Last week I wrote two articles about lawyer mentoring and received a few public and private comments. There weren’t as many as I would have liked to see, but I’m willing to give it some time to develop. So far no one has asked about joining the mentoring group so I’ll ask if anyone is willing to meet once a month in an informal setting to jaw about what they are doing and how to do it better with an eye towards making a living without starving. If that's not a run on sentence I don't know one. We would meet after 5:00 p.m., at my office in West Des Moines probably on a Wednesday evening for about an hour. For starters there would be no speakers just lawyers talking about their case, asking questions about what others are doing and exchanging ideas. If you are interested call me at 515-222-1110 or send an email to sdlombardi@aol.com. 

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Why am I doing this?

I’m firmly of the opinion that solo practitioners or small firm lawyers. fresh out of law school need mentoring. Mentoring is a place to get direction, feedback and to help you develop into a successful lawyer. Not all lawyers have an opportunity for mentoring and that's why this offer.

My rules are simple:

• Experienced lawyers have an ethical obligation to the Court to assist less experienced lawyers.
• There aren’t many stupid questions or answers.
• Most ideas are good ones, but even the bad ones will be explored.
• Lawyers can learn a lot from hearing what others are doing.
• Many mistakes can be avoided with “curb-siding” your case.
• The law is complex and pitfalls should be avoided at all costs to our egos, so check your ego at the door.
• It’s better to know you’re making a mistake before it goes terminal than to find out after it’s too late to correct it. Judges don’t like dealing with lawyers who aren’t getting some form of mentoring.
• Group critique teaches a lot about doing it right the first time and about humility. Good lawyers learn to put their ego aside in favor of a semi-public analysis.
• There is a reason why it’s referred to as “the practice of law”; and not the science of law.
• This group isn’t about poaching for referrals; lawyers from any county in Iowa are invited to attend.

Let me conclude by saying, no one offered me this opportunity when in 1981 I graduated from Drake Law School. Back in the day I joined the firm of Mosier, Thomas, Beatty, Dutton, Braun and Staack in Waterloo, Iowa. I was lucky enough to have several partners take an interest in my future and for five years I was mentored by them. Looking back I hated Jim Hellman’s red pen. He corrected everything I wrote and it became a challenge for me to draft just one letter or pleading that didn’t come back with red ink on it. To that end I failed miserably. To this day I can’t thank him enough. Tom Staack on the other hand challenged the way we proceeded to develop every case. Both Jim and Tom had different styles and Dave Dutton’s was COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. Dave was a man of few words who you were better off watching his every move than waiting for detailed direction. With Dave there were no fence walkers, either you loved him or hated him, but there were no in-betweeners sitting on the fence.

Sam Beatty, another partner took a personal interest in me. His method of mentoring was to take me under his wing to that once a month meeting called “Martin-I”; so named to avoid the stigma that it was all about drinking martini’s with other area professionals. I liked Martin-I; aside from a good martini, it was a place to listen to how other professionals viewed the legal profession.

Sid Thomas, a graduate of Michigan Law was another senior partner who’s sense of dry human I will never forget. Gary and Amy invited the entire firm over to their new home. Partners and staff all stood up against the walls looking across rooms devoid of any furniture. It was a quietly uncomfortable situation until the silence was broken by Sid who said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear: “Gary and Amy I’m proud of you both.” He paused to let this much sink in and then followed with, “You are the youngest couple I know with all your furniture paid for.” It took about three seconds and the house was filled with uproarious laughter, even Amy and Gary.

Looking back at my 30+ years of practice it was times like these and the people at the Mosier firm who made me what I am today. That mentoring was the grease that made the gears turn.

If interested contact Steve Lombardi at the Lombardi Law Firm.