Big Law Attorneys Share Why Mentoring Matters: Part Five

In the fifth part of our “Why Mentoring Matters” series, two Big Law attorneys—a partner in San Diego and a partner in Munich—write about their personal journeys and why mentoring or being mentored has played an important and positive role in their careers.

DLA Piper partner Matt Schwartz, in San Diego, shares how mentoring first-generation law students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds planted the seeds for him to become co-founder of the nationwide Legal Mentor Network. Since launching in late 2021, the nonprofit has matched more than 1,000 mentees with mentors and provides career support to people who otherwise wouldn’t have it, he says. He advises attorneys interested in mentoring to “jump in with both feet” and understand that sometimes just a couple of conversations with a mentee can make all the difference in their careers.

And Reed Smith’s Daja Apetz-Dreier, a partner in Munich, discusses how she met her mentor, Tamara Box, now the firm’s managing partner for Europe and the Middle East, by chance after returning from her second maternity leave. After an open and and honest conversation over the phone, they met in person, and the relationship has been mutually beneficial ever since. She advises mentees to drive the relationship with their mentors by reaching out, asking questions, and asking for feedback.

Click on the attorneys’ names below to read their stories of how being a mentor, or receiving that kind of coaching or guidance, has played a significant role in their lives and careers.

• DLA Piper Partner Matt Schwartz (San Diego)
• Reed Smith Partner Daja Apetz-Dreier (Munich)

Then, join us again next week for our sixth installment of “Why Mentoring Matters.”