New Lawyers Mentoring Program


TCDLA is launching a mentorship program aimed at pairing new lawyers with an experienced lawyer mentor. The program is aimed at helping new lawyers gain experience in court and the legal field by working with a more experienced lawyer mentor. The lawyer mentor will be able to train and mold the next generation of legal minds to the rigors of criminal defense work. It is expected that the new lawyer will shadow their mentor in court, help with case preparation, and sit second chair and assist in any trial cases of the mentoring attorney. Following are some suggested guidelines for new attorneys and mentors participating in this program.

New Lawyer Mentoring Program Guidelines

(1) Any case(s) assigned to the new lawyer is assigned at the discretion of the mentor.

(2) The new lawyer will keep confidential any conversation and information relating to the case unless the new lawyer has the permission from the mentor to disclose such facts.

(3) The mentor will try to include the new lawyer in any case preparation so that the new attorney may gain experience in working up a criminal case.

(4) The mentor will make time available to answer questions by the new lawyer.

(5) If possible, the mentor will include the new attorney in any trial cases and allow the new lawyer to sit second chair in at least one hearing, motion, or trial.

(6) The new lawyer or mentor will immediately contact the New Lawyer Mentoring Program Chairs if there are any conflicts between the new attorney and mentor that cannot be resolved.

The TCDLA New Lawyer Committee has posted a questionnaire so our new members can be paired with some of our more experienced members in a mentor/mentee program. If you are interested, please follow the link below and let us know. —Committee Chair Thuy Le
CLICK HERE TCDLA New Lawyer Mentoring Program Questionnaire