8 Tips to Navigate Your Mentorship

The Bencher | January/February 2025

By Abimael “AJ” Bastida, Esquire

Guidance from a mentor can be life changing, especially for those who do not have someone in their family or inner circle to provide that personal or professional guidance. An effective mentor can encourage a young person to take chances on themselves or change the trajectory of their career path. The best mentors are those who don’t tell you what to do but instead offer advice in all aspects of life and help you find and navigate your own path.

At a law firm, mentorship takes different forms. At McManis Faulkner, a trial firm in San Jose, California, associates are paired with more senior associates or new partners, based on education, interests, or practice. Mentorship also starts at the top. Founder Jim McManis, Esquire, is always willing to share his experiences, advice, and lessons learned from over 50 years of practicing law. Regardless of any formal law firm mentorship program, you might also gravitate toward people with whom you are comfortable. There is no rule on who can provide that guidance and mentorship along your journey. From partners to file clerks to other legal professionals, there is something to be learned from everyone.

Whether you are currently a mentor, or considering becoming one, learning about the common traits of effective mentors may help you improve the professional relationships in your life. Below are some of the qualities I have seen in my mentors who have helped me find and navigate my professional career path.

Active Listening Is Key

A good mentor practices active listening skills and takes the time to understand a mentee’s personal or professional situation. By listening well, a mentor will be better equipped to guide the mentee to answers (without necessarily giving an outright, explicit answer).

By discussing pros and cons about various life situations, an effective mentor will ask the right questions, such as:

• Why do you want to achieve this goal?
• Which of these values matters more to you? Why?
• Which options best align with your short- and long-term goals?

Practical and Substantial Advice

An effective mentor shares advice that is practical, substantial, or both. Practical advice is useful to most individuals and may include topics such as networking tips, interview advice, or resume suggestions. Substantial advice is in-depth and detailed but has a narrower scope and is usually specific to a certain subject. Both types of advice may lead to discussions of actionable behaviors or activities that a mentee can practice while working toward a goal.

A Personal Investment

Relationships grow in relation to the time and effort put into them. An effective mentor will invest personal time and energy into their mentor-mentee relationships. As a natural result, the mentor will also develop an emotional and personal investment in the mentee. The mentor will want to hear about mentees’ updates and will share in the excitement that comes from the mentee’s success.

Mentees are also responsible for providing updates to their mentors. For example, if the mentee previously asked the mentor for interview advice, the mentee should provide an update on how the interview went. Alternatively, the mentor will want to know if the advice was helpful and what worked well (or did not). Having open discussions about these topics will build the foundation for a flourishing relationship.

Keeping in Contact

Poor communication is the number one barrier to successful mentorship relationships. Trust and communication are two-way streets, so the mentor and mentee should be equally involved in the relationship for it to be beneficial for both parties. In practice, however, the mentee bears more of the responsibility for maintaining open and ongoing communication. The mentor is providing advice, guidance, and solutions to many of the mentee’s questions. It is up to the mentee to continue to flourish and maintain that relation. Mentees should also be appreciative and responsive to the advice and time shared with them.

Building the Professional Network

An effective mentor understands the difference between networking and cultivating relationships. The ultimate goal is to cultivate a relationship, which requires mentees to keep track of people they meet and follow up periodically. This method requires them to gauge the response from other persons. If they are slow to respond, then the mentee must wait more time before contacting them again. If a person responds quickly and enthusiastically to a mentee’s texts or emails, then the relationship will develop faster. The potential mentor may grow into a strong professional contact or even a friend. Relationships will do the work for you. It’s the long—but meaningful—game.

In the legal profession, networking is valuable because it may lead to client referrals, relationships, and therefore, more cases. Not only may a well-connected mentor help expand a professional network, but the mentor also can help a mentee improve in practicing law.

Cultivating a Professional Image

Lawyers must think about how they conduct themselves in front of partners, other attorneys, judges, and clients. They must decide how they want to be perceived and what type of reputation they want to have in the legal community. To that end, a mentor may be of immense help to a mentee who is navigating these professional considerations for the first time. One clear example is the mentor’s ability to connect and possibly even vouch for the mentee to key legal professionals—partners, judges, and clients—which may prove vital when shaping the mentee’s professional image and reputation.

A mentor who has had real-life experience in the profession will be able to share valuable lessons learned with the mentee. For example, if an up-and-coming lawyer wants to be perceived in a certain way, then a mentor could give tips on how to achieve that professional image. How does one move upward or laterally or gain a promotion? The answer varies, but the right mentor will have the proper experience, tools, or resources to guide a mentee in the right direction. This knowledge can make or break a rising lawyer.

Achieving Personal Fulfillment

Good mentor qualities and habits can be learned, but most importantly, an individual must want to mentor. Being a good mentor requires time, energy, and patience, but the experience of mentoring can be fulfilling. Speaking from personal experience, mentoring keeps us young and engaged and gives us the opportunity to learn from our mentees as well. It’s a rewarding practice that makes mentors proud when their mentees succeed.

Empathy and an Open Mind

So where do you start now? With an open mind.

Mentors should reflect on how they felt when they were young law students: What do you wish you had known? If you could do something differently in your career, what would it be? What are the lessons you learned the hard way that you can now share with others? No matter what comes to mind, someone will find your story and guidance invaluable. Whether you have 50 years of experience—or none—everyone has knowledge and perspectives that can be valuable to others. When everybody has something to offer, anybody can be a mentor if they put the time into it.

Abimael “A.J.” Bastida, Esquire, is a partner with McManis Faulkner in San Jose, California. He represents both plaintiffs and defendants in business and employment-related disputes and defends high-level executives in individual matters. Bastida also has experience with civil rights, probate and trust litigation, and white-collar matters. He is a member of the Honorable William A. Ingram American Inn of Court.