I’m back from a terrific conference put on in Minneapolis by the National Legal Mentoring Consortium in Minneapolis.  I enjoyed the chance to speak about mentoring circles to the conference attendees, and will be posting my remarks shortly.  Earlier this week, I attended this fall’s meeting of the Professional Skills Advisory Board meeting at my alma mater, Berkeley Law.  We were blown away by the students on the Board of Advocates, who told us about the growing number of competitions that the law students participate in — trials, appellate advocacy, and negotiations, and how that contributes to the skills and confidence of our students.  And finally, I spent today at the first day of the California Minority Counsel Program’s annual business meeting.  Tomorrow I’ll be moderating the “Bosses Only” Diversity Roundtable of General Counsel and Managing Partners.  We need more confidential and candid conversation about diversity efforts, what is and isn’t working, and how we can all work more effectively together to create a more diverse and inclusive legal profession.  I think that mentoring, skill building, and breaking down the “myth of meritocracy” all contribute to our future success, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s conversation.