Chad Hinton and Ryan Stewart, both members of the class of 2009 at Elon University School of Law, reported findings from their survey on the state of mentoring in the Wake County legal community to the Wake County Bar Association on April 30.
Key findings from the survey, based on 89 total responses from newly licensed attorneys in Wake County, include:
– 58% of respondents reporting no formal or informal mentoring experience
– 65% expressing a desire to participate in a formal mentoring program
– 94% of minority respondents indicating that they would participate in a formal mentoring program
Hinton said of the findings, “New members of the Wake County bar conveyed that they would value candid and confidential professional advice from experienced attorneys in the region. We hope the findings of our report benefit the legal community of Wake County and ultimately the clients they serve as well.”
The report recommends establishing realistic expectations, specific goals, and training for new mentors among a series of suggestions shared with the Wake County Bar Association as they consider establishing a formal mentoring program.
Stewart said of the experience, “It was both an honor and privilege to work with the Wake County Bar Association and the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism to develop a knowledge base that will inform the establishment of a formal mentoring program in the 10th Judicial District. It is our aspiration that the creation of the Wake County program will not only provide invaluable support to newly admitted members, but will also serve as a model for the establishment of formal mentoring programs by other urban bar associations across North Carolina.”
Commenting on the report, Ed Gaskins, President of the Wake County Bar Association, said, “Most organizations considering a mentoring program make assumptions about what is needed and then design a program based on those assumptions. We wanted to do an actual assessment of need. That’s where Elon Law school came in. The survey and report that these students produced is the most thorough assessment of mentoring need that I have encountered. They did an excellent job.”
The Wake County Bar Association will soon consider the findings in the report as part of its deliberations on the formation of a formal mentoring program.
Hinton and Stewart created and conducted the study as their capstone leadership experience at Elon Law, a component of the law school’s leadership development program encouraging the application of legal knowledge in service to public interests.
The report was developed under the advisement of Leary Davis, founding dean emeritus and professor at Elon University School of Law, with expert survey design assistance from Rob Springer, Director of Institutional Research at Elon University.