Musings on Becoming an FBA Mentor

Oration (with apologies, and quasi-attribution to the Bard): “Friends, lawyers, colleagues, lend me your ears. I come to praise Mentor, not to query him or her, as the case may be.”

I shall assume you are reading this because you are highly knowledgeable in your field, you can offer expert guidance, and you exemplify outstanding interpersonal skills. You are articulate, but also a good listener; you are eager about sharing your knowledge, but you still learn things from other lawyers and law students alike; you can provide a ready-made support system and be a trusted advisor, but you also can help your charge create and grow their own professional network. You are available and have the time to devote to others, but you are flexible and accommodating as to scheduling. You are skilled at providing positive feedback and enthusiastic encouragement, but you also comprehend that, sometimes, constructive comments or criticisms are necessary and/or desirable. You enjoy brainstorming with other legal minds, but you also feel comfortable in the role of academic confidante and trusted lawyer-advisor.

Customs and traditions remain quite important aspects of the law. Mentoring is one of those time-tested and historically-honored callings. Taking younger, less-experienced lawyers under the wings of more senior and well-seasoned attorneys has been a quaint and useful feature of the Anglo-American practice of law since the Middle Ages and the Inns of Court were established, some as early as 1320 A.D.

If 700 years is not sufficiently impressive for you, then, consider that the general concept of mentoring enjoys an even older vintage. As related in the epic ancient work, “The Odyssey,” by the Greek Poet Homer (written between the 8th-12th centuries, B.C.), the son of King Odysseus, Telemachus, was the grateful beneficiary of some divine mentoring. As the myth recounts, when King Odysseus of (the Greek city-state of Ithaca) left for the Trojan War, his wife, Queen, Penelope, was hounded by persistent suitors. During the long and difficult absence of the king, Prince Telemachus was protected and guided by Athena, the Goddess of War, who had assumed the human form of a mortal named “Mentor,” the latter of whom was Telemachus’ bodyguard and teacher. Aided by the sage advice and counsel of Mentor (Athena in disguise), Telemachus successfully saved his mother the Queen, the family throne, and his nation. Indeed, this is one ancient myth with a happy ending: Odysseus returns triumphantly; the royal family is reunited; the would-be suitors are spurned; and Athena (still in the human form of Mentor) turns herself into a swallow and flies up and away, adroitly evading the arrows of the disgruntled courters.

Down to the present day, “mentors” (yes, the word is derived from the myth) still serve beneficial and benevolent purposes. Those on both sides of the equation, the Mentors and the Mentees, are better lawyers, and better people, for it. A mentor is a special person who is able to, capable of, available to, and devoted to, sharing his or her wisdom and knowledge with a neophyte legal colleague.

The penning of this testimonial could not have arrived at a more serendipitous, albeit bittersweet, time. I have just lost my third, and last-surviving, personal mentor, Charles, E. Baxley, Esq., may he rest in peace. I had the honor and good fortune to know Charles, a superb patent and trademark attorney, for close to 40 years. He practiced law for over 60 years. He will be sorely missed by his family, friends, colleagues, and his mentee. As I write this, sitting some 35,000 feet above the farms of South New Jersey, enroute to his memorial service, this seems like an appropriate time to muse about what the mentorship experience has meant to me personally.

My first mentor was my dear old Dad who, while not a lawyer, schooled me well in the laws of human nature, the norms of a civilized society, and a treasure trove of cultural, familial, moral, and religious values. My second mentor was the federal judge I clerked for after law school, the Hon. Harold J. Raby, a Magistrate Judge in New York (SDNY). I had also been able to observe and learn from him during my 2d and 3rd years of law school as his student clerk. Starting back in 1979, then, the judge greatly influenced my legal writing, encouraged me to earn a second law degree (LL.M.) and to teach law besides, as well as taught me the art and science of federal litigation and legal and judicial ethics. The judge and his family became a part of ours and “Uncle Harold” was with us for many, many years.

Charles Baxley, for his part, starting in the Fall of 1985, taught me a million-and-one things about Intellectual Property law, the practice of law, the business of a small law firm, “making rain,” engaging with clients, collegiality with other professionals, and effectively (yet civilly) dealing with adversaries. Charles was my employer, my superior, and my mentor and we worked together for about 15 years in New York. Like Judge Raby, “Uncle” Charles and his family became close with ours over the decades, until his passing at age 92, just a few short days ago.

What I learned from my mentors lives on in me and in my work. I have, for many years now, run with the baton that has been passed down to me. The task, the honor, the unparalleled satisfaction and pleasure, of being a mentor, has devolved upon me, and I embrace it wholeheartedly. It is my way of giving back. It is part of my legacy, and I hope to be favorably remembered by my mentees when my time comes to be summoned to that big courtroom in the sky.

Although the following metaphor likely dates back to 12th century England, the most popular and oft-quoted version seems to be that of scientist Isaac Newton, who famously wrote in a letter to rival Robert Hooke in 1675 that” “If I have seen further it is by standing on the sholders (sic) of Giants.” Be that set of shoulders for a younger lawyer. Help them see farther. In doing so, your vision, too, will be improved and your own legal repertoire enhanced.

The import of serving as Mentor cannot be overstated. Its worth to the law students and young lawyers is incalculable. It is, thus, without the slightest hesitation or reservation, that I strongly commend and recommend the FBA’s Mentoring “Lift Up Leadership” Program to you for your serious consideration. Three thousand plus years of experience cannot be wrong. And that’s no myth.

About the Author

Ira Cohen, a lawyer in Weston, Florida, holds both the J.D. (1981) and LL.M (1985) degrees. He is a former Federal Judicial Law Clerk who practices in the specialty fields of intellectual law property and related matters.

Ira is a proud Sustaining Member of the FBA, the Immediate Past-Chair of the IPLS, a Member of the FBA National Council, an FBA Mentor, and an FBA Moot Court Judge.

About the FBA

Founded in 1920, the Federal Bar Association is dedicated to the advancement of the science of jurisprudence and to promoting the welfare, interests, education, and professional development of all attorneys involved in federal law. Our more than 16,000 members run the gamut of federal practice: attorneys practicing in small to large legal firms, attorneys in corporations and federal agencies, and members of the judiciary. The FBA is the catalyst for communication between the bar and the bench, as well as the private and public sectors. Visit us at fedbar.org to learn more.