MentOring: BecauSe we’ ve all Been the new kid Once
Marital & Family law Section Chair: MarkF. Baseman – Felix & Baseman, LLC
Mentoring isn’ t about hierarchy— it’ s about legacy. it’ s how we pass down the best parts of this profession: collegiality, ethics, and a shared understanding that sarcasm and wine are often essential survival skills.
When I first joined the Stann Givens Family Law Inn of Court, I thought“ mentoring” meant dispensing pearls of wisdom over coffee— something like,“ Always file your emergency motion before lunch if you want a ruling the same day.” Turns out, mentoring is more like parenting teenagers: you give advice, they nod politely and then do exactly what they were going to do anyway.
But here’ s the thing— mentoring matters. Not because mentees need another explanation of Rule 12.285 or because we magically know all the answers( we don’ t— we’ re still Googling judicial preferences and asking ChatGPT to“ make this sound professional but not too nice”). It matters because it keeps our profession human.
Family law can feel like wading through emotional quicksand while wearing heels and holding a client’ s 400-page Talking Parents exhibit. You need people who will toss you a rope— and ideally, a glass of wine— when the week gets messy. Mentorship is that rope. It keeps newer lawyers from sinking into stress or believing that just because someone has practiced for 20 years, they know more than you.
As the current Mentoring Chair of the Inn, I’ ve seen both sides over the last decade— first as the nervous new lawyer clutching my binder, and now as the mentor trying to sound like I have it all figured out. Mentoring isn’ t about knowing every rule by heart— it’ s about translating them into real life.
Take Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.380: before filing a motion to compel discovery, we must make a“ good faith effort” to resolve the issue. As a mentee, I thought that meant sending one polite email. As a mentor, I now know“ good faith” means you’ ve begged, pleaded, and sent screenshots before the judge reminds you to“ work it out like adults.” It’ s the perfect metaphor for mentoring— patience, persistence, and grace under pressure.
At the Inn, mentoring doesn’ t happen in stuffy conference rooms. It happens in our cozy mentoring room before presentations, usually with a glass of wine and honest conversations. Sometimes a judge joins us, answering questions that start with,“ Is Judge so-and-so still cranky?” and somehow end with the best career advice you’ ll ever get.
The best mentors don’ t lecture— they listen. They model professionalism not by being perfect, but by staying calm when everything( and everyone) around them isn’ t. Mentees, in turn, keep us sharp, reminding us of our own early missteps and introducing us to technology that makes us look far more organized than we are.
Mentoring isn’ t about hierarchy— it’ s about legacy. It’ s how we pass down the best parts of this profession: collegiality, ethics, and a shared understanding that sarcasm and wine are often essential survival skills.
And if nothing else, mentoring gives us permission to say,“ Back in my day …” and actually mean it— like,“ Back in my day, we had to deliver hard copies to the Clerk’ s Office instead of e-filing.”
Author: Michelle G. Hutt – The Hutt Law Firm
Join the marital & family Law section today. Visit your member profile at www. hillsbar. com.
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