Message from the Chair

By K. Scott Dickey*

Regular readers of the Message from the Chair will know that since October 2013, the Public Law Section has partnered with the California Young Lawyers Association ("CYLA") to promote a Mentoring Program aimed at developing young attorneys and creating an active and vibrant network within the Public Law community. I am happy to report that we have had some early success with the Program, matching experienced practitioners with new attorneys in both Northern and Southern California, and we have received several applications from prospective mentors and mentees this year. We hope that the program will continue to grow, and that it will complement the State Bar’s efforts to encourage mentoring relationships in all practice areas.

To that end, I wanted to provide you all with some details about how the mentoring program works. Our goal is for it to promote professionalism, ethics, civility and legal skills among young lawyers entering our practice. We hope that mentorship will also promote collegial relationships among legal professionals and active involvement in the practice of public law, the legal community in general and, in particular, the Public Law Section.

We hope that in addition to promoting professionalism, ethics, civility and legal skills, the Program will provide valuable networking opportunities. Mentors should share with mentees techniques and strategies they have found successful and, when appropriate, reveal mistakes they have made and pitfalls to avoid. The Program is intended to be a learning tool and is not intended as a recruitment device for mentors or to provide employment opportunities for mentees. However, a mentee seeking advice from the mentor about general job hunting strategies and networking suggestions is appropriate and encouraged.