Following the success of the mentoring program in previous years, the Asian Australian Lawyers Association is excited to announce the launch of the AALA Mentoring Program 2021.

Objectives of the AALA Mentoring Program

The AALA Mentoring Program is administered by the National AALA Mentoring Program Committee and aims to:

provide AALA members with an opportunity to be mentored by more senior members of the legal profession

assist and encourage those aspiring to reach senior legal professional or leadership positions by providing them with mentoring from respected and more experienced practitioners who support the aims of AALA.

Apply to be a mentee

The AALA Mentoring Program is not just open to applicants that are starting their legal career; more senior members of the legal profession seeking a move to the Bar, seeking a senior appointment, seeking to become a partner in a law firm or starting their own firm are welcome to apply.

To be eligible to be a mentee, the mentee applicant must be a current member of AALA, willing to commit to the AALA Mentoring Program for a period of up to six months and meet the following eligibility criteria for the State or Territory in which they are located:

NSW and VIC – The mentee applicant must be an admitted lawyer, or a graduate undertaking their traineeship, or practical legal training.

QLD, WA, ACT, SA and TAS – The mentee applicant must be a penultimate/final year law student, a law graduate, a graduate undertaking their traineeship, or practical legal training, or an admitted lawyer.

To apply online to be a mentee, please click here

Expression of interest to be a mentor

AALA seeks to draw mentors from the middle to senior ranks of the legal profession and include judges, senior and junior barristers, partners and senior associates of law firms, experienced sole practitioners and in-house legal counsel.

You do not need to be a member of AALA to participate as a mentor.

All mentors in the AALA Mentoring Program are appointed by the AALA Mentoring Program Committee and may agree to take up more than one mentee as part of the Program.

To register your interest to be a mentor, please click here

Timeline

Applications are now open.

Applications to be a mentee or submitting your interest to be a mentor will close on COB Thursday, 1 April 2021.

The AALA Mentoring Program Committee may extend this date in its discretion.

The AALA Mentoring Program Committee in each State and Territory will review all applications and allocate mentees to a mentor. The allocations will be notified by the AALA Mentoring Program Committee by no later than Monday, 19 April 2021.

An event will be held in each State and Territory in the last week of April to officially launch the 2021 AALA Mentoring Program. This will give mentees a chance to meet and chat with their mentors. Further information will be provided about the launch in due course.

Allocations

The AALA Mentoring Program Committee will aim to match mentees and mentors based on the following factors:

mentors and mentees will be matched within their own State and Territory

to the extent possible, aligned with their respective practice areas and manner of practice

the relevant PQE of the mentee and mentor

preferences indicated on your application form

The AALA Mentoring Program Committee will do its best to allocate mentors with mentees. However, this is dependent on the number of participating mentors and mentees and their respective experience and practice area. There is no guarantee that all mentees and mentors will be matched, and no guarantee that your preferences will be met.

How long does the Program run?

The AALA Mentoring Program will formally run for six months from the last week of April 2021 to the last week of October 2021. During this period mentees should contact their mentors and arrange to meet on a regular basis as agreed with the mentor. The AALA Mentoring Program Committee will be available to provide guidance to mentors and mentees at all times.

Once the AALA Mentoring Program formally concludes, individual mentors and mentees are encouraged but are not expected to continue the mentor-mentee relationship.

It is anticipated that the AALA Mentoring Program will run annually.

Want to know more?

For further information please email mentorprogram@aala.org.au

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