BALIF's 'Connections' Mentoring Program Returns!

BALIF’s Connections mentoring program returns and we are seeking mentor and mentees for this year’s program!

The Connections mentoring program gives law students and newer lawyers the opportunity to be matched with established San Francisco Bay Area attorneys in a variety of practices and firms, as well as those in government and public interest positions. Mentors are able to provide guidance about the nuts and bolts of diverse careers in the law, as well as provide practical advice to mentees and help them build their job seeking and networking skills. For mentees, the Connections program offers a great opportunity for networking, skills development and career building in the LGBT legal community by some of the best in the field, including judges, partners in major firms, corporate in-house counsel and high-level political appointees.

BECOME A MENTEE or MENTOR! If you are a law student, recent law school graduate, or newer attorney seeking a mentor, or if you are an attorney of 4 or more years in the San Francisco Bay Area interested in serving as a mentor, please contact Elizabeth Pritzker, ecp@girardgibbs.com. Mentee applicants will be required to submit a brief questionnaire that will assist us in making a mentor-mentee match, including asking the type of law you wish to practice and other specific information to help make your mentoring relationship a success. Mentors will be asked some basic questions to ensure that a prospective mentee is a good fit in terms of the mentor’s practice area and time availability. The deadline for questionnaires is September 12, 2012.

JOIN US FOR A ‘SPEED MENTORING’ RECEPTION. Mentors and mentees participating in the Connections program, and anyone else interested in networking and career development with other LGBT lawyers and students, are encouraged to attend BALIF’s Speed Mentoring Reception, which will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., on September 20, 2012 at Credo, 360 Pine Street (cross street: Montgomery) in San Francisco. Come and enjoy complimentary food, a glass of wine or beer, or a specially-prepared Connections Cocktail. This will be a great opportunity for students and newer lawyers to connect with people in areas of practice they are interested in learning more about, and a good time for all of us to do some meeting and greeting with our peers!