Professional Development
Mentoring

Dewey & LeBoeuf's lawyers have historically demonstrated a high level of professional camaraderie and enthusiastically supported fellow colleagues. This "esprit de corps" is evident in the firm's formal mentoring program. Hundreds of lawyers volunteer each year to serve as a mentor or mentee in the program. Summer associates and incoming first year and lateral associates are matched with an associate and/or partner mentor upon their arrival to assist with the acculturation process. 

Associates' professional needs will evolve with experience. Therefore, they are encouraged throughout their career to be matched with a variety of mentors who can assist them with their specific needs. Mentor volunteers and mentees must go through training and usually invest several hours a month in managing the specific needs of the relationship.

Mentoring efforts are celebrated at the year's end, when mentees submit written nominations for Mentor of the Year Award. A partner and associate recipient are selected from the many nominations and announced at a cocktail reception attended by program participants.  

Mentor-mentee relationships typically serve many professional needs, including, but not limited to:

• Practice management advice;
• Pipeline for firm or practice group information;
• Evaluate work product;
• Provide coaching on substantive legal knowledge;
• Engage in unique client assignments/ensure steady work flow;
• External networking assistance;
• Internal champion;
• Help navigate the firm's performance assessment process;
• Resource to bounce ideas off of; and
• Acculturation of new attorneys.