AULP is committed to helping members connect, learn from one another, and build supportive professional networks. We offer two complementary schemes designed to meet different needs and levels of commitment: Find a Friend and the AULP Mentoring Programme.
The Find a Friend scheme is an open, flexible way for AULP members to connect with peers who share similar interests, roles, or challenges. It’s designed for those who want light touch support, informal conversations, or simply a friendly contact in another institution.
Informal buddying based on shared themes or interests
No formal structure, training, or required number of meetings
A chance to chat, exchange experiences, and build your network
Supportive peer-to-peer conversations at a pace that suits you
Members register their interest, and AULP helps connect them with someone suitable. Once introduced, each pair decides how they want to stay in touch — whether that’s occasional check-ins, virtual coffees, or ad hoc conversations when needed.
This scheme is open to all AULP members who can register below.
Sign Up HereThe AULP Mentoring Programme provides a more structured development opportunity for members who want focused guidance and professional growth. It runs twice a year (January-June and July-December) and matches mentors and mentees for a defined six-month period.
Junior Lawyer (AULP Definition)
Within the AULP, the term Junior Lawyer refers to colleagues who are either new to the legal profession or new to working within the Higher Education sector. This includes individuals at an early stage in their legal career, as well as those who may be experienced lawyers but are newly navigating the specific context, challenges, and practices of university legal work.
Mentors: Open to any AULP member who feels they have relevant experience
A structured six-month mentoring relationship
Guidance on effective mentoring conversations
Recommended number of meetings/sessions
Clear expectations for both mentors and mentees
Support from AULP throughout the cycle
At the end of each six-month period, mentoring relationships formally conclude, and a new cycle begins. Participants are welcome to reapply in future rounds.
Those willing to take part can apply using the link below.
Sign Up Here
|
Scheme |
Best for |
Structure |
Who can join |
|
Find a Friend |
Informal peer support, networking, shared interests |
Flexible, no set expectations |
All AULP members |
|
Mentoring Programme |
Professional development, focused guidance, career progression |
Structured 6-month cycle with guidance |
Mentors: all members; Mentees: Junior Lawyers given preference |
Mentees are first contacted about potential matches and can accept or decline. If they accept, the mentor is contacted and informed that a match has been made. The onus is on the mentee to make the first contact.
An AULP Mentoring Handbook and Code of Conduct are now available, and we will ask both mentors and mentees to read these in full to ensure they understand the scheme and what is expected of them and their partner.
The handbook and other resources have been developed for the AULP mentoring programme. The content may not be appropriate to mentoring in other circumstances. Whilst the advice and guidance might be transferrable to other situations and organisations, such use is outside the purposes for which these documents were created.
The resources listed above will help you get started. AULP will keep an open mind as to whether more guidance is needed for participants once we see how the scheme works in practice and gain initial feedback on the systems we have developed. If you have any questions after you have read the guidance and these FAQs, please contact chris@aulp.ac.uk.
We will use the preferences and interests highlighted in the registration form to match mentees and mentors.
We will open recruitment for each window of the mentoring programme. We cannot give a precise timeline for assigning a mentor, but it will not be immediate, and it make take a few weeks. The timeline also depends on the number of members who sign up as mentors so we would encourage members at all career levels to consider becoming mentors
You will receive an email with details of your mentor’s name, HEI and role. The information about your mentor that you receive is, by necessity, a summary. If you want to find out a little more about your mentor, a good place to start is their LinkedIn profile as this will often cover previous roles and employers.
If, as a mentee, you are not happy with a match, you do have the option to decline this and be reassigned another mentor. Your mentor will not be notified if you decline your partnership. You must use the “decline” option within your provisional matching email, otherwise you will not be assigned another mentor. Finding a second mentor may take a little longer but the choice is in the hands of the mentee.
The length of time depends on the partnership and what you want to get out of it, but we expect that partnerships would typically last for around 6 mentoring meetings across 6 months.
We are asking all participants to read the Mentoring Handbook, the Mentoring & Confidentiality Agreement and the Code of Conduct
We’ve created a dedicated page bringing together trusted external resources to support AULP mentors, mentees and any member looking for additional wellbeing or professional‑development materials. It includes links to organisations such as LawCare and the Law Society, offering guidance on mental health, resilience, healthy working practices, and community networks across the UK legal sector.
