Supporting the building of successful law firm practices

The aim of the International Bar Association's Law Firm Mentoring Programme is to provide law firm management advice and guidance to lawyers who do not have easy access to management consultancy services. The first version of this programme was launched by the IBA Law Firm Management Committee in 2009 as a pilot programme available to IBA members. The programme has since been extended, was re-launched at the association's annual conference in Dublin in October 2012 and is now available to all mentees, whether IBA members or not.

With experience from a large law firm as well as being an entrepreneur who set up her own boutique firm, Swedish mentor Susanna Norelid discusses the scheme.

Why did you decide to join this programme as a mentor?

I am trained as a coach and mentor and enjoy helping others develop themselves and their law firms.

Since I am fortunate to have experience both from a large law firm as well as being an entrepreneur setting up my own boutique firm, I have a lot of dos and don'ts to share with others. I do not have answers to all questions, but I know quite a few questions to raise to make both the mentee and myself develop and challenge our situations.

The mentor programme is also a perfect way to become more active within the IBA network and expand your own experiences and contacts.

What kind of guidance are you providing?

At my first contact with the mentee, I try to identify which needs the mentee seems to have, what kind of business he/she is running, what stage he/she is at, and so on.

Then I present my 'year calendar' with 10 to 12 top-level topics for us to cover and discuss throughout the year. ?The mentee is, however, expected to set the agenda and to decide what he/she finds most urgent or interesting for each phone call.

We cover things like: setting up a law firm from a practical perspective; marketing activities in a national and/or international market; recruitment and HR issues; issues in relation to joining networks; financial issues and partnership issues - it all depends on the mentee's situation and wishes.

We try, however, to have one pre-set topic for each call so that we can both be prepared before the call and also make sure that we cover as many issues as possible during our year together.

How often do you speak/meet with your mentee?

My mentee and I have a one-hour telephone call per month. The mentee is however welcome to call or send emails whenever he/she needs my immediate input or wants to discuss something urgently. We have also planned to meet in person later this spring and next fall (at the IBA annual conference in Boston).

What have you learned so far?

You learn so much from being a mentor! You question your views and ways of doing things when you hear about the challenges in other countries. You get to see and hear about different markets where the situation is very different from your own and it gives you perspective on the way you manage your law firm. It is also highly appreciated, so it is of course wonderful to feel that you are doing something valuable. It makes you feel very good!

What advice would you give to a new mentor joining this programme?

Firstly, listen to the mentee. What expectations does he/she have of the programme? What can you bring to the table? Maybe he/she does not know what he/she needs or wants? Try to put yourself in the mentee's position, market and environment because it can differ very much from your ?own situation.

Secondly, try to set an agenda in advance for the phone calls that covers the most important issues facing the mentee, but also add your own topics and ideas, which can be useful for the mentee to think about and evaluate. I find it useful to have a pre-set calendar for the year, which of course you can deviate from if needed, but it helps you to cover as many different topics as possible.

Thirdly, be prepared before every phone call. Think of questions to raise so that the mentee starts to think and maybe come up with his own answers to his own issues. I always start every phone call with a brief status update from the previous phone call to hear what has been done, discuss any results or other things in connection with what we discussed previously.

Last but not least, enjoy helping others achieve something they can be proud of. It definitely helps you too!