The Willamette Law Placement Office matched 110 students with attorney mentors for the 2017–18 school year. The Attorney-Mentor Program hosted a reception and meet-and-greet on campus Sept. 14, so students could meet their mentors.
Attorneys and their mentees are encouraged to meet once or more each month to work on study strategies, exams prep, the job search, and more. Attorneys can also bring their students to networking events, CLEs and other learning activities.
For the most part, the program serves first-year law students, although some second- and third-year students continue to meet with their mentors past the 1L year and a few LLM and transfer students take part. This year, 172 students and 123 attorneys are participating. Of the 123 attorneys, 52 have not previously mentored with Willamette.
The Placement Office spends time pouring over applications to best match each student to a mentor. This year, some unusual requests were accommodated, including students interested in cannabis law, JAG officer appointment, bioethics, rock climbing, agriculture law, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mentors and mentee pairings will continue to get together through May and will choose then whether or not to continue meeting.
About Willamette University College of Law
Opened in 1883, Willamette University College of Law is the first law school in the Pacific Northwest. The college has a long tradition at the forefront of legal education and is committed to the advancement of knowledge through excellent teaching, scholarship and mentorship. Leading faculty, thriving externship and clinical law programs, ample practical skills courses and a proactive career placement office prepare Willamette law students for today's legal job market. According to statistics compiled by the American Bar Association, Willamette ranks first in the Pacific Northwest for job placement for full-time, long-term, JD-preferred/JD-required jobs for the class of 2014 and first in Oregon for the classes of 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. Located across the street from the state capitol complex and the Oregon Supreme Court, the college specializes in law and government, law and business, and dispute resolution.