Dear Class of 2021,

My name is Summer Ibrahim, and I am the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) Representative on the Allard Law Careers Committee.

The CBA offers a mentorship program where students are matched with professionals in the legal community to foster a one-on-one mentor-mentee relationship. Your mentor is your go-to person whenever you have questions or concerns when transitioning from a law student to a professional in the legal industry. To kick-start the mentorship program, an annual reception will be held in late October where mentors and mentees will often meet for the first time.

Your mentor has your best interest at heart and will invite you to events that may be of interest to you, such as court hearings, tour of their firm, or a simple coffee chat to discuss your professional progress. The advantage of the CBA mentorship program is that it is meant to naturally fit in your schedule; you can reach out to your mentor when you have time and in need of a chat or guidance.

This year, in coordination with Allard Law’s Career Services Office and the Canadian Bar Association, we are expanding the CBA mentorship program even further to ensure that students are matched with mentors with similar interests. Lawyers working in corporate, criminal defense, immigration, aboriginal, employment, entertainment, and international law will be represented. These lawyers will be drawn from large, mid-size, and small firms as well as from the Department of Justice, Ministry of justice, the judiciary, start-ups, and other non-traditional institutions.

My peers and I greatly enjoyed the CBA’s mentorship program and we are all still in-touch with our mentors for guidance. I strongly encourage each-and-every-one from the incoming class to sign up for the mentorship program as it is a rare opportunity for a student to be formally assigned a mentor who values and prioritizes your professional ambitions.

If you have any questions about mentorship in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me at ubcmentorship@cbabc.org. For now, enjoy your summer and look forward to an academic year that will be full of excitement, learning, and creating new relationships.

Yours Truly,

Summer Ibrahim