To promote the ABA's commitment to justice and the rule of law for persons with mental, physical, and sensory disabilities and to promote their full and equal participation in the legal profession. Click here for more information.
Mentor Online Form
Background and Purpose
The American Bar Association's Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law established the national Mentor Program for:
- law students with disabilities
- prospective law students with disabilities, and
- recent law school graduates with disabilities
The Program’s purpose is to give members of these groups the opportunity to learn from an experienced attorney.
In a recent study conducted for the ABA, those immediately out of law school cited having a mentor as an important driving factor of satisfaction with their career. Career satisfaction, however, is just one benefit of having a mentor-mentee relationship. Practitioners, students, and academics have all praised the benefits of a mentor program for those with disabilities, namely the availability of advice, guidance, and support.
Enrollment and Participation
When you complete either the mentee or the mentor online form (links below) we will add your information to the appropriate database. Whenever a mentee completes the online form, we match his or her answers with our mentor database and develop a list of potential matches. Matches are based on the requests of the mentee, such as the disability involved, common interest areas of the law, and geographical location. In order to respect the privacy of the Program participants, the list of potential mentors is sent without names or contact information to the mentee. Once the mentee selects one of these potential mentors, we contact that mentor to see if they are available to work with this particular mentee. If the mentor is available, his or her contact information is then forwarded to the mentee.
From that point forward, how the mentoring relationship progresses is up to the individuals. We are always available to assist our mentors and mentees in order to nurture and develop the relationship. In fact, Commission staff occasionally monitors the status of the relationships to make sure all are being benefited.
Once you join the Program, by completing the online form, you are eligible to join our Program e-mail list. The list serves as a general forum for disability mentoring issues, as well as a method of disseminating information related to disability rights and the legal profession. You can also join the e-mail list without becoming a mentee as to recieve updates and information. To do so, please contact William Phelan at the information below.
There is also a brochure for the Program. The brochure is a quick and easy form of media that anyone can use to help inform others of the Program. You can print out and fold the brochure or e-mail the file for distribution.
Thank you for your interest in becoming a mentor! As a mentor you can assist one mentee or, if you prefer, several mentees. Mentees typically require guidance regarding advocating for accommodations, finding summer employment or internships, learning about different areas of the law, getting involved with the ABA and other bar associations, studying for the bar exam, and making contacts in the legal profession.
We have a very diverse pool of mentees. They come from both large and small schools across the country, are recent law school graduates, or are considering attending law school. They are interested in finding employment with the government, small and large law firms, businesses, non profit organizations, or other law-related entities. Many of our mentees are interested in very specific areas of the law, while others are unsure and require information and advice.
If you are an attorney we can use you! We always have more mentees that mentors, so sign up and share your experiences with one or more of our mentees. As a mentor you do not need to have a disability to participate; all we ask is that you are willing to share your time and experiences with a student who does have a disability.
If you agree to mentor a student there is no obligation except that we ask you to be available to the student. You are free to end the relationship and exit the Program at any time. We only disseminate the contact information that you, through our form, have given us permission to share.
If you have any questions, or to join the e-mail list please contact William Phelan at 202-662-1576 or phelanw@staff.abanet.org.
