Raising the Bar: How the Iowa State Bar Association Is Using Mentoring to Retain Young Lawyers
with Malycki Mañon-Sosa, Iowa State Bar Association
Mentorloop Impact Award Winner 2025
The Iowa State Bar Association (ISBA) is tackling one of its biggest challenges—retaining young lawyers in the state—through its revitalized mentoring program, Build the Bar. Powered by Mentorloop, the program connects law students, young attorneys, and experienced practitioners to share knowledge, build confidence, and create lasting professional networks. Since launching, ISBA has seen stronger engagement, increased retention, and inspiring stories of young lawyers choosing to stay and grow their careers in Iowa thanks to the support of their mentors.
In Iowa, the legal profession faces a pressing challenge: while the state’s population is growing, young attorneys are leaving shortly after graduating law school. The Iowa State Bar Association (ISBA) knew it needed a solution to help new lawyers feel supported, connected, and confident about their careers in Iowa. The answer? Mentoring. With Mentorloop, ISBA has transformed its once-informal program into a structured, scalable, and impactful initiative called Build the Bar.
From Informal Pairings to a Statewide Strategy
Before Mentorloop, ISBA’s mentoring program was run manually—spreadsheets, guesswork matching, and no real way to track outcomes. That lack of structure meant many young lawyers weren’t finding value in their connections. As Malycki Manon-Sosa, ISBA’s DEI Director, explained:
“We had no data to go off of. Connections weren’t enough to make young lawyers want to stay in Iowa. We needed a program that built real, lasting networks.”
With Mentorloop, ISBA gained not only structure and scalability, but also the ability to make better matches, track progress, and measure impact—critical elements for addressing attorney retention across the state.
A Story That Changed Everything
The true impact of mentoring came into focus within the first year of launching Build the Bar. A young attorney, fresh out of law school, was doubting her future in the profession. She felt underutilized and unsupported in her first job and considered leaving both her role and the state.
Through the ISBA mentoring program, she connected with a mentor who provided guidance, encouragement, and perspective. That relationship gave her the confidence to stay in Iowa, find a new position, and continue her career.
“That was the moment I knew we were making an impact,” said Malycki. “My job is to make sure people my age want to stay in Iowa—and mentorship gave her the reason to stay.”
Tangible Change: Data Meets Human Stories
Since launching with Mentorloop in 2024, ISBA has seen powerful results:
- Law student engagement: More law students are now joining the program, eager to connect with practicing attorneys in a safe, supportive environment.
- Dual roles: Young lawyers are both mentoring law students and seeking mentors themselves—building leadership skills while growing their own networks.
- High engagement: Participants are sticking around. Even when removed for inactivity, many ask to be re-added immediately. Some members now maintain five or six mentoring connections.
- Increased retention: More young attorneys are finding meaningful reasons to stay in Iowa and continue practicing law.
Making Mentoring Accessible to All
ISBA has been intentional about ensuring mentorship is available to everyone who could benefit. Outreach happens everywhere:
- Law school orientations (complete with QR codes to join immediately).
- Quarterly newsletters to students and young attorneys.
- Partnerships with affinity groups such as the Black Law Students Association.
- Statewide publications reaching over 7,000 ISBA members.
This multi-channel approach ensures both new attorneys and underrepresented groups know that mentorship—and support—is available to them.
The Role of Mentorloop
For ISBA, Mentorloop has been a game-changer. The biggest wins?
- Smart matching: Young lawyers can self-match with mentors who align with their goals and values, creating more meaningful relationships.
- Reporting and data: Automated reports provide evidence of program impact, helping ISBA demonstrate value to committees and stakeholders.
- Flexibility: Participants can act as both mentor and mentee, strengthening engagement and leadership across the community.
“Mentorloop gave us the tools to create engaged, meaningful matches. It turned our program into a driver of retention and professional growth in Iowa’s legal community.”
Looking Ahead: Tackling the Rural Challenge
The next frontier for Build the Bar is addressing Iowa’s rural lawyer shortage. Nearly half the state is rural, yet young attorneys rarely choose to practice outside the cities. ISBA plans to use mentoring to connect law students and young lawyers with established attorneys in rural communities—building pathways and sparking interest in underserved areas.
ISBA’s Build the Bar mentoring program shows that with the right structure and support, mentoring can do more than build connections—it can shape careers, strengthen communities, and change the future of a profession. ✨
Malycki Mañon-Sosa
Iowa State Bar Association
Share this Article
Join the loop
Get updates and learn from the best mentoring programs
“Don’t be fearful, just jump in. The support from the Mentorloop team has been phenomenal. Mentorship is a necessity in every part of life, and the impact you’ll see will be worth it.”
– Malycki Mañon-Sosa, Iowa State Bar Association
You might also like:
What Role Does Equity and Equality Play in Your Mentoring Program?
The right mentoring program should level the playing field to empower entire cohorts of people: workplaces, member associations, social groups and educational institutions. Equality should be a cherished value so that every individual can thrive—whoever they are, whatever their background, however they worship or whomever they love. But we can’t arrive at equality without it’s often forgotten partner, equity.
What does a Mentoring Program Coordinator do?
Being a Mentoring Program Coordinator is an incredibly rewarding experience that positively impacts the lives of many. And while mentoring programs don’t fully run themselves (even though Mentorloop can do a great deal of the heavy lifting!), they do require a point of contact that can steer the program in the right direction for the organisation that is running one.
Building Quality Feedback Into Mentoring Relationships
This is Part 8 of our 10-part series on the 10 Key Qualities and Habits of a Highly Effective Mentor.
In this post, we’ll look at how mentors can successfully build quality feedback into their mentoring. Quality feedback is priceless because it clarifies expectations, helps people learn from their mistakes, and builds confidence. It also allows mentees to more effectively take what their mentors say and turn it into action.
Discover why
people leaders
choose Mentorloop
Trusted by over 100,000 people worldwide
