Fostering Professionalism Through Mentoring

Abstract:     
Bar associations, law schools, and scholars are beginning to recognize the importance of formal mentor relationships as a means both to address the problems of the legal profession and to foster professionalism. Fostering Professionalism Through Mentoring first synthesizes seven principles of professionalism from the existing ABA and Conference of Chief Justice reports on professionalism. The article then evaluates the existing theoretical and empirical scholarship on the functions of mentor relationships adding the professionalism mentoring function to the existing literature on the career, psychosocial, and role modeling mentoring functions. The last section of the article outlines and analyzes the for-credit Mentor Externship at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. The Mentor Externship is required for each student in each year of law school and is designed to realize the professionalism and role modeling mentoring functions.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 29

Keywords: Professional responsibility, legal education, professionalism, mentoring

Accepted Paper Series