Over the past two decades, the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group (PDLG) and its members have developed and successfully deployed various tactics to achieve their collective goal of increasing diversity and inclusiveness within the Philadelphia legal community. We not only support members in their efforts to promote diversity in initial recruitment and hiring and retention of diverse lawyers, but we also help our members patch holes in the legal talent pipeline by expanding and cultivating the pool of diverse law students that Philadelphia firms may not otherwise have the opportunity to consider for initial associate hires.

First-year law students are now beginning classes. To the PDLG, diverse students are those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, have overcome significant and unusual obstacles in the pursuit of a legal career, or are from a background or group that is underrepresented in the Philadelphia legal community. It is a broad definition of diversity and deliberately so. We know from the PDLG Fellows Program that there are many diverse students in the area law schools. The question is how to increase the number of these diverse law students who leaders of traditional area law firms seriously consider in interviewing and hiring decisions.

Starting law school is a major milestone for all incoming 1Ls but for some the experience is far more mysterious and novel than for others. Many students enter classes with family members, friends or colleagues who are lawyers or in law school and can provide support and guidance. That isn't the case for all entering 1Ls. Many entering law school students, including but not limited to diverse students, have no family members, friends, colleagues, or acquaintances who are lawyers or in law school. Their support and guidance has to come from elsewhere.

With that concern directly in mind, each August for the past 10 years, PDLG has held its boot camp for incoming law students. It is open to all incoming 1Ls in the Philadelphia area but is especially useful to those who don't have substantial direct or detailed knowledge about the practice of law or the law school experience. Many diverse incoming law students are in that group. Those incoming students don't really know what they are getting into, how law school works, how it differs from college, or what is considered success or how to achieve it. The lack of such insight is bound to affect a student's confidence and capacity to absorb what is going on in the classroom and what is being taught to him.

At PDLG boot camp we have a class on how to do law school well. We have a class in every first-year topic taught by a professor who teaches that course. We have meetings with second-year law students at boot camp students' schools so the first years can get the scoop on what their school is like. And at the end of the camp we hear from the students who attend that their experience at boot camp removed some of their fear of classes that were known to be very hard, provided tangible advice about how to function in law school, turned seemingly tedious areas of law into subjects of interest, and helped them begin to understand what it means to "think like a lawyer." And that is all great.

The question is: what next? Students with support networks and safety nets are not left adrift, as they can seek out guidance and advice from those they know. They can ask the dumb questions without worrying whether the person they ask thinks less of them for asking. They know the best approaches to studying and exam prep. But what about everyone else?

Whether a student sinks or swims in the first year is key not just to success in law school but also to the shape of the early years of the student's career. As is well known, the most common reason students do not receive a call-back interview or job offer is because of grades— especially first-year grades. It is first-year grades that often lead to offers for the summer after the 2L year, and performance during that summer is what leads to associate offers. Many of those who get overlooked by this flawed, but persistent system are students who excelled in undergraduate studies but their grades were not what they expected or wanted in their first semester or first year at law school. This disconnect between college and law school grades is true of many law students, diverse or not. In PDLG, we see it from time to time in diverse law students' applications for the PDLG Fellows Program. And it is likely no coincidence that many of these students don't have a lawyer or law student network to help them understand the more intimidating and unexplained aspects of law school. Many don't have a comfortable way to get answers to their questions. How can we change that?

Based on conversations with law students about what would have made a difference in their first-year grades, real one-on-one mentoring could make a direct impact on performance. Mentoring that is not just having lunch a few times a year or one or two check-in calls, but rather a real investment in the student's success. There are many possible things to do: help a first-year law student understand how to brief (or break down), with examples; discuss outlining and how the student approaches this; review a practice exam and compare it to the professor's exemplar to consider how to approach a live exam; plan how to approach a professor about a confusing concept or question; encourage seeking out and using law school resources; and otherwise provide support, encouragement and willingness to listen. And it would take time, but this isn't an all or nothing situation—offering help on any one thing could make the difference not only with respect to their academic performance, but even the trajectory of a law student's career. Law students routinely express need for this kind of support, but not all have ready or comfortable and unconditional access to a mentor.

The idea of a mentor often brings to mind a senior person with many years of experience. For this kind of mentoring, however, lawyers in the beginning and middle of their practices have the most opportunity to make a positive impact. They are closer to law school, they remember what works and what doesn't. If law school is still fresh in your mind and you have an interest in increasing the diversity of the Philadelphia legal community, this is an opportunity for you to do something to make it happen. Law schools and law school affinity groups often have mentoring programs and would welcome your involvement. Take the initiative to reach out to find and work with a diverse first-year law student who could benefit from your knowledge and support. Get in touch with one of the law schools or affinity groups of the Philadelphia Bar Association and offer to get involved. You could make a difference.

Lois Kimbol is the vice president-programs for the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group. Before her retirement, she practiced environmental law and was a partner at Dechert.