Wisdom is a rather ethereal quality. The concept itself means many things to different people, but largely centers on a deep understanding of people or things and the events and situations that surround them. Classical Greek philosophers considered wisdom to be one of the most important virtues, and many devoted their lives to teaching about ideas and experiences that they hoped would instill a similar pursuit of wisdom in their pupils.

Although thousands of years have passed since Plato and his mentor, Socrates, helped set a standard for modern philosophy and teaching, their passion and intent for scholarship and helping guide others down the path to personal enlightenment is still strong. Today's legal profession owes a debt to the work of these great thinkers, and still actively strives to impart wisdom onto others.

That legacy for guiding others permeates the legal world. Starting in law schools and continuing throughout the careers of attorneys in law firms, corporate legal departments and professional organizations, the awareness that mentoring is critical to developing effective and intelligent lawyers is prevalent. At nearly every stop along the way in attorneys' careers, opportunities abound for them to engage a wide variety of mentors. And mentoring isn't just for novice lawyers—even the most experienced attorneys have relationships with peers and even subordinates through which they continue to learn new ideas and improve their practices.

The following pages will discuss the different aspects of mentoring throughout the legal profession, examining its importance, the traits of a good mentor or protégé, programs employed by legal departments, as well as suggestions for in-house attorneys on how to find mentors on their own.

Important Benefits

Ask most anyone in the legal profession and they will likely agree that mentoring is one of the most critical components to a lawyer's success. A mentor can give a lawyer the tools needed to understand how to navigate his career, regardless of whether it's in-house, or at a law firm, non-profit or a government agency. Not only do mentors instruct their protégés about points of view, experiences and skill sets that are different from their own, but mentors also can help them feel more comfortable and included in organizations. There also is a sponsorship aspect to the mentoring relationship, through which the mentor actively and affirmatively advocates for the protégé in his relationships with other people. The importance of this type of education and grooming cannot be discounted.

“We are a learning profession,” says 3M Senior Vice President, Legal Affairs and GC Marschall Smith. “The absolute requirement of lawyers as professionals is that we transmit and educate our colleagues and the next generation as it comes along. That sort of broad educational function is probably the defining aspect of what we do for a living. And on a day-to-day basis, the way that's done in the real world is mentoring.”

While most in-house lawyers likely have had mentors in law school and potentially at law firms if they followed the traditional path to the corporate legal world, mentoring can still play an important role in their development. Corporate legal departments, and the organizations in which they're based, are typically much more complex than law firms, and have additional levels of reporting. What's more, when lawyers transition in-house, their day-to-day interactions involve more frequent contact with nonlawyers in the business lines of the organization, and their work demands more general business and political savvy. This can be a drastic change from their previous roles. The skills that were learned in mentoring relationships in law school or in firm life aren't necessarily congruent with what are needed to work effectively in-house.

Because of this, mentors are a necessary component for corporate counsel as they learn to navigate this different environment, and understand not only what it means to be a good in-house lawyer, but also how to plot their professional path along the way.

Veta Richardson, president & CEO of the Association for Corporate Counsel (ACC), says that in-house lawyers are fortunate on this front because they have the potential for more diversity of good mentors in their organization—both other lawyers or people who are in the business lines. She also notes that the ACC offers the Corporate Counsel University, which is designed to help attorneys transition to in-house practice.

Rewarding Relationships

One organization in particular is helping to groom the next generation of women leaders. Ms. JD, a non-profit dedicated to the success of women in law school and the legal profession, partnered with the American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Women in the Profession in 2010 to create the Ms. JD Fellowship, a yearly program that promotes mentoring and professional development for future female attorneys.

The ABA, through the Commission, awards five Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Awards annually to women of distinction. The Ms. JD Fellowship program then identifies 10 to 20 promising third-year law students from across the country and pairs them with past Brent Award winners and members of the ABA Commission.