Make a Difference: Be a Mentor
By Gary Maehara
The original Mentor is a character in Homer’s epic, “The Odyssey.” When Odysseus, King of Ithaca and Greek leader, went off to fight in the Trojan War, he entrusted his kingdom to Mentor. In addition to running the kingdom, Mentor served as counselor to Odysseus’s son, Telemachus. The role of Mentor in mythology is captured in the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of a mentor as a “trusted counselor or guide.”
When I look back on my life experiences, I too can identify those individuals who reached out to me with wise guidance and counsel. Perhaps my first mentor was Mr. Campbell, my high school political science teacher who taught me to challenge conventional thinking. In college, Professor Perlstein prepared me for a real world career in law enforcement. My first two bosses, Patricia Bridge and Betty Taylor, demonstrated by example how to achieve success in a criminal justice career while maintaining a balanced personal life. They also showed that mentors effectively cross gender lines.
Early in my career as a new attorney, one of the most experienced and successful litigation attorneys in the office, Don Skinner, chose me to assist him in several complex personal injury cases. What I did not know was that he had never before given the opportunity to any attorney in the office to learn from him. The value gained just by watching him question the recalcitrant medical expert and develop a rapport with the jurors during the trial process was priceless. Even more valuable was the time he spent with me explaining his litigation strategy and assessing the result. No amount of classroom education could ever replace this learning experience.
My path leading to the presidency of the bar association is highlighted by outstanding leaders who reached out and generously shared their own experiences. I still remember in 1989, Tom Zilly (now Judge Zilly), the outgoing KCBA president, mentored a group of us new to the association on how we might launch the first-ever Judicial Appreciation Dinner. Mary Alice Theiler’s inclusive leadership style as chair of the newly created Minorities in the Legal Profession Committee started many of us on the road to leadership positions within the bar. In recent years, former presidents Ralph Maimon, Caroline Davis, Tom Kelly and John Cary served as counselors and guides in preparing me for the leadership responsibilities of this association.
At the recent Washington Women Lawyers Dinner, awards were bestowed on the likes of Judge Betty Fletcher, Jennifer Smith Meyer and Judy Ramseyer. A continuous theme as to why these women were selected for recognition was their invaluable service as mentors to other women during their legal careers.
“Pay It Forward”
I am reminded of how Haley Joel Osment’s young character in the movie “Pay It Forward” offered a simple idea for world change. He describes to his teacher that he will perform random acts of kindness for three people in need. The only requirement once the deed was performed was for the recipient to promise to also perform three acts of kindness, thereby “paying forward” the original act of kindness. So, nine people get helped and so on and so forth. Mathematically, the number of acts of kindness would theoretically grow exponentially to a staggering number if every recipient made good on the promise.
Along these lines, I believe we can make our legal community better through acts of personal kindness to the young lawyers and student members of our association. A positive response to the following questions may indicate your potential as a mentor:
- In your life, has there been an individual who influenced your thinking and behavior?
- Has there been an individual who provided you with an “I get it” experience that enabled you to get to the core of the problem quickly?
- Has there been anyone who helped you to gain knowledge about how things work and how to get things done?
- Has someone reached out to you at the right moment in time to help you through a career challenge?
- Has there been someone in your life who helped you to deepen your ethics and integrity?
- Do others seek you out to talk about their worries and frustrations at work?
- Have you reached out to another person and offered to assist him/her with an important life or career decision?
A mentoring lunch
My point is that we have all benefited from the counsel and guidance of experienced mentors at some point in our lives. Those experiences most likely resulted in acquiring better skills to face new challenges. As experienced lawyers, we each possess unique skills and knowledge that can help young lawyers and law school students on the road to becoming great attorneys. Sharing your experiences may result in that “I get it” realization.
My challenge to the membership is for each and every experienced lawyer in our bar association to reach out to a young attorney or law school student and offer to be that trusted mentor who will support, guide and counsel his or her charge through professional challenges. Sharing your legal experiences and listening are a great place to start. At the very least, consider taking a young lawyer or law student to lunch (perhaps at one of the restaurants highlighted in this edition).
Gary Maehara is the current president of the King County Bar Association. He can be reached at garmae@safeco.com.
