2024-2025 FACL BC Mentorship Program 

Registration period: November 15, 2024 to December 15, 2024

Registration for both mentors and mentees are open now! 

Register as a Mentor here.

Register as a Mentee here.

The FACL BC Mentorship Program has helped both mentors and mentees grow professionally and personally. Our past pairings have discussed professional development, day-to-day practice, ethical dilemmas, work-life balance, and substantive legal issues. 

Please read below for detailed information on the program.

Mentorship Pairing Program Streams

This year, the FACL BC Mentorship Program will have two streams:

Program for Law Students & Articling Students: This is a program to provide mentorship to law students and articling students. Mentors should have at least one year of call as a lawyer. The program is aimed at helping aspiring lawyers find their way through their legal careers, and highlighting the growth and potential of upcoming professionals. 

Program for Junior and Mid-Level Lawyers: This is a program to provide mentorship to junior lawyers from their first year of call onwards. Mentors should have at least three years of call as a lawyer. The program is aimed at supporting junior and mid-level lawyers as they navigate and advance in their legal careers.  

Parties must enter into a Mentorship Agreement if they agree to participate in the program.

Serving as a Mentor to a Law Student or Articling Student: We encourage individuals with at least one year of call to consider applying as both mentors and mentees. You may mentor a law student/articling student, and separately receive mentorship from a more senior lawyer. If you apply to participate in both roles, you can contribute to and benefit from a collaborative community of learning and support within FACL BC. 

Peer Mentorship

The FACL BC Mentorship Program also offers mentee-registrants the option to participate in peer mentorship pairings if there are not enough senior mentors available to match with mentees. 

Peer Mentoring is a mentorship relationship involving participants who are at the same or similar years of call or career stages. Peer mentors foster a relationship of trust and connection, as participants may feel more comfortable discussing certain topics with a peer. They can also support each other in identifying and achieving goals, and sharing experiences, perspectives and resources.

Peer mentorship pairs will follow similar guidelines as the standard mentor-mentee relationship and are encouraged to establish clear expectations and goals together. Through a structured initial meeting, peers establish their preferred meeting frequency, communication methods, and identify specific professional development goals relevant to their legal career stages. The relationship is built on mutual trust, confidentiality, and a shared commitment to professional growth within the legal community.

Time Commitment

The program highly recommends a commitment of one hour per month, in-person or virtually. Scheduling meetings in advance will help ensure that time is dedicated to build and foster the mentorship relationship. Mentors and mentees are encouraged to coordinate and schedule their own meeting times. 

The term of the FACL BC mentorship relationship formally ends on February 1, 2026. The parties may agree to end it sooner. Parties are free to continue their mentorship relationships beyond the calendar year if they choose.

The FACL BC Mentorship Committee recognizes the demands on lawyers’ busy schedules and understands that consistent meeting times may be challenging. The FACL BC Mentorship Committee will organize events throughout the year, offering mentor-mentee pairs opportunities to stay connected and to network with other mentorship pairings.

The FACL BC Mentorship Committee also acknowledges that mentoring relationships may continue indefinitely, evolve over time or even come to a natural close. It is important for the mentorship pair to recognize this natural progression and to periodically assess and re-define their relationship as needed.

Matching

Spots are limited and pairings will be done on a first-come, first-served basis.

The FACL BC Mentorship Committee will make every effort to match pairings based on the information provided in the registration form. 

The Committee is mindful that students attending law schools outside of BC may plan to work in BC after graduation. Based on past experiences in the program and in a post-COVID world, we believe mentorship relationships can thrive through different connection channels such as phone and Zoom. We strongly encourage interested mentors to consider this flexibility. 

For the 2025 Mentorship year, the registration period is open between November 15-December 15, 2024. Pairing results will be announced to registrants mid-January 2024. We will do our best to keep registrants informed about: 1) receipt of applications, and 2) any potential delays in the pairing process.

Code of Conduct and Confidentiality 

Trust, honesty, and confidentiality are essential to a successful mentor-mentee relationship. Your participation in the FACL BC Mentorship Program is voluntary; however, given the confidential information that may be shared between the mentor and mentee, both parties are encouraged to have a candid discussion at the beginning of their relationship about maintaining confidentiality so that mentees feel free to share openly and ask questions.

The parties understand that all matters discussed in the course of the mentorship are to remain confidential unless both parties agree otherwise. Each party should clearly communicate any boundaries they wish to establish regarding information that is shared. This commitment to confidentiality extends beyond the formal mentorship period. 

As responsible legal professionals, we respect the rules of conduct guiding the legal profession and acknowledge the professional standards established by the Law Society of British Columbia’s Code of Conduct. A lawyer’s conduct toward other lawyers should be characterized by courtesy and good faith. Further, lawyers are expected to respect the dignity and worth of all persons. A lawyer should foster a professional environment that is respectful, accessible, and inclusive.

Contact

Email: mentorship@faclbc.ca

Committee Chair: Miguel Oreta 

Committee Vice Chair: Rachel Wong

Vice President (Internal): Jennine Punzalan