All young lawyers are encouraged to find mentors. Particularly in law firms, mentorship is integral to a successful legal career. Studies indicate that success in a law firm—or any business, for that matter—can be traced, among other things, to securing strong mentoring relationships early on.
Young women lawyers are often encouraged to seek out other women specifically to act as their mentors. This stems from the notion that successful, well-established women lawyers have forged the way and thus are in a unique position to guide and mentor up-and-coming young women lawyers.
In many instances, this may certainly be the case. Undoubtedly, there is value in the unique insight that is gained from achieving success in a male-dominated profession. And only women who have actually accomplished this can impart that insight.