A crisis is looming, and it needs our professional attention. But first some background.
In the early 2000s, I was one of a small group of seasoned women lawyers who developed comprehensive programs to mentor young women lawyers. We all had experienced our own challenges as young women in a profession dominated by men, and we wanted to help a new generation of women lawyers still struggling with some of the same challenges — to be treated equally and to have the same opportunities as their male colleagues.
So, we dove in deep to share our experiences and advice and motivate and inspire the young women lawyers. And I am happy to say that, in spite of the challenges, so many of the young women lawyers we mentored prospered and today are represented in large numbers at all levels of law practice. The bulk of the credit goes to them, but I also am certain that mentoring helped.
Today, another similar crisis lurks on the horizon. This time the cohort in need is young men — sometimes referred to as the “lost boys” — and much is being written about and spoken about the problem. Studies at institutions like Stanford University confirm it, and it also is the subject of a new book by NYU professor and Pivot podcast cohost Scott Galloway.
Galloway’s book, Notes on Being A Man (Simon & Schuster, 2025), makes it clear that boys and young men in America today are in crisis. He cites statistics supporting lower college enrollment for men, rising suicide rates for young men, fewer close friendships for young men, and increasing isolation for young men, with one in ten young men neither working nor in school. He concludes that rarely has a cohort fallen further and faster than young men living in western democracies.
This problem has been brewing for awhile now, and that is what concerns me most. It is reasonable to assume that some of the young men affected have already become or will soon become lawyers. As a result, we cannot assume that the young male lawyers among us are not experiencing lack of confidence and isolation and do not need help and encouragement. In fact, the evidence points the other way.
The professional success for young male lawyers no longer can be taken for granted. Just as young women lawyers need mentors, so do the young men, and seasoned male lawyers need to step up to the plate and become mentors to the young men among them.
Women did it for women. And now it is time for men to do it for men. Feeding the male stereotype and letting the young men “tough it out” is no longer an option. Something more is required.
