1. Interested mentors and mentees fill out online applications to be considered for the Mentor Express program. Mentors must have practised at least five years to join the program.
2. Once approved, mentors fill out a short online profile about themselves with a photo and provide some dates when they would be available to meet with mentees. We ask mentors to make themselves available for up to ten sessions over the course of the program year.
3. As part of their profiles, mentors also choose specific tags to better describe the perspective they are able to offer (practice areas, interests, experiences).
4. Mentees can visit the mentor listing as often as they want to see who they may be interested in meeting.
5. Mentees book meetings with their preferred mentors on a first come, first served basis. They do this by simply clicking on the meeting dates listed on mentors’ profiles.
6. Mentees can log in to their “My Sessions” page to see a list of the mentoring sessions they have booked and get their mentors’ contact information.
7. Mentors can see which mentees have booked sessions with them by logging in and viewing their “My Sessions” page.
8. Mentees are responsible for contacting their mentors to confirm when and where they will meet and to make any changes if needed.
9. There are no assignments, tasks or deadlines. Conversations and topics are driven by the mentee.
10. To get the most out of Mentor Express, we encourage mentees to prepare by asking themselves: Why did I choose to meet this specific mentor? What guidance or insight am I seeking from them? What are some questions I’d like to ask them?

Starting in September 2021, all new lawyers called or scheduled to be called to the bar will be automatically enrolled in Mentor Express for one program year. This automatic enrolment only applies to new Alberta lawyers entering their first year of practice. This does not apply to lawyers who are transferring to Alberta after practising elsewhere.

New lawyers may choose to opt out of the Mentor Express program, but we encourage them to build a mentoring relationship in another capacity, such as within their firm, organization or another mentoring program. If you have received a communication from the Law Society saying you have been automatically enrolled, fill out this form to opt out of the program.

Automatic enrolment is retroactive for the year 2021. If you were called to the bar after January 1, 2021 or have your bar call scheduled in the coming months, you will be automatically enrolled in the initial launch of the program in September. Once you are automatically enrolled in the program, you will receive a confirmation email from the Law Society detailing next steps and how to participate.

Bar calls scheduled following the launch will be automatically enrolled monthly to the current program. Shortly after your bar call is scheduled, you will receive a confirmation email from the Law Society detailing next steps and how to participate.

For more information on the Mentor Express program, automatic enrolment for new lawyers and why we implemented this change, read our full announcement, view the FAQ or contact Customer Service by email.

If you have registered as a mentee or mentor, or have been automatically enrolled as a mentee in Mentor Express, view the orientation materials for the program here. The orientation covers:

• How to register and set up a profile on the Mentor Express website. You must do this to participate in Mentor Express.
• An overview of Mentor Express
• Other mentoring programs available through the Law Society
• Effective mentoring relationships
• Do’s and don’ts of mentoring such as not posing substantive questions

For additional resources on mentorship and the Mentor Express program such as the program handbook, view the orientation materials on our Learning Centre.