practices.
I often hear the stories how, years ago, local attorneys would meet for a weekly breakfast or lunch to get to know each other and discuss various challenges they encountered. There was always an older attorney present who would answer questions and/or provide solutions. But these relationships are hard to find these days. We often hear through the Board of Professional Responsibility that the biggest issue with lawyers today is a lack of professional guidance from those who are more experienced.
Mentoring is important to any profession as it allows the experienced attorneys to pass down knowledge, advice and values to the future attorneys and the profession of law.
Civility is the moral code that binds us together. The legal profession is to advance the highest standards of conduct for lawyers to better serve clients and society.
David Kesler is our current Chair of the Mentor Program. If you’re interested in being a mentor, or a mentee, please call me at 602-9429, or send me an email to Lhood@chattanoogabar.org.
Guidelines for mentees:
1. The Chattanooga Bar Association makes no representation as to the knowledge or experience of the mentors.
2. Mentors serve on a voluntary basis, and members of the Mentor Committee are past presidents of the Association.
3. Mentees should not involve mentors in prolonged discussions.
4. The mentor program does not contemplate mentors rendering professional services to the mentee’s clients, and mentees must ultimately exercise their own independent professional judgment on behalf of their clients.
5. When discussing a particular case, mentees should pose their questions in the form of “fact patterns” to avoid disclosing their clients’ identities and to avoid any potential conflicts of interest. If a client’s identity must be disclosed, the mentor shall ascertain that no conflict of interest exists before responding to the inquiring mentee.
6. Mentees should not: (a) ask mentors to perform any legal research as a result of inquiry; (b) ask mentors to accept employment as co-counsel; or (c) refer clients to mentors to handle their cases. Mentors are cautioned that they should take appropriate steps to avoid even the appearance of the existence of an attorney/client relationship between the mentor and the mentee’s clients. Mentees might wish to modify their conflicts system to retrieve all matters on which their mentors are adverse to the mentees.
7. Mentees are reminded that any detailed conversation about the specifics of the problem and situation of a client might require consent from the client before disclosure. Failure to obtain this consent might violate the rules of professional conduct. The mentor program is intended to provide general assistance, but it is not a means to provide mentees with answers to case specific questions or to protect mentees from their own professional responsibility.
8. Mentees are encouraged to ask questions regarding substantive, practical, or ethical issues they may encounter. Mentees should not be afraid to ask even the most basic questions. Mentors probably had similar experiences when they began
the practice of law, and will be more than happy to answer questions.