Our virtual group sessions give those interested in careers in international law the opportunity to book and attend free one-hour mentoring sessions, in groups of up to five people, with a BASIL mentor of their choice. Rather than one-on-one meetings, these sessions are designed around learning in community. You benefit not only from the mentor's insight but from the questions, experiences, and perspectives of your fellow mentees. Mentors pre-identify their availability on the site, and members are automatically notified of open slots, which can be booked on a first-come, first-served basis.

Group mentoring is a deliberate choice, not a limitation. Learning alongside others reinforces the support you need as you advance your career, exposes you to questions you might not have thought to ask, and helps build a genuine sense of community within the network. Capping each session at five mentees keeps the conversation small enough to stay personal and substantive, while still giving you the richness of a shared experience. You'll often find that another mentee's question unlocks something valuable for you, too. The group format also reflects our respect for our mentors' time and generosity. Our mentors volunteer their expertise freely, and very often they find themselves answering the same questions across many separate conversations. Individual one-hour sessions, repeated over time, can become demanding and ultimately unsustainable. By bringing mentees together, we allow mentors to share their insight with several people at once, using their time meaningfully while still speaking directly to your interests and questions. It's an approach that honors their contribution and helps ensure they can keep showing up for the community for the long term.

The BASIL Virtual Mentorship Initiative does not operate as a matching system. Instead, you have the freedom to choose. Mentors generously volunteer their time and pre-identify their availability on the site, and you book the sessions that fit your interests, your stage, or simply your curiosity. This means you're in control of whom you learn from and when, rather than waiting to be paired.

Yes. Completing your profile is required before you can book a session. It takes just a couple of minutes and helps your mentor get to know a little about who is in the room before the session begins, so everyone gets the most out of the time together. Once your profile is complete, you'll be able to book any available session.

You can see the available sessions on the page titled Group Mentorship Sessions. Once your profile is complete, you can book your spot in a session on a first-come, first-served basis. So it helps to book early. If you don't see availability with a particular mentor you'd love to connect with, send us an email, and we'll reach out to them on your behalf to check their availability. Keep an eye out, too, for new sessions and themed webinars added regularly to support you as you advance in your legal career. The BASIL team will email you as soon as these become available. To make sure our messages reach you, add basil@konseye.org to your contacts so they don't land in spam.

First, check whether you've completed your profile. Our system is set up so that booking privileges are reserved only for members who have created their free account and completed their profile. If you haven't finished your profile yet, you'll be directed to complete it before you can book. Once that's done, your booking access opens up automatically. If your profile is complete and a session still won't book, try a few quick checks: make sure you're logged in, refresh the page, and confirm the session still has available spots (sessions are capped at five mentees and fill on a first-come, first-served basis, so a slot may have been taken). It's also worth checking your spam or junk folder for any confirmation or notification emails, as these occasionally get filtered there. If you've completed your profile and are still unable to book, please get in touch at basil@konseye.org and we'll help you sort it out.

The BASIL Virtual Mentorship Initiative is managed by Konseye: The Mentorship Network, a global mentorship community. Konseye has operated years of mentorship sessions and events, bringing together professionals across borders to learn, connect, and grow. You can find out more about their work at www.konseye.org.

The BASIL Virtual Mentorship Initiative is open to anyone aged 18 and over with an interest in a career in international law — regardless of where you are in your journey. Whether you're a student exploring your options, an early-career professional finding your footing, or someone pivoting into the field from another area, you're welcome here. All you need to do is create your free account and complete your profile to start booking sessions.

If you're unable to make a session you've booked, you must cancel at least 24 hours before it begins. This gives the spot a chance to be released to another mentee, and respects the time of mentors who generously volunteer their expertise. Please note our cancellation policy: failure to cancel at least 24 hours in advance, as well as no-shows, will result in your booking privileges being revoked. If this happens, you won't be able to book further sessions until you've been in touch with the BASIL team to restore your access. We understand that genuine emergencies arise. If something unavoidable comes up, just communicate with us at basil@konseye.org and we'll work with you.

No, our group mentorship sessions are not recorded. We want every session to feel like a safe, open space where mentees and mentors can speak candidly, ask honest questions, and share freely.

No. Participation is completely free. Removing cost as a barrier is central to what we do. The BASIL Virtual Mentorship Initiative exists to affirm, fortify and evolve the long-standing tradition of Black international lawyers, jurists and academics, and a core part of that mission is breaking down the barriers that have historically limited access to guidance, networks, and opportunity. By keeping our sessions free, we ensure that the wisdom and support of experienced mentors is open to everyone who wants to learn, regardless of their circumstances.

The topics are wonderfully diverse because our mentors are diverse. They come from a wide range of practices and fields across international law. Each session is driven by the questions you ask in advance and the particular expertise of the mentor leading it. Most mentors will also touch on general career guidance, so whatever your focus, you'll find value. This is part of why we encourage you to explore broadly.

Absolutely. You are welcome to book as many sessions as are available to you. In fact, we encourage you to book with a range of different mentors rather than limiting yourself to those in your specific field of interest. Some of the most valuable insights come from perspectives outside your immediate area, and exposure to mentors across different practices can open doors of thinking you hadn't considered. Explore widely and make the most of the community.

It's important to be clear about what this program is and what it isn't. The BASIL Virtual Mentorship Initiative does not guarantee jobs, internships, placements, or any other opportunities, and that is not its purpose. What we offer is something different and, we believe, deeply valuable: we remove the barriers to accessing the wisdom, guidance, and insight that can support your growth and help you navigate your career. If a mentor independently chooses to extend an opportunity, that is entirely their own decision and lies outside the scope of this program. BASIL makes no such promises or assurances. Come for the guidance, the perspective, and the community.

You may come across a mentor's profile and find that no sessions are currently available to book. This is completely normal. While many of our mentors offer small-group sessions, some prefer to share their expertise through panels, webinars, or responses to specific questions rather than in small-group settings. So if a mentor hasn't listed any group sessions, it often means they've chosen to contribute in a different format. The good news is you won't miss out. Whenever a panel or webinar featuring one of these mentors is scheduled, we'll share the details and keep you updated, so keep an eye on your inbox and our announcements. And if there's a particular mentor you'd love to learn from, feel free to email us at basil@konseye.org , and we'll let you know about any upcoming opportunities to hear from them.