Founding Partner, Michelle Foster, Quoted by Corporate Counsel on Mentorship as Remote Work Continues
/Worried About Mentorship as Remote Work Continues? Here’s What to Do, Depending Where You Are
Challenges abound for lawyers looking for mentorship in the post-pandemic, remote-work world, especially at companies where such may become a permanent way of operating.
Leaders may find themselves stumped when it comes to nurturing new talent in an age where more and more communications are done via video conferencing than in walk-in meetings. Some have even said remote work poses an issue for diversity and inclusion efforts because it limits mentorship opportunities for all attorneys, including those from underrepresented groups.
Many departments are still navigating and experimenting with potential solutions, but some clear takeaways are emerging for attorneys in all in-house roles.
For Legal Department Leaders: Don’t Fear Adaptation
Facebook’s in-house department had planned dramatic expansions to several mentorship and associate programs going into 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States.
Uncertainty set in once it became clear pandemic lockdowns would last months, according to Facebook Legal Operations Program Manager Lauren Hauber.
Instead of scaling back or even canceling the programs, however, Facebook took the pandemic in stride. In-person shadowing was canceled, while seminars and networking opportunities for summer associates and department employees increased.
Instead of waiting for normalcy to return, legal departments can benefit from developing programs accounting for remote work right away. While Facebook’s summer associate programs target law students, Hauber was clear that attorneys at all career-levels were learning to adapt through these new experiences.
“When people see a summer associate in the office, they might be prompted to bring them into the office and chat,” Hauber said. “Now, pre-planning for inclusion is required.”
For Companies Hiring: See Remote Mentorship as a Perk
In-house attorneys are transition-happy these days, and remote work is partly driving that, according to several lawyers who have taken new positions this summer at companies offering work-from-home arrangements.
New Yorker Michelle Foster, of search firm The Foster Group, said companies looking for talent have an interest in staying flexible with their policies.
In an employment market currently favoring workers, playing hardball can only alienate candidates. More perks bring more attention from top talent, and mentorship is just one such option companies can use to lure recruits.
“It’s important to advertise that they recognize attorneys are highly motivated to achieve and to reach their full potential,” Foster said. “The key is to let attorneys know that their careers will not lag, and [that companies] have programs in place such that [attorneys] will receive the training and mentorship to meet their highest potential.”
Recruiters also have a part to play in making sure candidates are engaged at this level. Long-term career coaching has long been an must-have for professionals looking to make a move, and companies confused about how to support new attorneys can turn to experienced recruiters for help, Foster said.
For Attorneys: Reach Out and Engage
Of course, young attorneys can do plenty themselves to find mentorship opportunities.
Dominion Energy general counsel Carlos Brown, who spoke to Corporate Counsel about remote work earlier this month, said that while extraverts have natural advantages when it comes to collaboration, all lawyers can benefit from practicing intentionality.
Since running into someone while getting coffee isn’t likely while working at home, Brown said, lawyers should now make it an explicit goal to find opportunities to collaborate with colleagues regularly, even if it feels awkward to do so explicitly instead of informally.
“Those are the kind of things that really extraverted people or very deliberate introverts navigate well, but I wouldn’t be surprised if others are struggling,” Brown said.
For some, that might mean scheduling regular group meetings where everyone shares what they’re working on. It could also mean something more personal, such as spontaneous messages on office chat rooms.
There’s also an important silver lining. Although informal collaborations will suffer under remote work, increased productivity means there’s also more time for attorneys to practice intentionality, and find those opportunities for collaboration.