How Mentoring Helps Combat Imposter Syndrome in Young Lawyers

April Petrosino, an attorney at Stinson, found herself struggling at her first job after law school. Beyond just first-job jitters, the pervasive psychological phenomenon known as imposter syndrome where someone doubts their skills, abilities and accomplishments can be extremely common amongst young attorneys. Petrosino herself experienced imposter syndrome as a new attorney at her first job in the post-pandemic world and doubted whether she was cut out for a career in the legal profession.

“The world was just starting to return from the pandemic lockdown, and my social skills were rusty after months of Zoom law school,” Petrosino writes. “I began to experience self-doubt and would chide myself whenever I needed to ask a question. I frequently worried I was bugging the partners too often—and, on the worst days, I feared that I wasn’t cut out to be a lawyer.” 

Petrosino cites a 2018 survey where 74 percent of attorneys aged 18-24 in the United Kingdom reported experiencing imposter syndrome. Luckily for her, she found mentors at her workplace who were willing to walk her through the unique situations an attorney faces at work, especially situations that weren’t covered in law school textbooks. Experienced and senior attorneys can impart legal knowledge and insights about client interactions, case strategy and ethics. Petrosino credits her mentors with helping her to recognize her “self-doubt for what it was: imposter syndrome” and believes that having a mentor “who can empathize and assist with their own experience is vital” for new attorneys.

Are you interested in learning more about how mentoring can help young lawyers?  Read more in this law.com article.