Welcome to the Oregon State Bar's New Lawyer Mentoring Program. The OSB and the Oregon Supreme Court launched this initiative to serve all incoming attorney bar members starting in 2011. The mandatory program formalizes a process that for many decades took place organically, through connections forged at law firms and other close-knit bar communities. As our state bar has grown, the process of introducing new lawyers to the legal community, and guiding them through the transition to law practice, has grown more amorphous. The NLMP offers new attorney bar members one-on-one guidance on elements of a highly competent practice, while promoting the professionalism, civility and collegiality that make Oregon among the best places in the country to practice law.
The program is loosely modeled on programs in Georgia and Utah, which have received accolades for giving all new attorney bar members meaningful access to experienced lawyers and a well-developed mentoring program in their first year. The Oregon model emphasizes a flexible approach in which mentors and new lawyers take the core curriculum and shape it to best meet the needs of the new lawyer.
Produced by: Melissa Powers, In-House Productions, www.in-housepdx.com