Mentoring

I agree that training and mentoring are vital to an inexperienced lawyer. The issue, however, is how that training and mentoring can be effectively provided.

President-elect Designate Sia Baker-Barnes, as I did, had the advantage of working at a firm with experienced, capable lawyers. But that model is becoming an anachronism. More than 20% of law school graduates admitted to the Bar cannot find work in firms or the equivalent, where they could receive training. Many, instead, choose to open solo private practices. They hold themselves out, dangerously, to the general public, as providing a wide range of legal services. The public is then duped into believing, that because these individuals are licensed, they have the requisite skill set to do the work. They do not, of course. The public is victimized, and the reputation of lawyers further diminished.