Mentors play an important role in a law student’s professional development. Colorado Law’s Career Development Office (CDO) recommends students graduate from law school having built relationships with at least three professional mentors. To help our students as they work toward this goal and to support their professional development, the Colorado Law CDO offers a mentoring program to law students.
Our mentoring program matches participating 1L and 2L J.D. candidates with legal professionals for a one-on-one mentoring relationship. Matches are made toward the end of the academic year. We match students and mentors holistically, not simply based on practice area. Our goal is to create mentoring matches that support each student’s professional development and last beyond the duration of our formal mentoring program. In our program, mentors and mentees commit to engaging in the mentoring relationship for one year (12 months).
If you have questions about Colorado Law’s Mentoring Program or are interested in mentoring a Colorado Law student, please email Alexia McCaskill, Senior Director for Professional Development.
In addition to the Colorado Law Mentoring Program, some of Colorado Law’s student organizations also provide mentors:
- The Women's Law Caucus: The WLC organizes a mentorship program for first year students at Colorado Law. Students will receive information on how to sign up in the summer before the beginning of their 1L year. For more information please see the WLC website: https://www.colorado.edu/law/tab-student-group-wlc. This program matches 1Ls with a 2L or 3L student mentor.
- APALSA Mentoring Program: Through this program, law student members are paired with attorney members of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association. The program seeks to match students and attorneys based on the student's legal interests, background, and personal interests. APALSA is the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association.
There are also mentoring programs outside of Colorado Law that are also available to our students:
- ABA GPSolo Mentoring Group
- Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Colorado ("APABA") 1-on-1 Mentorship Program
- Colorado Attorney Mentoring Program: CAMP is a Colorado Supreme Court program
- Colorado Disability Justice Alliance Mentoring Program: a collaborative effort between CAMP, the University of Colorado Law School, and the University of Denver Sturm College of Law
- Colorado Hispanic Bar Association Small Group Mentoring Program, deadline April 14, 2023
- Legal Council for Legal Diversity
Read about the benefits of mentoring:
- What Is a Mentor? (Plus Types, Qualities and Benefits)
- 24 Reasons Why Mentorship Is Important for Mentee and Mentor
- The Value of Having — and Being — a Mentor in the Legal Field
- It’s a two-way street: Four ways mentoring benefits the mentor