Projects

VWL's Professional Mentoring Program is designed to enable women members of the legal profession to obtain the benefits that may be drawn from a 1:1 mentoring relationship.

Details of the 2023 Program will be released later in the year.

About the program

The Law Student Mentoring Program is a joint initiative run by Victorian Women Lawyers and the Women Barristers’ Association.

The program is a wonderful opportunity for women students to gain insight into working in the law, develop valuable networks and share ideas with mentors in the legal profession.

As we gradually return to in-person work and study, the benefits that flow from a positive mentoring relationship have the potential to be immensely valuable to both mentee and mentor alike.

Pairs are encouraged to meet face-to-face, via video link, or over the phone. You may choose to meet at VWL and WBA events, over a virtual coffee catch up, at lunchtime, weekend brunch, at the office or however suits you best! It is recommended pairs meet at least three times over a six month period, however, pairs are welcome to meet more often and to supplement/substitute meetings with emails and phone calls – whatever you feel comfortable with.

There is no ongoing commitment at the end of the program though in the past, many mentors and mentees have formed strong professional relationships and have stayed in touch.

Mentees must be members of VWL however mentors are not required to be members.

The Law Student Mentoring Program is proudly sponsored by K&L Gates.

Program history

Each year VWL receives expressions of interest in the mentoring program from students of a number of Victorian universities and tertiary institutions, including the University of Melbourne, Monash University, LaTrobe University, Deakin University, Victoria University, RMIT and Swinburne University. VWL seeks to match these students with interested legal professionals to undertake a formal mentoring relationship.

The mentoring program was first launched in 2008 and has the honour of being endorsed by Program Patron, the Honourable Marcia Neave AO, who chaired the Royal Commission into Family Violence and previously sat as a Justice of the Court of Appeal. In 2016, the Honourable Justice Rita Incerti joined the Honourable Neave as a co-patron of the program, prior to the Honourable Neave’s retirement as a patron of the program in 2019. Justice Incerti is a committed member of VWL and actively supports the professional development of female lawyers through mentoring.

The number of students expressing interest in being mentored has grown substantially since the program commenced in 2008. This demonstrates that the mentoring program continues to be highly relevant to women who are preparing to enter the legal profession, particularly as issues of sex discrimination, gender inequality, concerns of diversity for CALD women, women living with disabilities and women of the LGBTQIA+ community, and unconscious bias, as well as obstacles to flexible work practices, remain prevalent. In recent times, we have also seen an increase in interest from participants in regional centres reflecting VWL’s focus on increasing participation by members from regional areas.

VWL has now matched over 1,500 pairs in mentoring relationships since the program’s inception. This year, similar to previous years, VWL will match hundreds of mentors and mentees. To manage the overwhelming popularity of the program and encourage support for VWL, students wishing to participate in the program are required to be a VWL members (membership is not a requirement for mentors).

Please contact the  Mentoring Committee at [email protected] if you have any questions.