Mentorship

Being a mentor – it’s good for you too

  • September 28, 2016
  • Carolynne Burkholder-James

Having good mentors can be key to a young lawyer’s success. But Stephanie Okola, a Toronto-based lawyer and mediator, says that the mentors themselves can also benefit from this relationship.

Okola, who specializes in litigation at Okola Law, says that her experiences as a law student and junior lawyer inspired her to mentor others.

“I completed my law degree outside of Canada and then came back and qualified to practise law in Ontario,” she says. “Without mentorship, that process would have been impossible for me.”

Okola now uses this experience to help others who are going through the same process. 

“When I began my practice, it was really important not only to remain connected to some of the mentors I had become connected with but also to provide that same sort of support to people who were coming into the business – specifically young women who were looking to start their own practices because I had to overcome some of those hurdles myself,” she says. “Mentorship has always been something that has been front and centre for my practice and it is something that I made efforts to incorporate into my regular routine.”

Okola says her mentees give her a “fresh perspective.” 

“I always feel like there is something to learn from everybody. I think that many junior lawyers feel like they don’t know anything, while in reality they know far more than they thought that they did,” she says. 

Peer mentorship can also be valuable for lawyers, says Okola. 

“I believe very strongly in peer mentorship as well as being mentored by somebody who is more senior than you because I find that people who are your peers can provide you with support,” she says.

Charlotte Wolters, who founded the Women’s Legal Mentorship Program, which includes a peer mentorship component, says that any form of mentorship is a “reciprocal relationship.” 

“Opportunities can flow both ways,” she says. “For instance, a lot of people think that senior lawyers can offer opportunities to junior lawyers, such as connections to community boards, referrals and files. But it can work the other way too. A junior lawyer may be able to provide referrals, files or advice as well.”

For example, Wolters says that one of her mentors early in her career asked for her opinion on an issue he was dealing with.

“I was stunned and terrified but then told him exactly what I thought,” recalls Wolters. “He took me seriously and turned out it confirmed a few things for him.”

Sandeep K. Dhir, Q.C., an Edmonton-based partner with Field LLP, enjoys working in a team with junior lawyers at his firm, and he welcomes their input and suggestions. It’s also “incredibly rewarding” to work with young lawyers as a mentor, he says.

“There’s an idealism and excitement in the practise of law that they bring that rejuvenates my own level of excitement and interest.” 

Deborah R. Hatch, a criminal lawyer with Hatch McClelland & Moore, in Edmonton, says that junior lawyers are often “less entrenched in a particular approach or way of doing things.” 

“As a result, they are sometimes more open to considering or suggesting new approaches, and that can be very beneficial,” she adds. “Sometimes an inexperienced, but keen and creative mind can contribute to an excellent approach, and/or result.”

Sasha Ramnarine credits his experience as a young entrepreneur as his inspiration to take on a mentorship role.

“I grew up in the restaurant industry. My family owned a restaurant and I started managing it when I was 18,” says Ramnarine, now an associate lawyer with Remedios & Company in Vancouver. 

Ramnarine now volunteers as a mentor with several organizations serving immigrants and business people. 
“I don’t just mentor lawyers, I mentor business people and entrepreneurs generally,” he explains. “For example, I have a mentee right now who owns a bakery.”

He says he offers his mentees “a safe place to talk about their goals and ambitions and even sometimes their fears and things that are troubling them as well.” 

Ramnarine says he sees mentorship as an empathetic role. 

“There isn’t a hierarchical level. You’re not above them. You’re not below them,” he says. “But you may have experienced the same things that they’ve gone through. You’re not trying to tell them what to do but more to be their guide to find the right solution whatever that may be.”

Mentorship can be a way for people to give back to the community, says Ramnarine.

“I feel like I’ve experienced a lot and I can help share those experiences or those lessons that I’ve learned with other people to learn from them too,” he adds. “Being there to help people and inspire people, it’s just something I really want to do.”

Hatch agrees that mentorship is a way to give back. 

“I was in a privileged position to practice for the first ten years of my practice with other remarkable criminal defence counsel,” she says. “The least we can do is to try to pay back a portion of what we received early on in our careers. Mentoring others is a comfort in a sense in that it allows us to contribute back to the profession and to clients indirectly in that way.”

Ramnarine says that he has also benefited from his work as a mentor. 

“It’s a learning experience for both parties,” he says. “It’s not just for the mentees, it’s also the mentors. I have learned a lot from my mentees as well.”

Ramnarine says that he “highly recommends” that people become mentors, a sentiment echoed by Okola. 
“I think that every lawyer should get involved in mentorship in some way,” she adds.

Carolynne Burkholder-James is an associate with Heather Sadler Jenkins LLP in Prince George, B.C.

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