Illinois Association of Healthcare Attorneys
2015 - 2016 Mentoring Plan & Timeline
The IAHA Mentoring Program term lasts for approximately one year, from one IAHA Annual
Health Law Symposium to the next. This timeline is designed to serve as a guide for mentors and
Mentees in developing a roadmap for the mentoring process. As a pair, you are encouraged to
use this timeline as a starting point to organize your mentoring plan for the year, but you should
customize your mentoring plan to match the particular practice setting, individual needs, and
personal goals of the Mentee. While this guide can help facilitate the discussion between the
Mentor and the Mentee, the development of the mentoring relationship is up to you.
The Mentoring Plan should identify core concepts, skills, topics of interest, activities, and
experiences framed as specific action items for the Mentee and Mentor. The mentoring plan
should be designed to facilitate the ongoing professional learning and development of the
Mentee. Possible areas of focus include:
1. Legal Community & Community at Large
2. Law Office or Department Management
3. Personal & Professional Development
4. Ethics
5. Client Communication, Advocacy and Negotiation
While the focus areas provide a basic framework upon which to build the mentoring plan, the
specific action items in the mentoring plan should be customized to the practice setting,
individual needs, and personal goals of the Mentee. As you develop your mentoring plan
together, keep in mind the basic objectives of the mentoring program, including:
1. Fostering the development of the Mentee’s practical skills;
2. Increasing knowledge of legal customs;
3. Creating a sense of pride and integrity in the legal profession;
4. Promoting collegial relationships among legal professionals;
5. Involvement in the organized bar activities;
6. Improving legal ability and professional judgment; and
7. Encouraging the use of best practices and highest ideals in the practice of law.
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The 2015-16 Mentoring Program will offer two participation tracks — a CLE Track and a NonCLE Track.
1. CLE Track: The CLE Track will provide eligible participants an opportunity to earn 6
professional responsibility CLE credits for the year in which the mentoring term is
completed (2016). There is no fee to obtain the CLE credit. Mentors and Mentees in the
CLE Track must meet eligibility requirements, and complete specific requirements
established by the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism (ILSCCP) to
earn professional responsibility CLE credits. IAHA will provide Mentors and Mentees
various resources, including ILSCCP-developed materials, to assist them in meeting the
ILSCCP requirements. Generally, the ILSCCP requirements are:
a. Attend an Orientation Session to begin the mentoring year; * * The Orientation
Session is scheduled during the Early Bird Session at the 2015 IAHA
Symposium.
b. Sign a Mentoring Agreement defining parameters for the year;
c. Develop an individualized Mentoring Plan at the outset of the year that identifies
actions in designated ILSCCP professional responsibility CLE categories that the
mentor and mentee will complete throughout the year;
d. Meet at least eight (8) times in-person, or two (2) times in-person and six (6)
times via video communication if the Mentor and Mentee do not live within a
commutable distance, during the year;
e. Attest in writing at the end of the year that they completed the actions identified
in their Mentoring Plan and that they met at least eight (8) times in-person, or two
(2) times in-person and six (6) times via video if applicable, by the end of the
mentoring year; and
f. Apply for CLE credit at the end of the mentoring year.
2. Non-CLE Track: The Non-CLE Track will provide participants who are not eligible for
the CLE Track or do not wish to commit to completing the CLE Track requirements an
opportunity to participate in the Program. Non-CLE Track participants are asked to
commit at minimum one (1) hour per month to interacting with his or her mentor or
Mentee.
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IAHA MENTORING PROGRAM TIMELINE
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MEETING &
TIMEFRAME
SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
NON-CLE & CLE TRACK
Mentor Pairings
Announced
☐ The Mentee should contact the Mentor
to introduce themselves.
Early Fall 2015
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SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
CLE TRACK ONLY
☐ Make arrangements to meet at the
IAHA Annual Health Care Symposium
early-bird orientation or as soon as is
convenient.
Orientation at IAHA ☐ Introductions.
Symposium
☐ Schedule a first planning meeting
within the first month or so if possible.
October 27, 2015
☐ Attend the symposium lunch or
reception together. The Mentor should
introduce the Mentee to colleagues and
other attorneys attending the symposium,
if possible.
☐ ILSCCP require mentor and Mentees to
attend an Orientation Session. The IAHA
orientation session will be during the
Early Bird Session at the 2015 IAHA
Symposium.
☐ Discuss together the objectives for the
mentoring program, and three or more
goals the Mentee has for the mentoring
relationship.
☐ The CLE mentoring plan should
identify actions in designated ILSCCP
professional responsibility CLE categories
that the mentor and Mentee will complete
throughout the year. To receive CLE
credit, the Mentoring Plan must include at
least one activity from each of the five
categories identified in the ILSCCP
mentoring plan and mentoring plan
supplement.
First Face-to-Face
Meeting
November December 2015
☐ Decide the concepts, skills, topics, and
shared professional experiences you
would like to address during the
mentoring year.
☐ Determine how often to meet. If
possible, set up regularly scheduled
meetings with each other during the
mentoring year.
☐ Discuss 3-4 SMART goals that the
Mentee has developed beforehand, which
they would like to achieve during the
mentoring year. The goals should be
Specific, Measurable, Achievable,
Realistic, and Timely.
☐ Develop an individualized mentoring
plan for achieving the Mentee's goals
during the mentoring year. As a pair,
identify specific action items for the
Mentee to undertake, incorporating as
many actions items as feasible into the
mentoring plan.
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☐ Sign a Mentoring Agreement defining
the parameters for the year.
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Follow-up Meeting 1 ☐ Review the Mentee's goals and discuss
how they fit into the broader career plan
/ Second Face-toand objectives of the Mentee.
Face Meeting
January - February
2016
☐ Complete development of the specific
mentoring plan for the mentoring year, if
not completed at the first planning
meeting.
☐ Discuss the topic(s) selected in the
Mentoring Plan from the Professionalism
category found in the ILSCCP mentoring
plan and mentoring plan supplement.
☐ If interest, needs, or opportunities
change during the year you can agree to
add or substitute an activity.
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March 2016
☐ Telephone or in person meeting to
discuss Mentee’s progress on goals/plans
discussed in previous meetings and to
schedule the next follow-up meeting.
Attend an Event
Together / Fourth
Face-to-Face
Meeting
☐ The Mentor should invite the Mentee to
attend an IAHA, IL or Chicago Bar
Association, AHLA meeting/event, or
other social event together.
Third Face-to-Face
Meeting
☐ Discuss the topic(s) selected in the
Mentoring Plan from the Legal Ethics
category found in the ILSCCP mentoring
plan and mentoring plan supplement.
☐ The Mentor should introduce the
Mentee to other lawyers in the
community.
☐ Co-author an article, or work together
on another pro bono project or activity.
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Follow-up Meeting 2 ☐ Review the Mentee's progress on
/ Fifth Face-to-Face achieving his or her SMART goals and
action items.
Meeting
April - May 2016
☐ Identify any new interests, needs, or
opportunities, and add or substitute new
action items as appropriate.
☐ Discuss the topic(s) selected in the
Mentoring Plan from the Civility category
found in the ILSCCP mentoring plan and
mentoring plan supplement.
☐ Choose one of the five focus areas
identified above, or a focus area identified
in the First Planning Meeting, and discuss
as a pair.
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Sixth Face-to-Face
Meeting
June 2016
☐ Telephone or in person meeting to
discuss Mentee’s progress on goals/plans
discussed in previous meetings and to
schedule the next follow-up meeting.
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☐ Discuss the topic(s) selected in the
Mentoring Plan from the Diversity and
Inclusion category found in the ILSCCP
mentoring plan and mentoring plan
supplement.
Follow-up Meeting 3 ☐ Review the Mentee's progress on
achieving his or her SMART goals and
/ Seventh Face-toaction items.
Face Meeting
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July - August 2016
☐ Identify any new interests, needs, or
opportunities, and add or substitute new
action items as appropriate.
☐ Discuss the topic(s) selected in the
Mentoring Plan from the Wellness, Mental
Health and Addiction category found in
the ILSCCP mentoring plan and
mentoring plan supplement.
☐ Choose one of the five focus areas
identified above, or a focus area identified
in the First Planning Meeting, and discuss
as a pair.
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Follow-up Meeting 4 ☐ Evaluate the Mentee's progress in
/ Final Face-to-Face achieving his or her SMART goals.
Meeting
☐ Review the mentoring plan, and address
any remaining questions or interests that
September - October
the Mentee may have.
2016
☐ Identify continued or new SMART
goals for the Mentee to focus on in the
following year.
☐ Complete and sign the written
attestation that the actions identified in the
Mentoring Plan were completed, and that
the mentor and Mentee met at least eight
times in-person, or two times in-person
and six times via video if applicable.
☐ Complete the online CLE application to
obtain professional responsibility credits.
Additional mentoring resources available from IAHA:
• IAHA Mentoring Program
• IAHA Mentoring Guide
• Mentor/Mentee Potential Opportunities
• 2015 Mentoring / Coaching Workshop presented by William Schurgin, Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Additional CLE track mentoring resources are available from the Illinois Supreme Court
Commission on Professionalism:
• Lawyer to Lawyer Mentoring Guide
• Mentoring Plan For Mentees and Mentors
• Mentoring Plan Supplement For Mentees and Mentors
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