Judicial Mentoring Scheme

Please note

The scheme is closed and will reopen in autumn 2024 to clear those currently waiting to be matched. No applications will be accepted during this time.

Am I eligible?

The scheme is open to barristers, solicitors, Fellows of the Chartered Legal Executives and professionally qualified legal academics who are either:

Lawyers from an ethnic minority background
Lawyers who attended a (non-fee paying) state school
Lawyers who were the first generation in their family to attend university

Applicants must be seeking an appointment in the next two years (or at the next available opportunity).

It is similarly open to judges seeking to progress to higher office within the same period.

What can I get out of the scheme?

The purpose of this scheme will be to provide a safe environment for lawyers to:

Share issues inhibiting their application to judicial office (e.g. concerns of work/life balance, self-confidence, self-perception) and receive confidential advice, support and guidance from a mentor judge
Learn from someone with greater understanding of the judiciary
Establish what skills and experiences are needed to support their application to judicial office
Identify areas where further development and experience is required and consider how these may be acquired
Decide whether or not taking up judicial office is an option they want to pursue

Who would mentor me?

The scheme is being supported by salaried and fee-paid judges from the Courts and Tribunals who have volunteered their time to act as judicial mentors.

How do I apply?

You can apply to the Judicial Mentoring Scheme through the online application form. If you have previously applied to the Judicial Work Shadowing Scheme, your details will already be stored in the database and you will be able to access your account by resetting your password.

To reset your password, please click: ‘Forgotten your password’ and enter the email address that you previously used to register to the scheme. You will receive an email with a link to reset your password.

Once you are logged on, please update your Personal Details, Professional Background, Career History and Diversity Information within your Personal Profile. You can then click “My Mentor Applications” and then “Add new record”.

If you have not received an email from the system, please check your SPAM folders.

Please contact the Judicial Work Shadowing Team if you incur any problems with the application form.

Once we have received your application, the Judicial Office will identify a mentor who matches your requirements (as far as possible). The aim will be to match a mentor who currently holds, or who has held, the judicial role of interest and who is based within reasonable travelling distance.

Once a suitable match has been identified, you will be provided with the mentor’s contact details so that you can make the initial contact.

In the event that the Judicial Office is unable to identify a suitable mentor at the time of your application, your name will be placed on a waiting list until a suitable match is available.

How can I find out more?

If you have any further questions about how the scheme operates, please email JudicialWorkShadowingscheme@Justice.gov.uk

Judicial Mentoring Scheme – Videos

There are a number of videos on this page, which will give the viewers a better understanding of the relationship that exists between a mentor and a mentee. The Judicial Mentoring scheme helps build confidence for newly appointed judges. Judge Head-Rapson & Judge Hammond discuss how they first became involved in the Judicial Mentoring Scheme, […]