Dear WLMP Members,
The Women’s Legal Mentorship Program (WLMP) will be going on hiatus effective June 9, 2025. Throughout its duration, the WLMP has been a source of mentoring, learning and growth for all involved.
Background
As many of you know, the WLMP began as a pilot project with its university chapter program from 2011 – 2019 at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Common Law. While hugely successful and groundbreaking, the onset of Covid-19 challenged the WLMP to move away from its traditional university chapter based model and expand its virtual mentoring programing by opening up its online programming to lawyers and students across Canada.
The WLMP pivoted and transitioned during Covid to become a national online legal mentoring program. We have had the pleasure of witnessing tremendous progress and collaboration among participants and sister organizations through our online platform nationally and internationally.
Reasons for Our Hiatus
While the WLMP’s platform has been very successful and has served as model for many women’s legal mentoring organizations, the decision to go on hiatus was based on several factors:
Growing Over Capacity
The increase in demand, specifically on an international level, for the WLMP’s mentoring is wonderful but brings with it the challenge of meeting that demand. Especially as the WLMP is 100% volunteer run and receives zero funding.
While we cross-promote our sister mentoring programs and encourage members to join these programs as one way to meet the over capacity issue, the demand has increased to point where we cannot meet mentor matching programming needs as a purely volunteer organization.
Financial Costs
The WLMP has never charged for its service. To meet the increase demands in area of membership and service delivery means hiring permanent staffing. This cannot be done without charging a membership fee and securing stable long-term grant monies, which is not possible. At one point, the WLMP attempted becoming a not-for-profit (NFP) and applied for charitable tax status.
However, the WLMP was unable to secure charitable tax status. As a result, both the NFP and registered charity models were not suitable models for growth. Therefore, the WLMP has decided to go on hiatus, but will both maintain and protect all of its brand identity and IP as we explore other options.
What this Means for WLMP Members
Placing a successful program like the WLMP on hiatus means a transitions for members and volunteers. Effective immediately the WLMP will no longer be:
- Connecting WLMP Mentors & Mentees: The WLMP will no longer check in with WLMP Mentors and Mentees who have been matched, and will no longer be acting as a facilitator of mentoring match ups. We will no longer be accepting and/or processing membership applications.
- Providing Access to the WLMP Portal & Deleting Member Information: The WLMP will be taking its website and members portal offline during its hiatus. It will not be accessible. All Member information will continue to be secured and not shared as we go through the process of removing all membership data from our archives.
- The WLMP Brand: While the WLMP may be on hiatus, it will still be exploring future initiatives. The use of the WLMP brand is exclusive to the WLMP. Moreover, the WLMP will be retaining its full brand identity, its name and all of its IP interests. We will continue to ensure there is no infringement on the WLMP’s brand, brand identity, its IP and/or its niche programming that has been developed over the years.
Looking Ahead
Though the WLMP is going on hiatus, our legacy of feminist legal mentorship will continue in our sister organizations and future endeavors. We encourage all WLMP members to stay connected with each other and continue your commitment to mentoring growth.
Finally, we extend our deepest gratitude to our Founder, Charlotte Wolters for her financial support and advice over the years, and everyone who contributed to the success of the WLMP. Your dedication and hard work have been key to our achievements in fostering the growth in women’s legal mentorship both inside and outside of the WLMP.
Although the WLMP is going on a hiatus, we remain committed to looking forward to exploring new horizons.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support.
Sincerely,
The Women’s Legal Mentorship Program Team