Recent News

July 27, 2006

Supreme Court extends statewide mentoring pilot program

Ohio’s first-ever statewide lawyer mentoring program has been extended to include the upcoming class of bar-admitted attorneys this fall, the Supreme Court of Ohio announced.

The Lawyer to Lawyer Mentoring Program, a one-year voluntary pilot program for new lawyers, is designed to help ease the transition from law school to law practice through an ongoing relationship with an experienced attorney. The program began this month and was available to all interested attorneys admitted to the Ohio Bar in May, 2006. With the extension of the program, attorneys admitted in November also may participate.

The mentoring program was initiated by Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer and Justice Terrence O’Donnell and developed by the Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, with input from law schools, bar associations and law firms throughout Ohio.

Currently there are more than 550 attorneys statewide participating in the mentoring program. A complete list of attorneys serving as mentors in the Lawyer to Lawyer Mentoring Program as well as application forms for both mentors and new lawyers can be found at www.supremecourtofohio.gov/mentoring.

At the completion of the pilot program, the Commission on Professionalism will evaluate the program’s effectiveness and make recommendations to the Supreme Court concerning the permanent implementation of a mentoring program.