Recent News

July 27, 2006

Supreme Court mentoring program attracts great mentors

Dozens of lawyers from Central Ohio, including members of the Columbus Bar, are being commended by the Supreme Court of Ohio for their dedication to the profession for volunteering to be a mentor to new lawyers making the transition from law school to law practice.

“I commend the lawyers who have volunteered to mentor,” said Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer. “I am grateful for their dedication to improving the practice of law, their willingness to participate and their desire to help shape the future of the legal profession.”

The attorneys are participating in Ohio’s first-ever statewide Lawyer to Lawyer Mentoring Program – a pilot program that recently was extended to include the upcoming class of bar-admitted attorneys this fall in addition to the class admitted in May.

The one-year voluntary mentoring program was initiated by the Chief Justice 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, including the following Central Ohio attorneys:

Chad A. Readler

Attorneys who volunteer to mentor must be approved by the Commission on Professionalism after it is determined that the lawyer meets minimum qualifications, including being an attorney admitted to practice in Ohio for not less than five years who is registered active in good standing with no discipline actions against the lawyer. Many mentors were nominated to participate in the program by local bar associations and judges because of their exceptional reputations in their local communities.

The Supreme Court’s statewide program is an example of formal mentoring programs being established across the state and nation. In 2004, the Columbus Bar began a mentoring program which has matched approximately 250 mentors with younger attorneys. The Columbus Bar’s program continues to provide mentoring opportunities to supplement those offered by the Supreme Court.

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.