Blazing Trails Mentorship Program

The Blazing Trails Mentorship Program (BTMP) connects law students with mentor lawyers to guarantee success in the legal field.

About the Program

For 20 years, Level Justice has been working closely with law students nationwide to advance human rights. We have gathered consistent feedback from law students who have communicated feeling disempowered in pursuit of social justice-based careers.

In 2017, to help address this concern, Level launched Blazing Trails, a unique program designed to connect law students across the country with lawyers working in the social justice sector, often in positions that are rare to come across. BTMP aims to demystify such positions and make social justice-oriented careers accessible in the legal field.

The program focuses on the following 10 fields of law: human rights law, international law, Indigenous law, environmental law, immigration and refugee law, women’s rights advocacy, racial justice, access to justice, law adjacent or policy work, and public legal education. In the 2023-2024 school year, some organizations represented in our mentors include: CCLA, BCCLA, LEAF, Ecojustice, Barbra Schlifer, Innocence Canada, and more!

Student Endorsements

  • "I really enjoyed being able to connect with my mentor early in my law school career. I was initially worried about signing up for an extra commitment during the school year. However, having 3 meetings meant I never felt like the program was a burden or something that added to my stress but rather found it being something I would look forward to. I think the program was really well designed and has helped to set me up for a very successful law school career."

    Mentee 2023-2024

  • "My favourite part about the program was meeting [my mentor]. She was the most amazing mentor and will be a lifelong friend... This program has been an amazing experience."

    - Mentee 2023-2024

  • "I just really appreciated being part of this program and am very grateful for the learning I was able to take from it."

    - Mentee, 2023-2024

  • "At the beginning of the year, my mentee told me that she was really struggling with being herself openly in law school, and was struggling to make friends. At the end of the year, she said that seeing how genuine and open I was made her feel more confident and she had found her people and made friends as a result. I feel honoured!"

    - Mentor, 2023-2024

  • "I loved the relationality of it all: really being in relationship with my mentees - first professional, then personal as we became friends - was a good experience. I also loved being able to share and talk about my educational, employment, and life experiences with those who were interested and who would be helped by those experiences; that was so rewarding!"

    - Mentor, 2023-2024

Meet Some Mentors

Get involved.

Give back to the profession and mentor a law student or start connecting with the profession and become a mentee. Click below to sign up for the upcoming school year.

BTMP Updates

Posts
Mentor Lawyer Profiles - Tersha de Koning
Mentor Lawyer Profiles - Tersha de Koning

The Blazing Trails Mentorship Program is a program for law students all across Canada looking to connect with lawyers who are passionate about and active in social justice oriented careers. Today, we proudly profile Tersha De Koning.

Mentor Lawyer Profiles - Brittany Twiss
Mentor Lawyer Profiles - Brittany Twiss

The Blazing Trails Mentorship Program is a program for law students all across Canada looking to connect with lawyers who are passionate about and active in social justice oriented careers. Today, we proudly profile Brittany Twiss, Assistant Dean at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law.

Mentor Lawyer Profiles - Ajith Thiyagalingam
Mentor Lawyer Profiles - Ajith Thiyagalingam

The Blazing Trails Mentorship Program is a program for law students all across Canada looking to connect with lawyers who are passionate about and active in social justice oriented careers. Today, we proudly profile Ajith Thiyagalingam, a lawyer specializing in refugee, immigration law, and international human rights law.

What is it Like to Mentor a Law Student?
What is it Like to Mentor a Law Student?

The Blazing Trails Mentorship Program is a program for law students all across Canada looking to connect with lawyers who are passionate about and active in social justice oriented careers. Curious to find out what it’s like? Read about mentor lawyer Tersha De Koning’s experience.

Back by Popular Demand: 2020-2021 Blazing Trails Mentorship Program!
Back by Popular Demand: 2020-2021 Blazing Trails Mentorship Program!

We are excited to announce that our 2020-2021 Blazing Trails Mentorship Program is now open for applications!

Part III: How Important Are Mentors in Law?
Part III: How Important Are Mentors in Law?

We caught up with a few of our incredible mentors to hear their thoughts on mentorship, carving out a legal career, navigating a changing job market as a young lawyer, and their experiences with the program. 

Part II: Pursuing Alternative Legal Careers
Part II: Pursuing Alternative Legal Careers

Level chatted with a number of Canadian legal professionals who’ve taken unique routes in their career paths to creating positive change. Follow along to hear from three inspiring professionals who remind us of the diverse ways you can change the world with a legal education.

Part I: Meet Our Mentors!
Part I: Meet Our Mentors!

This year, 15 legal experts have offered to share their time and wisdom mentoring 47 motivated law students. We’d like to introduce you to a few of our 2018-19 Mentors, and invite you to stay tuned for more updates on this exciting program.

Back for a Second Year! 2018-2019 Blazing Trails Mentorship Program
Back for a Second Year! 2018-2019 Blazing Trails Mentorship Program

After months of hard work assessing and and tweaking the program based on feedback from our student mentees and legal professional mentors, we are excited to announce that our 2018-2019 Blazing Trails Mentorship Program is now open for applications!