May 27, 2021
Automatic Enrolment in the Mentor Express Program

In 2020, the Benchers approved a report of recommendations for enhancing lawyer licensing and competence in Alberta. One recommendation encourages all newly admitted lawyers to develop one or more mentoring relationships during their first year of practice. This recommendation is meant to facilitate and encourage a more holistic, new-lawyer-centred approach to continuing personal and professional development during the critical start of a lawyer’s career.

New Lawyers Automatically Enrolled in Mentor Express

To implement this recommendation, all new lawyers called to the bar will be automatically enrolled in the Mentor Express program for one year, beginning in September 2021. This automatic enrolment only applies to new Alberta lawyers entering their first year of practice. It does not apply to lawyers who are transferring to Alberta from another jurisdiction.

An expanded version of the Mentor Express program is launching in September 2021 to accommodate this change.

Automatic enrolment is retroactive for the year 2021. If you are called to the bar between January 1 and July 31, 2021, you will be included in the initial launch of the program in September. You will receive a confirmation email from the Law Society Mentorship team in early August 2021 detailing next steps and how to participate.

Moving forward, those called to the bar after August 1, 2021 will be automatically enrolled in Mentor Express monthly. Shortly after their bar call, new lawyers will receive a confirmation email from the Law Society Mentorship team detailing next steps and how to participate.

Read our FAQ for more details on the Mentor Express program and automatic enrolment for new lawyers.

Pursuing Other Mentorship Opportunities 

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. Details on opting out of the program will be released in August.

Mentor Express is an excellent opportunity to meet with experienced lawyers in the profession and develop useful relationships early in your career. As a new lawyer, we highly encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity.

More Information

For more information about the Mentor Express program and automatic enrolment for new lawyers, visit our website, read our FAQ or contact the Mentorship team by email.
Reminder: Complete Enrolment Applications Required 30 Days Prior to Bar Call 

For students-at-law who have successfully completed the enrolment requirements (both the required articling term and the PREP program), and are ready to book a bar call, please ensure you submit your complete Application for Enrolment to the Law Society at least 30 days prior to your scheduled Bar Call date. This time is necessary to ensure your application is reviewed and processed prior to your Bar Call ceremony.
 
Detailed steps and a how-to guide for enrolment are available here. If you have any questions, please contact Customer Service.
Bencher Profile Series
Deanna Steblyk, QC
Deanna Steblyk, QC began her volunteer commitments to the Law Society in 2003, only four years into her legal career, and she shows no sign of slowing down.

Starting as a committee volunteer, Deanna managed to gain years of experience in the inner workings of the Law Society before she ran for Bencher. Her work included time on the 100th Anniversary, Audit and Finance, Conduct, and Credentials and Education Committees – a volunteer commitment of nearly 15 years prior to joining the Bencher table.

“When I look back to that first opportunity to volunteer with the 100th Anniversary Committee, I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into,” laughs Deanna. “I certainly didn’t think I was going to end up working with the Law Society for as long as I have.”

After being called to the Alberta Bar in 1999, Deanna has lived and practised law in Calgary ever since. Following 10 years in private practice as a civil litigator, Deanna accepted a position as litigation counsel for the Alberta Securities Commission, where she prosecuted breaches of the Alberta Securities Act before the Commission and the Provincial Court of Alberta.


Lou Cusano, QC
As the son of Italian immigrants, Lou Cusano, QC is keenly aware of the promise and the power of the law to help people with their legal needs. Now serving in his first term as Bencher, Lou is using his time at the Bencher table to give back to the profession.

“I view serving as a Bencher as a privilege - it's an opportunity to contribute to a profession that has been good to me in so many ways.”

Lou attended law school at the University of Calgary and was called to the Alberta bar in 1987. He is managing partner of the Calgary office of Torys LLP and received his Queen’s Counsel designation in 2020.

As regulatory and environmental counsel and a commercial litigator, Lou’s practice involves representing clients before administrative tribunals and the courts.

Lou is dedicated to the mentoring and coaching of young lawyers as they navigate their career paths. Over the course of his career, he has been an instructor in the Law Society’s bar admission program, sat on Law Society Committees and Subcommittees, and lectured on behalf of the Legal Education Society of Alberta. Lou is a member of the Energy Bar Association (Canada) and sits on the Organizing Committee for the Energy Regulatory Forum.

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