HCBA MENTORING REBOOT
Professionalism & Ethics Committee
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Mentoring serves as
the ultimate win-win
relationship.
“
The life of law is the life of
study.” This is a favorite
saying of one of my dear
mentors, Mark Ober. We
study for a short three years in law
school and enter practice eager to
change the world or, at least, truly
help individuals. Law school doesn’t
teach a new assistant state attorney
or assistant public defender how
to manage caseloads of hundreds
of files moving at a rapid pace.
Law school does not teach how to
quickly jump into arguing motions
to suppress, or how to prepare
every other week and confidently
announce, “Ready for trial!”
I learned those skills from my
mentors at the State Attorney’s
Office — Ada Carmona, Sandra
Spoto, Donna Hanes, and Eric
Fernandez, among others.
Law school doesn’t teach a
young associate in a large
firm how to bill hours, what
organizations to join, or how
to manage office politics. Law
school surely doesn’t teach how
to manage clients or manage the
business side of a law practice.
I learned those skills from my
mentors — Ty Tison and Barry
Taracks. Sometimes a mentor
serves from afar, such as when we
closely observe judges and learn
from what styles they prefer and
what tactics cause them to take a
recess. I took many mental notes
in my division assignments before
Judge Fuente, Judge Dominguez,
Judge Barbas, and Judge Lopez.
Mentoring serves as the ultimate
win-win relationship. When a
successful person shares his or her
experiences and helps guide a
younger generation towards
another successful career, both
parties benefit. Often the mentor
benefits by learning about
advanced research methods, social
media advertising, and other
technological advances. In the
practice of law, those advantages
extend to the clients and courts
who also enjoy the fruits of the
inherited expertise. Though young
lawyers within mid- to large-size
firms or large government offices
enjoy an internal network they can
turn to for daily questions, often
an external mentor can assist with
how to address a sensitive issue or
provide guidance from a different
perspective.
The HCBA, in conjunction
with other voluntary bar
associations, plans to reinvigorate
its mentoring program. I look
forward to participating in this
renewed effort. We encourage all
members to look for upcoming
announcements and applications
to serve as mentors and mentees.
I would ask all seasoned attorneys
to recall the assistance you received
as you began your career and how
you may often look back upon
those lessons and continue to recall
the advice in your current practice.
What a treasure you maintain and
how rewarding it will be for you to
pay it forward and pass along the
invaluable guidance.
Young lawyers, think of how
much you have learned in your
brief time in practice. Remember,
“the life of law is the life of study.”
You will continue to learn and grow
throughout your career. Spending
time with a skilled and experienced
practitioner will help you to hone
your skills and greatly enhance
your own practice. I look forward
to many of you taking advantage
of this HCBA-led mentoring effort
and sharing
skills across
generations.
Author:
Hon. Frances
Maria Perrone -
Hillsborough
County Court
Judge
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