2024-2025 Mentorship Program Opportunities

At Young ITA, we believe that the greatest achievements are never accomplished alone.

Mentorship being integral to career success, Young ITA Mentorship Program is designed for early-career arbitration professionals and offers a valuable opportunity to work closely with preeminent practitioners in the field and forge lasting relationships.

The annual Young ITA Mentorship Program teaming students and early career professionals with eminent mentors for a year of collegiality and insight. The program is available to English, Spanish, and French speaking participants.

Submit your application for the 2024-2025 Mentorship Program to become a mentor, facilitator, or mentee HERE

The deadline for applications is 23:59 (CEST) on September 30, 2024.

Why?

The Young ITA Mentorship Program brings together young and aspiring arbitration practitioners with seasoned members of the arbitration community, including members of ITA Advisory Board and Executive Committee. Program Mentees, as they begin to develop their careers, are paired up with Mentors and Mentorship Facilitators, who provide advice and assistance. Mentees enter lifelong professional and personal relationships in which they gain arbitration wisdom, practical guidance, and trusted advice. For their part, Mentors and Mentorship Facilitators enjoy a unique opportunity to help boost a young person’s career by sharing hard-won knowledge gleaned over decades of professional practice.

Who?

To reap full benefit from this Program, Mentors, Mentorship Facilitators, and Mentees alike are encouraged to actively take on their roles and responsibilities. In terms of commitment, it is expected that each Group will meet at least quarterly, but more regular meetings are encouraged where possible.

i. The Mentee

This Program is designed principally for the Mentees, who form part of the broader Young ITA community. Mentees are expected and encouraged to maintain a strong commitment to the Program and its activities, and to strive to reap maximum benefit from this valuable connection with seasoned arbitration practitioners.

All current Young ITA members are eligible to apply to become Mentees in the Young ITA Mentorship Program (you can become a Young ITA member by submitting an application here).

The Mentee’s main responsibilities include: (i) communicate regularly with the Mentor and other Mentees; (ii) participate actively in the Mentorship Group, and assist the Mentor and Mentorship Facilitator in planning and executing the Group’s Program; (iii) contact and collaborate with fellow Mentees, both within the same Group and the broader Mentorship Program; and (iv) enjoy the opportunity!

ii. The Mentor

The Mentor is the Mentorship Group’s leader, and as such is responsible for ensuring that the Program’s objectives are fulfilled. The Mentors are drawn from the ITA and Young ITA.

The Mentor’s main responsibilities include: (i) lead the Group; (ii) coordinate with the Mentorship Facilitator to plan the Group’s activities; (iii) meet with the Mentorship Facilitator and Mentees at least quarterly; and (iv) answer reasonable questions from the Mentees about practicing arbitration, career development, networking, and general arbitration know-how.

ii. The Mentorship Facilitator

The Mentorship Facilitator acts as a liaison between Mentor and Mentees, and actively assists the Mentor in planning and executing Program activities. The Mentorship Facilitator must also ensure that each Group member is engaged and participating fully.

The Mentorship Facilitator’s main responsibilities include: (i) act as a liaison between the Mentor and Mentees; (ii) assist Mentor in planning and executing the Group’s activities; and (iii) be generally active and available to ensure that the Program runs smoothly and that all participants are equally active. It will often be both appropriate and desirable for Facilitators to share their own perspective on the issues under discussion as well.

What?

Examples of Mentorship Group Activities include, but not limited to:

Develop opportunities for collaboration, such as research and writing projects.
Discuss career development.
Discuss academic opportunities, and how to make the best out of an LL.M. or other post-graduate program.
Discuss recent developments in international arbitration that are of interest to the Group.
Share information of any events or conferences being held in the Group’s region.
Connect Mentees to individuals or institutions that might foster their careers and professional development.

Many of these activities may be developed during the monthly or bimonthly in-person or web- conference meetings. The frequency of these meetings is left to each group to determine.

If you have any questions about the Mentorship Program, please contact us at ita@cailaw.org.

MEET THE 2023-2024 MENTORS

The Young ITA Mentorship Program would not be possible without its Mentors. We thank them for their dedication, support, hard work and desire to give a gift or their time.

John Adam, Squire Patton Boggs

Kabir Duggal, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP

Maria Fanou, Queen Mary University of London

Cecilia Flores Rueda, FloresRueda Abogados

Gabriela González Giráldez, ICSID

Hariharan.N, Advocate

Enrique Jaramillo, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP

Veronika Korom, PARAGON Advocacy

Luka Kristovic-Blazevic, Baker McKenzie

Raphaelle Legru, Wordstone

Barton Legum, Honlet Legum Arbitration

Montserrat Manzano, Von Wobeser y Sierra