BR Belonging Mentorship Program Adds New Tracks
BR Belonging is our multicultural affinity group, BR United’s, signature mentorship and sponsorship program. BR Belonging has a traditional mentorship track for associates and junior partners meant to address the holistic needs of participants, including professional development, client relationship building, and networking, while also providing resources and information to help navigate the law firm work environment.
As of 2022, our firm has enhanced the program to offer mentorship tracks via our Leadership Development Circle, comprising Executive Committee members who are helping to demystify the leadership track at the firm and advise on ways to be successful. We also added our Client Development Circle, a cohort of high-revenue-generating partners and strong marketers at Blank Rome who discuss growing books of business, expanding client portfolios, and developing a professional brand with their respective proteges.
Mass Torts & Complex Disputes partner Deborah Greenspan has been mentoring a diverse cohort of associates under the BR Belonging program for the past several months. Neither current mentee is from Deborah’s practice group nor office. What she does share with them is a desire to see them succeed at the firm and in legal practice.
Deborah sees her role as helping to bridge the gaps between where each mentee is now in their careers and where they want to be in the future. She started with a “get to know each other” session with each associate, where they discussed their practice, work, interests, skills, talents, and what they enjoy doing. Deborah’s approach is to get each mentee to take one achievable step toward getting their name out in the right circles and starting to build a network. Once that step is achieved, they can set a goal for another step.
With mentee Sydney Lim, a Matrimonial & Family Law associate, after learning about her interests and talents Deborah suggested she write an article on a topic of interest to Sydney that could be published, and to attend local affinity bar events.
Sydney says the relationship has exceeded her expectations. “Beyond general marketing and network-building counsel, Deborah has provided me with specific advice on potential topics to write about and even offered to use her American Bar Association Woman Advocate Committee affiliation to seek to publish my article.” In addition, she says that Deborah leads by example, constantly publishing thought-leadership articles and actively participating in organizations and their committees.
Deborah says that she has benefitted from the mentor-mentee relationship as well. She has gotten to know people within the firm on a fundamental level rather than the day-to-day transactional interactions. She has also learned more about her mentees’ practice areas. In addition, their conversations—usually once a month—have helped her to see some things in a new light and reflect on how she can improve her own practice and network-building approaches.
This article was published in the 2022–2023 edition of Blank Rome’s Perspectives Magazine. To view Perspectives, click the image below.
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