YLD launches free web-based 'mentoring with the masters'.

After years of planning and preparation, The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division has launched their "Mentoring with the Masters" program, a complimentary web-based curriculum designed to provide new Florida lawyers with helpful information about the Bar and Bar membership.

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Mentoring with the Masters is an hour-long online program produced by the YLD's Transition to Practice committee. The curriculum includes videos on a wide variety of topics ranging from board certification to A jury selection.

"We recognized that most young lawyers enter practice with very little guidance as to how to confront the tough challenges of the legal profession," said YLD President Sean Desmond of Tallahassee.

"During those first years of practice, it is clear that the development of good habits and the making of good decisions are so critical."

As ideas for a more formal mentoring program began to develop, YLD board members decided to approach several former Bar presidents for their advice, said Desmond.

"As we listened, we were amazed by the quality of the advice we were receiving. It became clear that one of the ways to help young lawyers was to simply record those messages and make them available to our members online."

Now, video clips for the program are presented by a "who's who" of Florida Bar leaders: former Bar Presidents Kelly Overstreet Johnson, Miles McGrane, and Alan Bookman; Bar President-elect Gwynne Young; former YLD board member Cristina Alonzo; and Lauren Detzel, a shareholder with Dean Mead. The videos answer frequently asked substantive and practice area questions, covering topics including...