May 22, 2013

Citizen Lawyer John T. Baker Heads New CAMP Program

BakerJohnOn February 5, 2013, the Colorado State Judicial Branch named John T. Baker the first director of the newly-developed Colorado Attorney Mentoring Program (CAMP). I had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Baker about his new role for CBA-CLE Legal Connection; our conversation is here.

Congratulations on being named director of the new Colorado Attorney Mentoring Program! 

Thank you, it’s really an honor. When I first heard about the program, I thought it sounded like something I would like to do, and I was delighted that they selected me as the first director. I am strongly committed to public service and this is my first time working for the public, so it’s a great opportunity.

How long have you been interested in mentoring? What inspired you to become a mentor?

I was mentored myself as a young lawyer. I had several mentors, including the senior attorneys at the firm where I worked and also including opposing counsel on my civil case at times. I spent 40 years as a plaintiff’s personal injury attorney, and I modeled my practice after the good attorneys on both sides of those cases.

From my mentors, I discovered the importance of learning the ropes—the things you don’t learn in law school, the practical aspects of practicing law. For example, when you go into the courthouse, the judges are very important and nearly every attorney is respectful to the judge. However, the clerks and the rest of the staff are important too, and they should all be treated with respect. Another example: when I receive the first pleading from an opposing counsel I don’t know, I arrange a social meeting—we have a cup of coffee together—so that we can get to know each other as people instead of as adversaries. I am hoping that, through CAMP, I can enable some young lawyers to learn these sorts of practical things also.

What is CAMP?

CAMP is a program that will be housed in the Attorney Regulation System, along with the other judicial department offices of Attorney Registration, Attorney Admission, and Continuing Legal & Judicial Education.  In addition to supporting existing mentoring programs, CAMP will  promote development of new mentoring programs where needed in each of Colorado’s 22 judicial districts for young attorneys or attorneys transitioning into private practice. The CAMP office will develop model  curricula for the mentors and mentees, certify  mentor candidates, and oversee the awarding of continuing legal education credits for the mentoring programs. These CAMP programs will be run by bar associations, inns of court, and other legal organizations. CAMP will collaborate where possible with the existing mentoring programs at CU Law and the Sturm COL at DU to avoid duplication of efforts and help provide a continuum of mentoring from law school into practice.

How did CAMP come about?

The CAMP concept has been in development for at least five years. Originally, then-DBA President Mark Fogg and Nancy Cohen, chair of the DBA mentoring committee, crystallized the idea of a state-wide mentoring program. Chief Justice Michael Bender, through his Commission on the Legal Profession, formalized the funding and structure of the statewide CAMP office. During the last two years, the Denver Bar Association, the Minori Yasui Inn of Court, and the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office all developed pilot project mentoring programs.

Can you paint a picture of how CAMP will work?

We are still working on the details, but we are planning to develop a curriculum for mentoring that can be utilized by law-related entities in each of Colorado’s 22 judicial districts. The bar associations and other legal organizations in the judicial districts will take charge of recruiting mentors and mentees for their own programs, and the CAMP office will evaluate the mentor candidates and make sure they are appropriate role models for new attorneys. The mentors must meet certain criteria—they must have been in practice for at least five years, have a good knowledge base, and have no history of discipline, for example.

The CAMP role is to provide guidance and structure while allowing the organizations in the individual judicial districts to do the mentor-mentee pairing. The individual organizations will do everything except certify the programs and mentors; that will be CAMP’s role. CAMP will also provide support to the individual organizations.

We would like to include materials for the mentors and mentees so that they will complete tasks together and move beyond a purely social relationship. We have been studying the existing mentoring programs—in fact, my first calls as director were to the mentoring programs at the CU and DU law schools—and we would like to see what has worked for the existing programs, what could be improved, and how we can incorporate mentor/mentee activities involving pro bono work, bar association committee involvement, or other community service activities  to act as the “glue” to cement a lasting mentoring relationship.

What are your goals as director of CAMP?

My primary goal is to have a mentoring opportunity available to all new lawyers or lawyers who are transitioning to private practice from public service in each of Colorado’s 22 judicial districts. I hope to see these programs develop so that the new lawyers can have someone to talk to and from whom they can learn the things they didn’t learn in law school.

In an article you wrote for the September 2009 issue of The Colorado Lawyer, you discuss the “citizen lawyer” concept. Can you explain that and tell us how it fits into the mentoring program?

Citizen lawyers are lawyers who are active and involved in community service and who use their legal skills to help people in their communities. This could be working on boards of directors for nonprofits, doing pro bono work, or even coaching their kids’ teams. The goal is to let the world see the good in lawyers, see lawyers as the compassionate and caring human beings we are.

When I was a new lawyer, I was encouraged and rewarded for such civic service. Today I think that it’s gotten harder for  lawyers to do this. Law practice is more demanding of the professional now. There is not as much time for new lawyers to  be community-oriented. Despite this I would like to instill the “giving back” part of being a lawyer into the new lawyers because it is often the most satisfying part of practicing law.

How will you further the citizen lawyer concept as CAMP director?

I would like to include a pro bono component, perhaps have the mentor and mentee work together on a community service project, and I would like to encourage the citizen lawyers of the community to become mentors.

How can attorneys become involved in CAMP, either as mentors or as mentees?

Anyone interested in becoming a mentor or a mentee can contact the CAMP office, or they can email me directly. Also, the individual judicial districts will publicize their mentoring programs, and it will be publicized by the bar associations and inns of court. We are also working on establishing a web presence—we will soon have our own webpage and blog, and we will also be on social media, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

John T. Baker is the director of the Colorado Attorney Mentoring Program in the Attorney Regulation System of the Colorado Judicial Department . Prior to that, he served as the Executive Director of NITA, and was an attorney in private practice for 40 years. He is very active in his community and in the Denver and Colorado bar associations, and he received the DBA Award of Merit in 2007 for his outstanding service.

John T. Baker Named Director of New Colorado Attorney Mentoring Program

BakerJohnOn Tuesday, February 5, 2013, the Colorado State Judicial Branch announced that attorney John T. Baker was named the director of the new Colorado Attorney Mentoring Program (CAMP) in the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel. The CAMP program is designed to increase training of new lawyers and provide them more support in order to further one of the main goals of the Chief Justice’s Commission on the Legal Profession.

Mr. Baker is currently a sole practitioner in Denver, concentrating his practice on complex litigation and public interest law. Prior to that, he worked at Bragg & Baker, a plaintiff’s personal injury firm, where he specialized in products liability. Mr. Baker is active with the Denver and Colorado bar associations, and he was president of the DBA in 2008-2009. He also teaches frequently on the topics of professionalism and litigation.

As the director of CAMP, Mr. Baker will partner new lawyers in their first three years of practice with experienced attorneys in order to foster pride in the profession, excellence in the courts, and strong relationships between the bench and bar and the public. Mr. Baker will begin as director on February 25, 2013.

Introducing the New Commission and Proclaiming October 2012 Legal Professionalism Month

When I became Chief Justice in December 2010, I wanted to bring together the three major groups of the legal profession—the bar, the judiciary, and the legal academy—to better address the needs of the community in which we all serve. In the hopes of achieving this vision, in February 2011, I formed the Chief Justice’s Commission on the Legal Profession (Commission) to focus on four primary goals:

  1. improving the training of law students to help them better appreciate the vital role that attorneys play in our society;
  2. increasing the training of and providing more support for new lawyers;
  3. facilitating communication and cooperation between and among judges and attorneys; and
  4. encouraging the entire bar to recognize the broad legal needs of our community and improving public attitudes toward the profession through a renewed dedication to pro bono service.

Ultimately, I hope the Commission will serve as a forum for judges, attorneys, and legal educators to develop ideas that might eventually lead to legislation, rules, or substantive changes in law school curricula to better address the needs of the legal profession and our community as a whole.

The Commission, which meets quarterly, is comprised of practicing lawyers from various specialties, the deans of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law (DU) and University of Colorado Law School (CU), and appellate and trial judges from across the state. From this group, we formed four working groups to focus on each of the goals set forth above.

Working Group A: Legal Education

For the past year, Working Group A has sought to address the development of professional identity, social responsibility, and practice skills in law students and to increase the involvement of judges and bar leadership within our two law schools. To this end, it has worked closely with CU and DU to develop an annual event that will introduce law students to the concepts of professionalism and social responsibility.

We are excited to announce that the inaugural event—entitled “For This We Stand”—will take place on September 22, 2012. This two-part event will bring firstyear law students together in Denver from both Colorado law schools. The students will congregate in the Denver Athletic Club’s Grand Ballroom for remarks about the profession of law and the importance of practicing with professionalism. Sharing with me the honor of addressing the students will be U.S. District Court Judge Marcia Krieger, Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Russell Carparelli, and CBA 2012–13 President Mark Fogg.

Following the presentations, the students will break into smaller groups and go to the Denver City and County Building, where they will meet in a courtroom with a judge, a lawyer, and a former client. There, they will hear stories about the positive impact the profession can have on the lives of clients and society.

The conclusion of the event will be interactive. The students will participate in discussions about the vital role that reputation and relationships play in achieving a successful and fulfilling career.

Working Group B: Newly Admitted Attorneys

When the Commission first met, it identified the mentoring of new lawyers as the most pressing need in the legal community. Working Group B, in partnership with the CBA and Denver Bar Association (DBA), have been addressing the development of professional identity and social responsibility for newly admitted attorneys through mentoring programs.

Statewide Mentoring Program

A pilot study was initiated and a model for a prospective statewide program was developed by the CBA to assist several local bar associations, the law schools, the Yasui Inn of Court, the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association, and the Adams County District Attorney’s Office. Mentors and mentees earn fifteen CLE credits, including two ethics credits, for participating in the one-year program. The CBA has provided necessary staffing for the program.

The DBA’s mentoring program, which began more than two years ago and has more than seventy mentor and mentee pairings, has provided valuable background information for the pilot study. CU has a unique program that matches a mentor attorney, a mentee attorney, and a law student to jointly handle a pro bono case.

Working Group B and the mentor program standing committee will make recommendations to the Commission about funding and the hiring of an executive director. It is looking into expanding the program statewide.

Colorado Lawyers for Colorado Veterans

Working Group B, again in partnership with the CBA and local bar associations, also has worked to increase community outreach and opportunities for new and seasoned attorneys to engage in community service. The creation of Colorado Lawyers for Colorado Veterans, which the CBA has been instrumental in coordinating, is an outcome of this effort.

Colorado Lawyers for Colorado Veterans kicked off its efforts on Veterans Day 2011 with pro bono clinics in Denver, Colorado Springs, and Fort Collins. At its Veterans Day event, the Denver clinic accepted fifty-five cases. It has taken nearly 100 additional cases since then. As a result of the success of the first event and the continued demand within the community, the Denver clinic has begun to hold an event on the second Tuesday of each month and plans to continue the tradition of holding a larger annual event on Veterans Day. Colorado Lawyers for Colorado Veterans also is planning to conduct clinics in Pueblo, Alamosa, Colorado Springs, and Fort Collins, and at CU’s Boulder campus.

Finally, the group hopes to expand its efforts so it can provide monthly clinics at DU, as well as in Grand Junction and Durango. I am especially excited about this program, which provides our veteran heroes vital pro bono services while also increasing the opportunities for attorneys to engage with our community. If you are interested in supporting or participating in Colorado Lawyers for Colorado Veterans, please contact John Vaught at vaught@wtotrial.com or Ben Currier at benc@m-s-lawyers.com.

Working Group C: Bench and Bar Cooperation

The goal of Working Group C is to identify and implement strategies to facilitate communication and professionalism between and among judges and lawyers. Working Group C members have met with leaders of our many bar organizations and Inns of Court to explore ways to foster professional relationships and promote a collaborative culture of civility and respect.

As a result of this input, Working Group C has determined that one way to bring increased awareness to these vital issues is to establish an annual Legal Professionalism Month. Accordingly, CBA President David Masters, the Chief Justice’s Commission on the Legal Profession, and I proclaim the month of October 2012 to be Legal Professionalism Month.

As explained in the Proclamation (which appears at the end of this article), October 2012 will be a month for attorneys and judges to rededicate themselves to the importance of public service and community outreach. There will be professionalism events and pro bono activities throughout the month.

Legal Professionalism Month will culminate in “The Assembly of Lawyers” on the afternoon of October 29, 2012, at the Boettcher Concert Hall. This event, which will immediately precede the swearing-in ceremony for new attorneys, is intended to bring together lawyers from across the state to reflect on the importance of service in our profession. Although this event is still in the planning stages, we intend to grant CLE credit for attendance and expect to include an influential speaker on the subject of legal professionalism. Afterward, the assembled attorneys in Boettcher Hall will be joined by the newly admitted attorneys for a special session of the Colorado Supreme Court to administer the Attorney’s Oath. By their presence, the assembled lawyers will make visible the fact that we welcome the new attorneys into our great profession.

Working Group D: Outreach to the Community

Working Group D has focused its efforts on supporting the profession’s culture of service and increasing access to justice. To this end, Working Group D has reached out to and begun to collaborate with organizations such as the Colorado Access to Justice Commission, Colorado Legal Services, and Make History Colorado. This group has recognized that pro bono opportunities serve to benefit the community at large and provide fertile training ground for new lawyers to obtain trial experience. Collaboration in pro bono activities also could serve as a way to bond mentors and mentees through joint participation and representation.

Consistent with the recommendations of the Colorado Access to Justice Commission, Working Group D has focused on encouraging members of the private bar, government attorneys, in-house counsel, and newly licensed lawyers to increase their participation in pro bono representation. The members of this group plan to meet with the managing partners of metro area law firms to discuss how to remove existing barriers to pro bono service and to explore the viability of collecting pro bono data as an incentive to increase participation. Additionally, Working Group D will continue to publicize and advance the efforts of Make History Colorado and to collaborate with the CBA on its work with pro bono and unbundled legal services. Finally, following the successful model of the Adams County pro se Self-Help Center,1 Working Group D plans to identify additional sources of funding to establish self-help centers across the state.

Galvanizing Professionalism

After a productive and inspiring inaugural year, several prominent themes have emerged from the Commission’s work. I believe our profession has been and continues to be a positive force for society. However, at times—in the face of economic and professional pressures, for example—we have lost our way.

Accordingly, I believe that now is the time for each of us to renew our efforts to the legal profession through increased civility toward one another and by instilling these values in law students and new lawyers. Finally, we must rededicate ourselves to the service of society, including the most vulnerable among us. To galvanize and focus these efforts, CBA President David Masters, the Chief Justice’s Commission on the Legal Profession, and I proclaim the month of October 2012 to be Legal Professionalism Month.

Note

1. The Self Help Resource Center at the Adams County Justice Center is available at www.courts.state.co.us/Courts/District/Custom.cfm?District_ID=17&Page_ID=335. See also “Online Pro Se Resources” at www.courts.state.co.us./Self_Help/proSeResources.cfm.
Proclamation: Declaring October 2012 Legal Professionalism Month In the State of Colorado

The Colorado Lawyer, the official publication of the Colorado Bar Association, serves as an informational and educational resource to improve the practice of law. When you see the logo, you’re reading an article from The Colorado Lawyer. CBA members can also still read the full issue online at cobar.org/tcl.

Mentoring Program to Kick Off 2012 With Revamped Curriculum

The Denver Bar Association is now accepting applications for both mentors and mentees for the 2012 Mentoring Program. This year the program will be part of a pilot project that is a cooperative effort by the Colorado Bar Association and the Chief Justice Commission on the Legal Profession. For the DBA’s mentoring program to qualify as a pilot program, we have altered it to mirror the proposed program.

We encourage all DBA members who are interested to consider becoming a mentor or participating in the program as a mentee. Our goal for the upcoming year is to have 100 pairs for the program. The following is a brief description of the program.

Click here for additional information or to apply. Applications are being accepted through November 30, 2011.

Objectives: To promote pride in the profession; excellence in service; and strong relationships with the bar, courts, clients, and the public, through teaching the core values and ideals of the legal profession and the best practices for meeting those ideals.

Qualifications:  To qualify as a mentee in the program, you are not required to be a member of the DBA, but you must be in your first three years of practice following admission to practice law in Colorado, or within your first year of practice in Colorado if you have been in practice three or more years in another jurisdiction. Mentees can petition for inclusion in the program if they do not fit into either of these two categories.

Curricula: The 12-month Mentoring Plan curricula is developed by the mentee and mentor, but must cover certain subject areas, and include an initial planning meeting between the mentee and mentor;  personal and professional development; the Colorado bar and legal community; history and importance of the legal profession; and professionalism and civility. A typical Mentoring Plan involves monthly in-person meetings between the mentee and mentor, which last one to two hours.  The Mentoring Plan can be developed by the mentee and mentor to best suit their schedules and needs.

Benefits: Each mentee and mentor will receive 15 free CLE credits, including two ethics credits, on successful completion of the program (application for CLE credit is pending). The program has components that include group activities, but an emphasis is placed on the one-on-one professional relationship between the experienced lawyer and the new lawyer, because this is one of the best ways to pass on the values, ideals, and best practices of the profession.

Mentors Have Much to Gain from this Role. They have the chance to assist younger attorneys in developing important skills. Lawyers who have been mentored are more likely to stay in the practice than those who are not. The development of these close bonds also helps further the practice of law.

Mentees Can Take Control of Their Career Development. Sometimes new hires may expect the firm to be responsible for their professional development, because many firms today offer resources such as orientation, in-house CLEs, trial colleges, marketing development, retreats, and mentoring programs. However, your future success will in part be dependent on your ability to make connections with those around you and gain their trust and respect. It simply makes good sense to use these offerings to your advantage. Twenty years down the road you may be able to attribute your success, in part, to assistance you received early on from another professional.

The 2012–13 chairs of the DBA Mentoring Program are Melissa Ogburn and Craig Joyce. We will have a kick-off reception for the 2012 mentoring program on January 5, 2012. We look forward to DBA members’ participation in this very important program.

Melissa Nicoletti is the Director of Sections and Committees for the Colorado and Denver Bar Associations.

The Docket eFile brings features from your favorite Denver Bar Association publication to you digitally. When you see the logo, you’re reading an article from The Docket. You’ll also still be able to read the full issue online at denbar.org/docket.

Jay Shepherd: Small Firms, Big Lawyers – Supervising Partners and Teaching Partners

Recently I talked to a fourth-year-associate friend of mine who’d been working at a new small firm for several months. When I asked him how it was going, he said “great” in a way that suggested anything but. So I pressed him for more. The work was fine, he insisted. The clients were fine. His associates were cool. Great, I said. So what was the problem?

Well, he finally let on, there was this partner.

OK, I said. What about this partner?

Well, he said, he’s making my life a living hell. In fact, my friend said, it was so bad, he was thinking of leaving the firm.

What made this partner so horrible?

It wasn’t so much that the partner was horrible. It was that he was merely a “supervising partner.”

Look at the seven things my friend complained about:

1. Not being consistent

First of all was the capriciousness. My friend the associate never really knew where he stood with the supervising partner. It seemed to vary from day to day, even hour to hour. On some days, my buddy thought that he was doing fine, occasionally getting praise from the partner. But on other days, he was pretty sure that the partner thought my friend was the worst excuse for a lawyer ever. Not knowing where he stood with the partner was driving my friend crazy.

2. Not telling what it was all about

When the supervising partner gave my friend assignments, they tended to be narrowly defined and compartmentalized. “Research the collateral-estoppel effect of so and so.” But my friend wanted to understand why he was researching the collateral-estoppel effect of so and so. What was the big picture? How was his work helping the client’s goals? These were questions that partner didn’t seem to want to answer, or even discuss.

3. Not letting him deal with clients

And speaking of clients, that was another thing the supervising partner wouldn’t let him do: deal directly with the clients to any great extent. One time, when he and the partner were scheduled to interview a company witness, the partner got called away for a courtroom conference. He told the associate to reschedule the investigation meeting. My friend suggested that he go ahead and do the investigation without the partner, since he was the one who knew all the details and who had written all the questions anyway. The partner wouldn’t hear of it, and told him again to reschedule. Wouldn’t give him a good reason either.

4. Not getting a chance on his feet

My friend was now a fourth-year lawyer, having spent three years at another small firm before this one. But he had yet to argue a motion in court; not even a minor one. He had never appeared before an administrative agency. And he had never conducted or even defended a deposition. He had attended many, watching and learning as the supervising partner did all the talking. But he had never done it on his own.

5. Not teaching about writing

The supervising partner was very particular about how documents that came from their firm looked. He was a decent writer, and he was very picky and exacting. More times than my friend could count, the partner would mark up his document drafts with bright red ink, rewriting whole sections without much explanation about why. Sometimes, when a brief’s deadline was imminent, he would take my friend’s draft and rewrite it himself. It would just take less time, the partner would mutter.

6. Not letting contribute to strategy

My friend is a sharp guy, and he has good instincts. He enjoyed learning about the strategic reasons for taking actions during litigation. He also had many ideas of his own, and he wanted to share them and feel like he was contributing. But the supervising partner made it clear that strategic considerations were not the domain of associates, and he discouraged my friend from offering his own suggestions.

7. Not teaching him how to market

Lastly, my friend complained that he was learning nothing from the supervising partner about marketing his practice. The partner was an excellent marketer. He could go to a bar conference or a cocktail party, and inevitably return with a new client or a new piece of business. My friend wanted to learn how to develop those skills, but the partner had no apparent desire to teach.

My advice to my friend: get out. This was not a place where my friend was going to develop into an experienced and skilled professional because the supervising partner was keeping him down, whether on purpose or by default didn’t matter. The partner obviously didn’t understand that the partner-associate relationship was not one of supervisor and subordinate, or master and clerk. If anything, the partner’s responsibility is to be a (don’t say “mentor,” don’t say “mentor”) teacher to the associate — a far more valuable teacher than any law-school professor could be. (And even worse than saying “mentor” is when people try to turn it into other words, like “mentee.” Or a verb: “ment.” Do that near me and I’ll ment you in the nose.)

This partner evidently thinks that my friend is there to research cases and write drafts and otherwise do his bidding. But that’s not the primary job of an associate.

The primary job of an associate is to learn how to someday be a partner.

Maybe not a partner at that same firm, but a partner in the sense of a fully formed, experienced lawyer, ready to teach new associates. See how a teaching partner contrasts with a supervising partner:

  1. The teaching partner is consistent with associates so that they know where they stand and how they’re doing.
  2. The teaching partner shows the associates the whole picture, to demonstrate to them where their work fits in and why it’s meaningful.
  3. The teaching partner emphasizes client contact for the associates, early and often. This partner shows the clients that they should have confidence in the associates, and feel comfortable calling them (so that the partner can move on to other work).
  4. The teaching partner gives associates a chance to perform on their feet, early and often. Associates can watch and learn to some degree, but they’ll never really get it until they actually do it.
  5. The teaching partner shows associates how to write, because writing is the most important part of a lawyer’s craft.
  6. The teaching partner brings associates into the strategy discussions, because even the most junior lawyer might come up with something unexpected and helpful.
  7. And the teaching partner shows associates how to go out and get business, giving them a valuable skill and taking some of that burden away from the partner.

My friend wasn’t working for a teaching partner, so he was wasting his time. Sure, it might not be a great job market out there, but he should start looking around right away. Otherwise, he’ll never grow into partnership material himself.

For more advice on this problem — for both the associate and the partner — read the excellent post “The Apprentice Who Can’t Take Over the Practice” at the Golden Practices Blog.

Reproduced with permission of NEWSTEX, LLC, from Above The Law, Small Firms, Big Lawyers: Supervising Partners and Teaching Partners, Jay Shepherd, September 7, 2011; permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.

Jay Shepherd runs Prefix, LLC, a firm that helps lawyers learn how to value and price legal services. Jay also spent 13 years running the Boston management-side employment-law boutique Shepherd Law Group. He writes the ABA Blawg 100 honoree The Client Revolution, which focuses on reinventing the business of law, and Gruntled Employees, a workplace blog. Jay also writes for Above the Law, where this post originally appeared on September 7, 2011. Follow Jay on Twitter at @jayshep, or email him at js@shepherdlawgroup.com.
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