Born out of the success of the BBA's (Diversity & Inclusion Section)
Group Mentoring Program, the BBA has officially launched a Solo and Small Firm
Mentoring Group, where two experienced solo and small firm practitioners, Nina
Parker (Parker & Associates) and Laura Unflat (Law Office of Laura M.
Unflat), will mentor a group of 8 new solo/small attorneys over the course of
the year. The Mentoring Committee created the Solo and Small Firm Mentoring
Group in response to the changes in the legal market for new lawyers.
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"Being a solo practitioner is challenging in many
respects," said Parker. "There is often no one to talk through the practical
aspects of every day practice or to bounce ideas off -- whether it be what type of health
insurance to purchase or how to research a complicated legal question.
Solo practitioners in a mentoring group can exchange ideas, gain from other
lawyer's experiences and support each other (ways) to foster their respective
professional development."
The Solo & Small Firm Mentoring Group will meet monthly, with tangible
short and long term goals in mind. The short term will provide strategies for
career development and satisfaction, networking opportunities and addressing
concerns and questions that plague solo/small firm attorneys on a daily basis.
In the long term, the program will expose the mentee's to the benefits of
practicing law in Boston's legal community and to help expose participants to
the existence of career advancement opportunities and encouraging participation
and leadership through bar association activities. The first group mentoring
meeting, which took place on Monday, October 24th, already has members and
co-chairs geared up for the year ahead.
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"By the end of our first meeting (which lasted longer than we had
expected) people were chatting about their experiences and we had a list of ideas
for things to do over the next few months” said Unflat. “We left with the
excitement of knowing we would meet again within a month. We hope that the group
will continue to be a resource to each other over the long term as we develop
long and lasting professional relationships."
The Group Mentoring Program was created based on the findings of the 2009 BBA
Diversity Leadership Task Force, which states that that creating long lasting
relationships and a supportive environment for lawyers at an early stage in
their careers would be an effective way to promote career advancement and career
satisfaction. Since its inception in 2009, the BBA’s Group Mentoring Program has
matched a total of 180 diverse mentees with 39 seasoned mentors.
For
information on getting involved in the BBA's Group Mentoring Program, please
contact Susan Helm at shelm@bostonbar.org.
This year's Solo & Small firm mentors and mentee's: