Addendum 5 – Conversation Starters
Questions for Mentors by Mentees: What is one thing that you have always wanted to know regarding
the practice of law?
o How do you stay focused and avoid burnout after years of practice?
o Why some lawyers continue to find the business rewarding and interesting, but many others burn
out or become disillusioned.
o Why do we go about the day-to-day business of the private practice of law as if we are running a
sprint instead of a 40-year marathon?
o Pet peeves of WY supreme court justices Pet peeves of WY district court justices Pet peeves of
clerks (at district and appellate levels)
o Best practices re: oral argument
o Why are so many lawyers unhappy with the profession?
o Why is family law not treated the same as other civil law matters (i.e. the rules of civil procedure
relaxed)?
o How to be a better marketer/How to get clients.
o What makes a really good summary judgment brief?
o If you had it to do over, would you still go to law school?
o How to deal with inconsistent judges.
o How do you know when you are right about an issue, case, or client?
o How to manage the business side of the practice.
o Where did you learn about law firm finances, billing, revenue etc.
o How to better screen out bad cases/clients before committing to taking them.
o How judges put personal dislikes against an attorney aside to rule fairly?
Mentors: Insights from Attorneys who have been practicing awhile, feel free to use this as a starting point
for a conversation.
o I wish I had known how essential time management and prioritization is to successfully handling
law practice.
o It's less dignified then I thought it would be. There's way too much running around like a chicken
with your head cut off.
o That the practice of law is not solely about litigating. An attorney has multiple roles that he or she
must utilize to the benefit of the client Also, you have a lot to learn after law school.
o The on-the-job training will prove invaluable to the information you learned in law school.
o The key to enjoying the practice of law (at least in a litigation environment) is to figure out what is
and is not worth fighting about. Then you fight hard on the important stuff and just concede the
unimportant stuff.
o How to run a law firm.
o How hard you need to work and the sacrifices that come with it (e.g. loss of flexibility in schedule)
o Stressing does not change anything, so do not do it.
o That some attorneys should have not passed the bar, but you will still have to deal with them.
o There's always more work, but there's never enough life
o Advertising, marketing, getting clients
o How time consuming it is.
o How important people skills are to success in the private practice of law.
o The pros and cons of solo practice versus small firm versus large firm versus government versus
corporate/in house counsel law.
o That writing is a big deal.
