Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University
Scholarship @ Hofstra Law Scholarship @ Hofstra Law
Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship
2019
The Need for Peer Mentoring Programs Linked to the Legal The Need for Peer Mentoring Programs Linked to the Legal
Writing Class: An Analysis and Proposed Model Writing Class: An Analysis and Proposed Model
Amy R. Stein
Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University
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Recommended Citation Recommended Citation
Amy R. Stein,
The Need for Peer Mentoring Programs Linked to the Legal Writing Class: An Analysis and
Proposed Model
, 27:1 PERS. 32 (2019)
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32
Perspectives: Teaching Legal Research and Writing | Vol. 27 | No. 1 | Spring 2019
“
This article
will discuss the
importance of
expanding the
role of legal
writing TAs to
create a robust,
school-supported
peer mentoring
program . . .
”
Cite as: Amy R. Stein, The Need for Peer Mentoring Programs Linked to the Legal Writing Class: An Analysis and Proposed
Model, 27 Pers. 32 (2019).
The Need for Peer Mentoring Programs
Linked to the Legal Writing Class:
An Analysis and Proposed Model
By Amy R. Stein
1
Amy R. Stein is a Professor of Legal Writing and
the Assistant Dean for Legal Writing and Adjunct
Instruction at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at
Hofstra University.
Legal writing professors serve as faculty advisors
to their students in either an official or unofficial
capacity. Yet this type of advising often takes up
a significant portion of our time. Many of us also
have the good fortune to be aided in this task
by teaching assistants (“TAs”). According to the
2017–2018 ALWD/LWI Survey, 69% of legal
writing programs use TAs at 182 schools.
2
This
means that for many of us, we can leverage the
use of our TAs to supplement the time consuming
work we do advising and supporting first-year
students. This article will discuss the importance of
expanding the role of legal writing TAs to create a
robust, school-supported peer mentoring program
(“PMP”) and suggest a model for such a program.
Legal writing is the right place for this program
because we—along with our TAs—are already doing
much of this work. The legal writing classroom
is the portal to so many other aspects of advising
and professionalism through the efforts of both
the professor and the TAs. I am not suggesting that
the PMP be tied to the legal writing curriculum
exclusively or be administered by the legal writing
faculty; rather, I am suggesting that legal writing be
used as the “anchor” to demonstrate to students that
1 Professor Stein wishes to express her gratitude to Sean A. Fanelli, PhD,
Special Professor, Specialized Programs in Education and Director of the Higher
Education Leadership Policy Studies Program at Hofstra University. Dr. Fanelli
served as the faculty advisor for the capstone project for her M.S.Ed. which
provided the foundation for this essay.
2 e ALWD/LWI Survey, 2017–2018, is available at: https://www.lwionline.
org/resources/surveys.
the PMP is important and should be valued as part
of their overall educational experience. Legal writing
faculty could be involved with the program to the
extent that they choose, since much of the instruction
that we currently give about professionalism, writing
samples, and job searching, for instance, could
be easily incorporated into the PMP program.
Traditionally, the literature on peer mentoring in law
school has examined the impact of either informal,
student-driven, peer-to-peer relationships, or
relationships between law students and practicing
attorneys. There has been little or no discussion of
more formal, law school-created programs. This
article seeks to fill that gap by examining the strong
need for such programs and suggests how such a
program might be structured. The article begins
by discussing, in part A, the characteristics of a
mentor; in part B the characteristics of an effective
mentor relationship; and in part C, the benefits of
mentoring to both the mentor and mentee. This
discussion will analyze literature from higher
education generally, not just limited to law schools,
since much excellent work has been done in this
area throughout the higher education landscape.
Next, part D will discuss high stress levels among
law students and the need for mentoring, especially
in the first year of law school; this has been well
documented in the Law School Survey of Student
Engagement. Finally, while one size does not fit all
and each school will need to structure its program
in a way that suits its population, part E suggests
best practices for a law-school sponsored, peer-to-
peer mentoring program run by the Legal Writing
TAs who are already doing much of this work.
A. What is a Mentor?
The original mentor was described by Homer as the
“wise and trusted counselor” whom Odysseus left
33
Perspectives: Teaching Legal Research and Writing | Vol. 27 | No. 1 | Spring 2019
“
Leadership
skills, strong
interpersonal
communication
skills, and
relevant
knowledge are all
important
”
in charge of his household during his travels.
3
The
“[k]ey to the mentoring process is collaboration
between individuals ‘who share mutual responsibility
and accountability for helping the mentee work
toward achievement of clear and mutually defined
learning goals.’ Learning is the fundamental process,
purpose, and product of mentoring.”
4
While the
definition of a peer mentor also focuses on the
learning component, “[p]eer mentors are role
models who often have valuable wisdom, which
they gained from experience. The primary role of
peer mentors is to aid others in their successful
transition to college by providing academic and
emotional support.”
5
Peer mentors are “seasoned
peer[s] who interact with targeted students, sharing
his or her knowledge and experience, and thereby
improving students’ understanding and learning.
. . . The more the target student can identify with
the mentor, the more receptive they will be to the
mentor’s efforts to support and challenge them.”
6
B. What Makes a Good Peer Mentor?
While it is difficult to quantify what makes a good
peer mentor because programs have different needs,
the literature suggests a number of characteristics
are universal. Leadership skills, strong interpersonal
communication skills, and relevant knowledge are
all important.
7
Moreover, in a higher education
setting, the mentor should be academically strong.
Many programs have GPA requirements. This
may push students who desire to be mentors to
work hard to achieve the requisite GPA.
8
A letter
of recommendation from a faculty member is
also often required and serves as an indicator of
academic integrity.
9
One should also consider pairing
3 N’ A. S. ., A, T, R M, F: O
B M S S E ch.1 (1997) (ebook).
4 L J. Z, C M C: T
O’ G 3 (2005).
5 Laura Jo Rieske & Mimi Benjamin, Utilizing Peer Mentor Roles in Learning
Communities, N D S S, Spring 2015, at 68, 67–77.
6 Frankie D. Minor, Building Eective Peer Mentor Programs, L
C E. R, Summer 2007, at 2, 1–13.
7 Rieske & Benjamin, supra note 5, at 74.
8 Id. at 75.
9 Id.
mentees from underrepresented groups (minority
students, international students, first generation
students), with a role model who is similar to
them, so that the success of the mentor will lead
them to believe that they, too, can be successful.
10
C. What Are the Benets of Peer Mentoring
for the Mentee and the Mentor?
The academic and social support peer mentors
can provide is impactful. This type of support
can have a noticeable impact on the mentee’s
level of achievement and connection to the
institution.
11
This results in improved student
performance (both inside and outside the
classroom), as well as retention. Mentees often
become inspired to become mentors.
12
The benefits to the mentors are also huge and
seem to revolve around three main themes:
@ Being able to support, help, or
uplift other students;
@ Reapplying the concepts of mentoring
in their own lives and becoming
better students as a result; and
@ The connections and friendships that
they develop with other mentors through
their participation in the program.
13
Peer mentors are often the top students at an
institution, so they represent the “model” to
younger students. Many students who serve as
mentors term the experience “life-changing,”
and find this leadership experience to be one of
their most significant educational experiences.
Thus, a robust mentorship program can be a
powerful tool to recruit and retain top students.
14
10 Minor, supra note 6, at 3-4.
11 Janet W. Colvin & Marinda Ashman, Roles, Risks, and Benets of Peer
Mentoring Relationships in Higher Education, 18 Mentoring & Tutoring:
Partnership Learning 127–28, 131–34 (2010); Rieske & Benjamin, supra note
5, at 70.
12 Minor, supra note 6, at 8.
13 Colvin & Ashman, supra note 11, at 127–28.
14 Minor, supra note 6, at 8.
34
Perspectives: Teaching Legal Research and Writing | Vol. 27 | No. 1 | Spring 2019
“
Thus, a robust
mentorship
program can be a
powerful tool to
recruit and retain
top students.
”
D. Why Do Law Students Need Peer
Mentors?
Law students report that law school is extremely
stressful. The Law School Survey of Student
Engagement (“LSSSE”) is part of the Indiana
University Center for Postsecondary Research.
The LSSSE studies every aspect of the law
student experience.
15
In response to these
reports about stress, LSSSE created a nine-
question Law Student Stress Module appended
to the core survey and administered to a
subset of students at thirteen law schools.
16
A
summary of the very telling results follows:
@ Half of respondents reported high stress or
anxiety during the school year, 46% reported
medium levels, and 4% reported low levels. This
15 LSSSE, Who We Are, LSSSEE, http://lssse.indiana.edu/who-we-are/ (last
visited May 31, 2019).
16 LSSSE, Law Student Stress, LSSSE, http://lssse.indiana.edu/blog/law-
student-stress (Aug. 8, 2016).
means that virtually every respondent reported
appreciable law school related stress or anxiety.
17
@ While nearly half of all law students
indicated high levels of law school related
stress, 3L students reported statistically
significant lower levels of law school
related stress than 1Ls or 2Ls.
18
@ The Law Student Stress Module identified
six elements of the law school experience
that are believed to be common stressors for
students. Respondents were asked to indicate
the extent to which each element indeed
caused them stress or anxiety. The elements
are listed on the following chart, in order of the
proportion of respondents who indicated high
levels of stress or anxiety relating to each:
19
@ Stress related to academic performance was
more prevalent for 1L and 2L students than
17 Id.
18 Id.
19 Id.
Source: The Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research
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Perspectives: Teaching Legal Research and Writing | Vol. 27 | No. 1 | Spring 2019
“
This, in
turn, could
lead to more
academically
successful,
satised students
and a higher
retention rate.
”
3L students. A similar pattern was shown for
stress related to academic workload, competition
amongst peers, and classroom environment/
teaching methods, where 1Ls reported the most
stress, followed by 2L and 3L students. Conversely,
3L students reported being more stressed about
financial concerns/student debt and job prospects
than either 1L or 2L students.
20
A representation
of stress loads by class is on the following chart:
21
Source: The Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research
Note: The dark green relates to the 1Ls, and the light blue relates to the 2Ls and 3Ls.
@ Stress in law school affects student performance,
especially in the first year. About half (46.9%)
of the respondents indicated that stress or
anxiety impacted their law school performance,
with only 19.5% indicating either “not at all”
or “very little.” Only 8.2% of the respondents
indicated that their law school “very much”
emphasized ways to effectively manage stress
or anxiety with the vast majority (69.7%)
indicating either “very little” or “some.”
22
20 Id.
21 Id.
22 Id.
So what is the takeaway from this data? The survey
provides empirical evidence demonstrating that
while law school overall is quite stressful, it is
especially so for 1Ls. This data seems to suggest
that a PMP that has the support of the school might
have a significant impact on reducing 1L stress
and improving academic performance. This, in
turn, could lead to more academically successful,
satisfied students and a higher retention rate.
E. How Would an Eective Law School PMP
be Structured?
There is no “one size fits all” for a program of
this type. Ideally an institution should be flexible
36
Perspectives: Teaching Legal Research and Writing | Vol. 27 | No. 1 | Spring 2019
“
Law school
admissions are
highly competitive;
a student is far
more likely to
attend a school
where they
believe they will
be nurtured and
cared for.
”
because in any given year the program may need
to be adjusted to be maximally effective for a
particular group of students. However some best
practices should be employed. To send students
the message that this program is an important
part of their first-year experience, all 1Ls could
be scheduled for an extra hour of legal writing
every week or every other week. This time
could be used for PMP-related activities and
students might receive an extra pass/fail credit.
The process for choosing mentors should be highly
selective. One way to accomplish this would be for
each 1L professor to nominate two to three students
towards the end of the spring semester of their
first year. These students would then be invited
to apply for positions in the PMP, and perhaps be
interviewed by a committee composed of faculty,
students, and administrators. It is also important
that there be a robust training program. This
training program should include both student affairs
professionals and other relevant administrators,
faculty members, and students who have previously
served as mentors. Including members of all of
the relevant constituencies in the selection and
training process demonstrates that the school
supports this program and views it as important.
Mentors and mentees should have both group
and individual contact. Mentoring groups should
be small, ideally fewer than ten students. This
allows for both “vertical mentoring” between
the mentor and the mentees, and “horizontal
mentoring” between first-year colleague students.
I coined these terms because in my experience
as a teacher, students value learning from other
students in their class (horizontal), not just
from me or upper-class mentors (vertical).
Expectations on both sides must be clear—a written
manual distributed to both mentors and mentees
is an ideal way to communicate information. This
manual could include such things as information
about the type and frequency of meetings that the
stakeholders are expected to have, suggestions
as to the frequency of contact, as well as the best
means of communication between the parties. It
should also include the chain of command: who
should either party contact if there are questions
or problems regarding the relationship?
Ideally the mentoring relationship should extend
throughout the entire first year of law school,
with an emphasis on academics and study skills
in the fall and on the summer job search in the
spring. Throughout the year mindfulness activities
might be included as a way to lower student stress
levels (yoga, anybody?). The initial contact by
the mentor should occur over the summer prior
to the start of the 1L year. This will not only help
ease the mentee’s concerns about the transition
to law school, it also might help with enrollment.
Law school admissions are highly competitive; a
student is far more likely to attend a school where
they believe they will be nurtured and cared for.
Administrative offices (such as Student Affairs
and Career Services) should run much of their
programming during the hour reserved for the
PMP and seek the input of the peer mentors when
planning such programs.There is a real value to new
students hearing this information from successful
upper-class students who have so recently had
similar experiences. Programs might be done at
key times throughout the semester, many of which
are tied specifically to events that are occurring in
legal writing. This will make students particularly
receptive to advice given by peer mentors who
are tied to their legal writing class. For example,
@ A “getting to know you” program during
Orientation will help establish the mentor-
mentee relationship right from the beginning,
when the mentees need it most. This could
include discussion about the importance
of legal writing both in the curriculum
and in terms of obtaining a job.
@ Consistent with the fall focus on academics, a
program two to three weeks into the semester
on law school study skills and time management
might be well timed, after the “honeymoon
phase” is over and students are settling into
the reality of the workload. This is something
that I routinely do in legal writing after the first
closed memo assignment is handed in because
students so frequently misjudge the amount of
time it takes to produce quality legal writing.
Peer mentors could help reinforce the message.
For example, mentors could discuss their own
37
Perspectives: Teaching Legal Research and Writing | Vol. 27 | No. 1 | Spring 2019
“
Such programs
are a win-win for
stakeholders.
”
first-year successes and struggles with time
management in legal writing as well as in their
doctrinal classes. They can also discuss how
improving their time management skills translated
to improved performance in their summer jobs.
@ A mid-semester program that introduces exam
writing skills prior to the students’ first set of
midterms might be useful. A program on law
school stress might also be effective around
this time because about seven to eight weeks
in, students are often feeling the pressure. They
are starting to receive grades on legal writing
assignments and midterms and realizing their
expectations as to how they will perform in
law school might need to be readjusted.
@ Programs towards the end of the first semester
might include an exam-preparation workshop,
as well as something fun. For example, Hofstra
Law School does a pancake “breakfast” one
evening at the end of the semester, with
faculty serving the food. This could be
expanded to include the student mentors.
@ In the spring semester, a “welcome back”
event shortly prior to the start of the semester
could be valuable. Students might need some
help in recalibrating their expectations and
approach to school if they are dissatisfied
with their academic performance in the first
semester. This is particularly relevant to legal
writing because many students keep the same
legal writing professor for the entire year and
might appreciate some guidance as to how
to approach their professor about ways to
improve their research and writing skills.
@ My TAs do research and citation review at
the start of the spring semester, which helps
reinforce these important skills. The TAs use
this session as an opportunity to remind the
students that these are the very skills they
will utilize in their first summer jobs.
@ As the semester progresses, TA-led sessions
relating to looking for summer internships and
jobs would be valuable. Peer mentors can be
an invaluable source of help in revising writing
samples and cover sheets for writing samples,
as well as cover letters. For the past few years,
my TAs have conducted mock interview
sessions with students. Recent graduates,
especially those who are former peer mentors,
could be brought in to help facilitate these
discussions. Professionalism and networking
might also be discussed in these sessions.
@ As the semester progresses, mentors might assist
their mentees with course planning throughout
the rest of their law school career. This can
be done in small groups or individually.
@ Mentors should meet with each student
individually at least once during each semester
to ensure that all students benefit from the
program, not just those who are more assertive
about asking for help. Individual meetings
might be geared to specific concerns students
are having. Mentors should be aware of who
they should contact if they believe a student
is experiencing a significant mental health
issue that requires immediate attention.
@ Mentors must make it easy for students to reach
out to them. For example, my TAs have specific
hours that the students know they will be
available in the library every week. Students can
either stop by or schedule a specific appointment
through a Google Docs spreadsheet.
@ Finally, both the mentor and the mentee
should engage in self-reflection about the
experience through journaling. The legal
writing professor can gain valuable insight into
their teaching and their students’ performance
by reading these journals. They could be
handed in as a homework assignment at
several points throughout the semester. As a
teacher, I would want to read them periodically
rather than just at the end of the semester
so that I could change course to correct
misconceptions or misunderstandings.
A robust, well-planned peer mentoring program has
the potential to yield huge benefits to law schools
and their students at a modest financial cost. Such
programs are a win-win for all stakeholders.
