Meaningful Mentorship in Law: There’s a Recipe for That

Recently, I had the opportunity to facilitate a session of “Diversity Dialogue,” an OBA initiative to foster discussion on diversity in the legal profession. The session’s participants included law students and lawyers – across various areas of law practice – who self-identified as members of equity-deserving groups and allies.

A prominent theme that emerged during our discussion was the power of meaningful mentorship. Most participants expressed how mentorship from a good, supportive mentor had positively impacted their legal career.

Our dialogue prompted me to reflect on my personal journey with mentorship.

I’m the eldest child of an immigrant family that moved to Canada when I was a teenager. As the first-born, I was expected to excel academically and build a successful career, all while setting a good example for my two siblings to follow.

When I think back to those years, the weight of responsibility on my shoulders felt incredibly heavy. While my parents always encouraged my dream of becoming a lawyer, as immigrants with limited financial resources and connections with people in a new country, they could offer me little tangible support to realize it.

As I navigated the daunting path towards becoming a lawyer, I often felt as many of us from historically excluded communities feel: isolated, afraid, doubtful, and lost.

That is, until I met David McNairn and Alexis Kontos, my earliest mentors, during law school. David and Alexis worked in different departments for the Federal Public Service: my dream workplace as an aspiring lawyer.

My relationship with each of them blossomed because it contained some essential ingredients that I believe helped create the perfect “recipe” for meaningful mentorship. I share just some of these “ingredients” below, in case they’re helpful to anyone seeking to become a mentee or mentor. However, as with any good recipe, these “ingredients” can be substituted as needed to cultivate a meaningful mentorship relationship.

Honouring a Mutual Commitment

Mentorship thrives when mentor and mentee are equally invested. One way to ensure that both individuals commit to maintaining the relationship is through a formal mentorship program. I met David through a mentorship program at the University of Ottawa, and I met Alexis through an internship program at the Department of Justice. While relationships naturally ebb and flow with time and capacity, a formal program can help establish expectations and a mutual commitment to help the relationship grow meaningfully. If a strong mentorship bond is formed through a formal mentorship program, the relationship can last long after the program is over: 13 years later, I still rely on David and Alexis as mentors.  

Having the Mentee’s Best Interest at Heart

A good mentor centres their mentee’s best interests, listening actively to understand their goals and challenges, offering insights and possible solutions without over-imposing their opinions. When I confide in David and Alexis, they offer me ideas and tangible resources instead of directives, empowering me to make my own decisions while knowing they’ll have my back, even if I stumble (inevitably) along the way.

Offering Support that Goes Beyond Words  

Alongside encouragement, effective mentors often use their position in the legal profession to advocate for their mentees and connect them to new opportunities. I’ve cherished the many motivational pep talks that I received from my mentors, especially during difficult times, but David and Alexis offered me much more than encouraging words. They actively created opportunities for me: introducing me to people in the Federal Public Service, sharing job postings, and serving as references when I applied. For those of us from historically excluded backgrounds, concrete support from a mentor can help dismantle systemic barriers, paving the path forward for a fruitful career.

Finding a Role Model in a Mentor

One of the greatest gifts in mentorship is having someone you can look up to as a role model; someone who helps mould who you are by them just being their authentic selves. Long before I learned the rules of professional conduct in preparation for the bar exams, I had already developed a strong sense of the lawyer I aspired to be by watching Alexis and David lead with integrity. Their ethics, values, strong moral compass, desire to serve the public, and respect for others taught me lessons that were never spoken aloud yet shaped me just as profoundly as our conversations did.

Paying it Forward

I feel immensely grateful to both David and Alexis for the time, energy, and resources that they have poured into me.

To pay it forward, I recently enrolled as a mentor with an organization that empowers South Asian women to realize their goals.

My current mentee is an aspiring law student. As I’m now learning, in meaningful mentorship, knowledge is not solely transmitted from mentor to mentee; it goes both ways. As a mentor, I benefit greatly from my interactions with my mentee, gaining insight from her lived experiences and perspectives. I also learn to exercise my active listening, empathy, and problem-solving skills when she leans on me for support. It’s a gratifying experience to offer to someone the nurturing encouragement that Alexis and David offered me so generously.

As Alexis says, "Mentorship is a two-way street that can be as rewarding for the mentor as it is for the person receiving their mentorship.  It’s the kind of relationship that, when successful, both parties can continue to learn from, hopefully long after their initial connection."

And, David adds, “Good mentorship is a key way for senior lawyers to support the development of junior colleagues by passing on their knowledge, experience, and wisdom. It’s a relationship based on trust, respect, and generosity. So, choose your mentors carefully.”

I encourage aspiring and practicing lawyers to seek out avenues to receive or offer mentorship – such as the OBA’s mentorship program – especially if you self-identify as a member of an equity-deserving group.

Meaningful mentorship is transformative; aptly summarized as: “Helping one person might not change the world, but it could change the world for one person.”