Mentoring - The Old Forms (and arguments leveraging Them for RTO) Are Blowing Up

 Increasingly, the subreddit for Big Law is evolving into The Mentor for law students and junior lawyers.

REFER TO REDDITBIGLAW

Even AbovetheLaw, which in some ways is a competitor for that subreddit, is linking to and discussing the content. Here is what is posted on the ATL Morning Feed:

"Redditor asks if it's okay to show up to their summer gig a different race than what they indicated on their application. Nobody really reads the fine print... right? [Reddit]"

"THEY" ARE STILL JUSTIFYING RTO

The ability of this kind of crowdserved mentoring constitutes a strong argument against the need for RTO. Forever law firms (along with Eric Grossman at Morgan Stanley) have been pounding that career development can only take place in-person in brick-and-mortar. 

However, the presentation of career issues and the thoughtful analysis by commentators on the Big Law subreddit blow up that push for RTO.

SEEMS SOLID ADVICE, W/O AGENDAS

Recently on the subreddit a two-year corporate associate requested input on a possible career move in-house. The advice which came came in covered all bases - objectively. There was no agenda. 

The associate put it out there:

"I’ve got an offer to move in house wia media company as a junior attorney. Sounds like it would be a cool job doing what I like to do, but am I moving out of big law too soon? I feel like I’m just barely starting to grasp the ins and outs of M&A work and I’m worried I might be missing out on valuable firm experience that I wouldn’t otherwise get, and that my options going forward will be more limited by moving in house now."

One detailed thoughtful comment summed up the situation as this: You already have BigLaw on your resume. You learn a lot during the first two years as an associate. Less so in the next two years as compared to what can be learned in-house. So, the timing is right for a move.

TWO WARNINGS

However in the aggregrate of comments, there had been a two-part warning to the associate. Yes, energy had been put into the analysis.

1) Do due dilgence on the new opportunity that you will learn enough to be able to market yourself to the next in-house job. In this there is the assumption that the first in-house job represents just a start in that game. However, it is noted that lucrative career paths can be followed by staying with one in-house department.

2) It is unlikely that those departing from private practice will be able to return from in-house. 

Other issues dealt with on the subreddit range from how to orchestrate a lateral to the realities if parenting is possible on the path to partnership.

WHEN MENTORING RELATIONS SOUR

In addition, there is the possibility that the mentoring process will sour. Many do, as I explain in the career book I published "The Critical First Years of Your Professional Life." Very soon the mentee can outgrow the mentor. The typical pattern is that the mentor's career had peaked. There is resentment of the rise of the new star. Retaliation is not atypical. Instrusiveness is common. It took me several years to shake off my mentor from my early career years in corporate.

Connect with Editor-in-Chief Jane Genova at janegenova374@gmail.com. She is available to law firms and their vendors for communications assignments. Complimentary consultation. No selling. 

 

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