Lake County Bar Association

Overview statement and mentor / mentee applications (click to download)

Mentor Program Handbook  (click to download)

Mission Statement

To provide a resource to lawyers with questions regarding substantive law, office economics and management, and professional conduct.

Services provided

     One-on-One                     New lawyers are matched with an experienced Mentor in their practice area who agree to work together for
                                               1 year on a frequency mutually agreed upon.

     Ad hoc inquiries               Mentees accepted into the program will have the ability to contact the LCBA office and connected to an
                                               experienced mentor to respond to a single question of substantive law or any other law practice
                                               management or ethics issue.

Mentor: Role and Responsibility

Mentors must have superior interpersonal skills and the ability to facilitate quality learning opportunities revolving around the best practices and highest values of the legal profession.  Before agreeing to serve as a Mentor, lawyers should honestly evaluate if they possess the skills needed to guide and teach a New Lawyer.  At a minimum Mentors must:

1. Be an attorney in Illinois registered active and in good standing;
2. Be admitted to practice law in Illinois for not less than 12 years;
3. Be a member of the Lake County Bar Association;
4. Never been sanctioned, suspended or disbarred from the practice of law in any state or jurisdiction and;
5. (5)    Maintain a policy of professional liability insurance in the amount of at least $250,000 per occurrence (personal injury referrals will require a $1,000,000.00 per occurrence minimum). 

All applications will be reviewed by the LCBA Mentoring Committee to determine compliance with the above requirements and for approval of each application.

Mentee: The Benefits

New lawyers participating in the LCBA Mentoring program will gain:

1. Encouragement, support and affirmation;
2. The opportunity to explore new ideas and alternatives;
3. Contacts with new individuals about groups and individuals that can aid her/him in their career development;
4. Stimulus to challenge her/him to achieve new goals and the confidence to try;
5. The LCBA Mentor program does not contemplate mentors rendering professional services to their mentees.