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At Lerners, mentorship isn't a formality — it's a cornerstone of how we grow lawyers, nurture confidence, and strengthen firm culture.
This National Mentoring Month, we're proud to shine a light on the articling students who show up every day with curiosity, courage, and an authentic commitment to learning and the mentors who generously give their time, insights, and experience.
As we connected with mentors and mentees in our London and Toronto offices, their reflections converged around five central themes.
1. Confidence and Security Grow in Community
Starting out in law can feel daunting, but everything becomes less overwhelming when you have a trusted mentor by your side. Someone who has stood where you stand now. Someone who can say, “I've been there — here's what helped.”
Our students emphasized how invaluable it is to have relationships built on trust and goodwill. These relationships don't just guide the early years of practice — they create a network of support that endures throughout a career.
2. Understanding the Business of Law Matters
Integrity, diligence, and a strong work ethic form the foundation of legal practice. But succeeding as a lawyer also means understanding how a firm functions day to day. Students shared how eye‑opening it is to learn about how client relationships develop, how files are managed, and how strategic decisions get made.
Mentors help open the curtain so articling students can see the full picture — not just the legal side, but the business behind the profession and the unwritten rules you can't learn anywhere else.
3. Mentorship Is a Two-Way Relationship
While students benefit from guidance and structure, our mentors are quick to share how much they gain from the relationship as well. Mentorship is energizing. It brings fresh perspectives. It challenges assumptions. It reminds seasoned lawyers why they fell in love with the profession in the first place.
For students, it creates room for accountability, growth, and exploration. For mentors, it renews purpose.
4. Mentorship Helps Young Lawyers Find Their Own Style
There is no single “right” way to be a lawyer. Some thrive in litigation, others in deal-driven transactional work. Some enjoy the adrenaline of the courtroom; others prefer the strategy of negotiation. A meaningful mentorship experience helps students discover how they communicate, how they advocate, how they like to work, what values are important to them, and where they feel most at home in the profession.
5. The Most Rewarding Learning Comes from Doing
Every articling student remembers the moment a lawyer brings them into a major file and asks, “What do you think?” It's empowering — and it matters. When students are trusted with substantive work, they gain confidence in their judgment and see how their contributions shape outcomes.
Mentorship at Lerners continues to thrive because of the exceptional people who invest in each other. This month, and every month, we celebrate the students who bring enthusiasm and purpose to their work, and the mentors who guide them with generosity, insight, and care. Together, they strengthen our profession and help build the future of Lerners.
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