CBA Record March-April 2024

THE YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION

her studies and trial as my grocery store trip ended–but the conversation and her enthusiasm stayed with me for a while and led me to reflect. It brought me back to my early days of law school, and how it was then that I was fortunate enough to cross paths with many people who would serve as mentors and become long lasting colleagues. My encounter with the young law student that morning caused me to be nostalgic and was the motivation I needed to search for mentorship opportunities. Fortunately, I came across the CBA YLS mentorship program and quickly learned of the growth opportunities it offered. Upon being paired with a highly motivated law student, I witnessed first hand the program’s ability to foster curios ity and initiative. My mentee consistently sought guidance on navigating the world of plaintiff’s trial lawyers, demonstrating a genuine eagerness to learn and grow within the legal profession. Most impor tantly from my perspective, I felt deeply rewarded from meeting and getting to know the law student. The CBA-YLS program is thoughtfully designed to allow students to explore the practice of law from a practitioner’s per spective. It goes beyond the basics, delv ing into crucial topics such as resume building and interview skills, providing a comprehensive approach to professional development. It also provides the mentor an opportunity to get to know the student and connect them to professionals in the mentor’s network they might benefit from meeting. This helps to create opportuni ties that may not have been readily avail able without the CBA-YLS program. We are the lawyers we are today in large part because of all the mentors who took the time to guide us. I realized the profound impact mentorship has had on my professional growth, both in the past and present. This realization has fueled my passion for paying it forward and sup porting the development of aspiring legal professionals. The pandemic has affected the tradi tion of mentorship at school and at work and has challenged many young law stu dents’ and lawyers’ ability to learn directly

from more experienced practitioners. Although our way of working has been altered somewhat, we can and should find ways to serve and give back. Seek oppor tunities. The practice of law not only requires our legal knowledge and utmost professionalism, but it also needs passion and enthusiasm. The practice of law is about people, about advocacy, and about commitment to service. These are many of the tenets that drive us in our practice. By mentoring we can lead, be reinvigo rated, and guide the younger generations of lawyers. In essence, the CBA-YLS mentorship program is not just a platform for knowl edge exchange; it’s a transformative expe rience that forges lasting connections, inspires personal reflection, and cultivates a culture of mentorship that extends far beyond the program itself. As I continue my journey, I am grateful for the oppor tunities it has provided and the positive influence it has had on my mentoring philosophy. Interested in Participating? As demonstrated by the above experi ences, participation in the CBA-YLS Law Student Career Immersion Men toring Program can be valuable to both law student mentees and young attorney mentors. If you are interested in partici pating as a mentee or as a mentor in the upcoming CBA YLS Law Student Career Immersion Mentoring Program for the 2024-2025 academic year, please visit www.chicagobar.org/mentoring or con tact YLS Director Emily Anderson at ean derson@chicagobar.org. J. Kopczyk is an associate attorney with Lat imer LeVay Fyock LLC and is developing a practice that focuses on complex commercial and construction litigation. Georgia Booth, a second-year law student at UIC Law, is a law clerk at Tomasik Kotin Kasserman, LLC. Karen Munoz is a plaintiff’s personal injury attorney at Dolan Law representing survi vors of traumatic injuries and events. CBA RECORD 29

Mentor volunteers also gain valuable experience and insight into what new comers to the legal profession are most focused on. As demonstrated below, men toring often serves as an excellent way to revitalize one’s commitment to the profes sion and builds bridges between different generations of legal practitioners.

A Mentor’s Perspective By Karen Munoz

I became involved with the CBA-YLS mentorship program in 2022. Although the height of the Covid-19 pandemic had mostly passed by that time, opportuni ties to network in the legal community and attend in-person events were still limited. I could feel the disconnection from people and the practice. With many things happening remotely, it was chal lenging to interact with others in person on a daily basis. For me, the spark to get involved in mentoring was lit by chance. It started when I was waiting in line at the gro cery store. As the customer before me was checking out, I overheard a conver sation two store employees were having: I learned the cashier was excited because she was doing really well in school and was helping at a law firm with a huge project. As the customer paid and it became my turn, I did my best to non chalantly ask the cashier what she was studying. Beaming with exuberance, she said she was in her second semester of law school. The firm she was a clerk at was starting a big trial. As we continued chatting, she shared that she was learning so much from her supervisor and would be working closely with the trial team on memos, motions, and witness prepara tion. I wished her the best of luck with