Gone are the days when the practice of law was marked by in-person water cooler strategy sessions and impromptu lunch meetings. While we survived the digital disconnect of the first years of the pandemic, mentor-mentee relationships have struggled to redefine themselves in the new era of workplace flexibility. Young attorneys can no longer anticipate an office full of potential mentors with whom they can spontaneously workshop ideas; those workshops now often require prior scheduling based on different availabilities. Likewise, senior attorneys can no longer expect to find eager young attorneys working just down the hall at all hours, ready to discuss new time-sensitive assignments.

Today’s young attorneys are, in a word, stressed. Law school taught us how to think like lawyers. It did not, however, teach us how to juggle the complexities of client relationships, manage crushing deadlines and competing priorities, draft clear and cogent billing entries, market our legal services, and build our professional networks, all while remaining immediately available for the next assignment that was due yesterday.