Roy Gordon graduated law school two years ago and opened his own firm in Camden County right away.

He handles mostly civil litigation, and while he's happy with how it's going, he knows enough to know he doesn't know everything yet. When the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) launched MentorMatch, a program for members that blends traditional mentoring with online matching, he jumped to participate.

“I needed someone to show me that what I was doing was correct,” said Gordon. “Asking for help from someone you don't know is definitely not an easy thing to do. Having this program and knowing automatically going into this relationship that I have someone who is willing to help and who understands I need help was a huge factor for me.”

The NJSBA's online mentoring program, launched last fall, has continued to pick up steam. Over 120 lawyers are participating in the program, either as a mentor or mentee. Many of those who have signed up to be mentors are retired judges and leaders in the NJSBA and their practice areas.

After signing up in the fall, Gordon quickly connected with Eric Fikry, a former NJSBA trustee, experienced corporate litigator and former president of the Camden County Bar Association. For the past several months they have been emailing and talking by phone, and have even met for lunch and attended networking events together.

“I learn something from Eric every time I speak with him, and it goes beyond just answering the questions or getting suggestions. Having someone with his level of experience…seeing the way he speaks and how he holds himself, and his level of confidence has (given me) something I aspire to have in my own career and life,” said Gordon.

Maria Kelly, an attorney who works in Trenton, said her experience with MentorMatch was also a success.

Kelly had only been a member of the NJSBA for a little while when the MentorMatch logo popped up on the homepage of the association website.

“I said this is perfect. It was exactly what I was looking for,” she said.

She had recently completed training as a mediator and saw retired Judge Ned Rosenberg, who now handles mediations, on the list of possible mentors.

“There are so many things I am interested in from a legal perspective that I figured a judge would be a good mentor because they have a wide background,” said Kelly. “He was great. He just really wanted me to succeed. He was very helpful. It was a very positive experience.”

For Rosenberg, serving as a mentor was a natural development after nurturing his law clerks when he was on the bench.

“That is a mentoring process. I think it is my obligation to help, having been an attorney,” said Rosenberg. “Mentoring is important. It's a safety network. It's having somebody you can call to ask the stupid question of the morning or the day and get an answer and feel more confident going forward.”

Fikry said he's participated in many other mentoring programs during his career to varying degrees of success, and has found MentorMatch to be uniquely successful.

“I would encourage anyone who is interested (to sign up). It literally takes just a moment or two… I'm glad to be a part of it,” said Fikry.

TIPS:

• Be willing to learn and ask questions.
• Have goals in mind.
• Set the stage for how you want to connect—by phone, email, in-person.

To find out more, visit njsba.com.