THE MENTORING WAY
How NLBM Mentors Help Member Lawyers Build the Practice and Life They Deserve
HOW NLBM PREPARES MEMBERS
An adage you often hear is “the best way to learn anything is by doing.”
When it comes to starting a new career as an Estate Planning lawyer through NLBM, we can say that adage is 100% true. Our lawyers are constantly learning and growing as they establish their practices, setting new goals while they accomplish previous ones. Of course it makes sense that “doing” plays a large role in empowering Member Lawyers, so they can generate the kind of income they want, in addition to building the law practice—and life—they deserve. Access to NLBM’s tools, resources, and coaching goes a long way in supporting that journey.
One of our major imperatives since we started the New Law Business Model—and part of what makes NLBM so special—is the comprehensive approach we take to preparing and supporting our lawyers. This occurs not only in the beginning as they establish their law practices using the New Law Business Model, but that support extends well into the future.
One resource in that arsenal of support is the Lawyer Mentor Team here at NLBM. In case you’re new to the NLBM program, we wanted to give you a snapshot of who these Mentors are, and why they’re such an incredible benefit to our members.
MENTORS START JUST LIKE YOU
The first step NLBM Mentors take on their road to becoming Lawyer Mentors, is the same one you take when you join the NLBM program: learn the craft. In this case, that means learning the ins and outs of Estate Planning Law, as well as how to build a law practice from the ground up.
While it might seem elementary, we know that not everyone in a mentoring position at other institutions or companies has actually walked in the shoes of those they’re helping. But at NLBM, this is a crucial prerequisite for all Lawyer Mentors. The reason for that is simple:
Unlike NLBM coaches, who focus primarily on the high-level logistical aspects of supporting our Member Lawyers, Lawyer Mentors need to be able to support practically AND provide one-to-one guidance for everyday challenges like defining personal and professional vision, goals, helping to encourage and instruct through both successes and failures and so much more.
A Lawyer Mentor’s job is to walk the path with the NLBM lawyers they mentor, a path they’ve walked themselves, and to help lawyers make the most of that journey.
WHERE MENTORS STEP IN
Our NLBM lawyers interact with Lawyer Mentors in a few settings. The first is in our monthly and bi-weekly group calls when there’s an opportunity to interact in real time, and answer questions on a larger scale.
Next, is in the NLBM forum, where Lawyer Mentors play more of a moderating and live-support role. The goal of the forum is to provide a landing place for conversations around NLBM Member Lawyer needs and questions. Mentors participate in the forum by answering questions, or helping lawyers troubleshoot their questions which could be about everything from hiring practices to a specific state’s legal code.
Lastly, some of our mentors keep office hours so they can be reached directly by our NLBM members for direct one-on-one consultations and assistance when the need arises. Incidentally, that kind of personal experience and help is the hallmark of what we want our Member Lawyers to strive to give to their clients. Lawyer Mentors help to model the kind of care and service we want all NLBM members to offer to their own clients.
FROM THE MENTOR’S PERSPECTIVE
We wanted to quickly share part of a recent conversation we had with Yaasha Sabba, one of our incredible Lawyer Mentors. We asked him to describe some of his responsibilities as a mentor, as well as to share some insight on how he sees his own role as a mentor at NLBM. Here’s what he had to say:
I'm here to provide help to anyone trying to learn or who just needs practical guidance on the law. This is done through a bi-weekly group coaching call, which hosts about 100 lawyers each call.
And then all of the lawyers, depending on their membership status with NLBM will either be able to schedule monthly or quarterly 1:1 quick chats with me, where they have about 20 minutes to ask any questions they have, and I give them my time to share insights, wisdom, and strategy.
I help them understand their clients' needs, develop strategies, learn the law, and discover better ways to increase their fees and engagement rates.
I work with almost all NLBM Lawyers at every stage who have the confidence to reach out for help. NLBM has done a stellar job respecting my time and the fact that I have my own growing practice to run.
Together, we've built a system where lawyers can get consistent training from me and also have opportunities to connect on a deeper level with me and really drive their learning and growth forward.
We especially love and endorse that last bit, driving learning and growth forward—that’s the NLBM experience.
MENTORS FOR THE LAWYER, LAWYERS FOR LIFE
As we mentioned at the top, here at NLBM we believe in our lawyers’ ability to reshape not only their own practices and lives, but the expectations that the layperson has of what working with a lawyer should look and feel like.
Mentors help our lawyers achieve that all-important vision. And we’re both incredibly proud of the work they do everyday, and excited for those who are new to our program to have the opportunity of working with them.
Are you ready for some new outcomes, the practice and life you’ve aspired to for a long time? New Law Business Model—and our team of Lawyer Mentors—is ready to help you get there.