Mentoring - the Alternative (and Better!) Way of Becoming Successful

By Joe Reevy


Mentoring means that the firm gains an experienced businessperson with hands-on 'in-practice' experience in legal practice management who is available to talk with, run ideas by and use as a sounding board - without having to watch the clock. It is not like consultancy, where the outcomes are formal analyses and reports.

On an individual partner basis, it is a one-to-one service aimed at helping individuals become better at particular skills. For partner A this may mean assistance with mastering time management and procedural skills, whereas for partner B it may mean improving motivation and learning influencing skills to win more work. For the practice management, it normally means help with strategic, financial and internal organisational problems. The crux of the service is that it is about helping both individuals and the practice succeed. How this is done depends on the practice - some effectively incorporate the mentor into the practice decision-making apparatus, some use the mentor as an independent 'tester' of their ideas.

Mentoring is a relationship, not a 'per hour', service. You are charged an agreed fee, which allows you to make as much or as little use of the mentor as you need (although typically, this involves attending the practice at intervals of 4-6 weeks for a day at a time and will review and create feedback on the periodic management reports prepared for the practice management).

One essential element is that the mentor is freely available at the end of the telephone, to discuss ideas and problems, so you are able to get immediate feedback.

Unlike formal consultancy projects, with mentoring there are not normally formal reports. The informality of the relationship is its strength. The firm is able to terminate the relationship at any point - there are not long-term tie-ins (though I have one agreement which has been running since 1994). Often, when the problems that were the original reason for the appointment are solved, the relationship is terminated for a period or scaled down.