The Law Society is inviting applications for this year’s Women in Leadership mentoring programme.

Applications are welcome for both mentors and mentees, on a countrywide basis, and from all areas of practice.

The programme aims to enable women to advance their careers to a more senior level, and provide the support that may contribute to their successful careers.

The progamme is presented in collaboration with Law Society Skillnet, which is responsible for the mentor and mentee-training activities.

Mentees may have concerns about how to progress to the next role, and need help to develop a difficult new skill, or guidance through turbulent times.

Mentors are invaluable for offering this help and guidance.

For mentors, passing on experience and knowledge can be very rewarding.

Participation is a great way to give back to others in the legal profession – a gift of sorts!

Timelines for 2023/24 programme 

• April 2023: Applications from both mentors and mentee open. The closing date for applications is Thursday 22 June 2023,
• July 2023: Matching takes place during the month of July,
• August 2023: Applicants (mentors and mentees) are informed via email if they have been successfully matched, in line with application preferences, and given access details to the Law Society Skillnet mentor and mentee self-paced online courses.

This course must be completed in advance of the training session in September 2023.

• September 2023: One-hour training in best-practice mentoring techniques session. Training will be onsite, or online through the self-paced courses, and follow-up sessions are eligible for CPD hours,
• September 2023: Following successful completion of training, applicants are informed of the match details – the name and contact details of the mentor/mentee,
• October 2023: Mentoring relationship begins – contact deadline of 13 October 2023,
• May 2024: The mentoring relationship comes to an official end.

Time commitment 

Please bear the time commitment in mind before submitting your application.

• Self-paced training – 1.5 hours,
• Online Zoom session – one hour,
• One-hour meeting (approximate) for each month of the eight-month programme,
• Total time commitment – ten hours (approximate).

Additional information is available online. Contact programme manager Shane Farrell with any queries.

Queries about the training should be addressed to Gwen McDevitt at LawSocietySkillnet@lawsociety.ie.