“Being a mentor is, in my view, a journey not to be missed!”

Robert Philp, KC, has been involved with the Law Society’s Mentor Connect program since 2015.

I am happy to provide my reflection as a long time participant in the Law Society’s Mentor program. As a young lawyer I was the beneficiary of mentorship provided to me by the late Alex Dubensky, KC and the late Mr. Justice Ross McBain. Those two assisted me at a time when I struggled with personal problems that affected my practice and my career. They offered assistance unconditionally and in a very positive way that caused me to find my own answers to some of what appeared at the time to be insurmountable problems. With the help of Alex and Ross I was able to achieve all I might of dreamed in my career and then some.

That mentorship resulted in my vowing to do the same and hopefully more. This resulted in my being a long time Law Society volunteer on a wide variety of committees that are designed to assist members.

I have been a frequent mentor through the Law Society’s mentorship program .Some of my mentor matches have been very successful others not so much . Regardless of the results mentorship has always enriched my life . One individual who I mentored has since moved to the Maritimes and yet we maintain very regular contact. In addition to the Law Society mentorship I have for along time been involved in the Lawyers Assist program as a peer to peer volunteer. As well I continue to mentor students and law students all to my great satisfaction and well being .

I have always hoped that by sharing my experience, I build trust and model positive behaviour for those individuals mentored.

Being a mentor is, in my view, a journey not to be missed!

The Law Society of Alberta offers Mentor Moments to acknowledge the contributions made by volunteer lawyers in their mentorship programs and to encourage other Alberta lawyers to consider participating.

We do not attempt to verify mentors’ statements in their Mentor Moment profiles and the opinions expressed are solely their own. The Law Society of Alberta does not endorse any individual profiled or contents provided.