Mentoring Program

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q. How do I become a Mentor or Mentee? A. Click here to go to the home page and register with the appropriate application online and if you qualify you will be matched. After you have completed the application, the computer will tell you whether you qualify for the program and if you, it will either provide you with your mentor/mentee or tell you that you are on a waiting list for the next available mentor/mentee.

Q. How long will it take to receive a match? A. It depends on how many mentors/mentees there are waiting in line to be placed. If there is an available mentor/mentee in your practice area, you will be paired immediately and should have an e-mail waiting for you within minutes of completing and submitting the application. However, from time to time there may be more mentees than mentors and since mentors are not available, the system won't be able to pair the mentee applicant until there are more mentors.

Q. Will I receive a mentor or mentee in my designated practice area? A. The system looks at several key factors to help create a pairing between suitable mentors and mentees. Practice area is definitely an important criterion in this pairing and if there are enough mentors and mentees, you should be able to receive a pairing in your practice area, however, it cannot be guaranteed.

Q. Are there special requirements to be a Mentor ? A. Yes. Our program requires Mentors to have at least seven years experience in the practice of law in which they choose to mentor, be an active member of the Florida Bar in good standing, and devote at least 50% to the practice area in which they intend to mentor.

Q. How are the Mentor/Mentee matches made? A. A computer program reviews the list of questions and sorts the criteria by a few qualities such as practice area and geographic proximity and matches a mentor/mentee pair. Each person's contact information is then e-mailed to the other to initiate contact.

Q. Must a mentee be a young lawyer? A. No. A mentee should be someone who is in their first three years of practice, a member of the Florida Bar, and a member of the Dade County Bar Association. If you are interested in being a mentee, but are not a member of the Dade County Bar Association, membership is free for the first year and you can sign up here.

Q. How long am I committed to the program? A. The purpose of this program is to provide a source of advice and counsel to help promote professionalism through e-mail, while recognizing the critical value of respecting each person's time. A positive mentoring relationship is developed over time. Therefore, it is desired that the relationship continue as long as both participants are comfortable, preferably for at least one year.

Q. What kind of support is there for Mentors? A. Click here [link] for a list of topics for Mentors, guidelines, and rules of engagement. If you feel like you need further guidance and support to mentor your mentee, please contact the Dade County Bar Association at 305.371.2220.

Q. How do I provide feedback for the program? A. A quick, 3 minute survey is sent via e-mail periodically to check in and see how the program is working for you. It is your opportunity to let the program know how you are doing and how the program can serve you best.

Q. What are the obligations and commitments I must make to be in the program? A. Time is a precious resource for lawyers and it is the one commitment the program requires in order for the pairing to be successful. The intended benefit of communicating via e-mail is intended to allow mutual respect for one another's time, while allowing a professional mentoring relationship to develop over time which will provide value to both participants. There are no set times for this relationship as that will depend on the individual pairings. We recommend that the mentor and mentee discuss their expectations and reach a mutually agreeable level of involvement. The program works better the longer the pair develops the relationship, however, it is expected that the mentor and mentee give one another at least one year.

Q. Who do I contact if there is an error in an e-mail I receive, a contact name, address or other item appearing on the website? A. If there is an error in any of your information or in the information provided to your mentor, please click here to change the information or to notify the program of an error.

Q. We are a bar organization who would like to use this program, can we? A. The Dade County Bar Association sells licenses to this program for use by other bar organizations at a fraction of the cost the association spent to build it to help develop mentorship programs for other bar associations. Please contact the Dade County Bar Association at 305.371.2220 if you are interested in this program for your association.