September 2025

Step into Answers is our way of opening up conversations about mentorship – how it looks and what it means when you are at both ends of the journey. We ask our mentors a few simple, yet powerful questions, about being mentors in the Step into your Future program for law students, rolled out by BACIU PARTNERS in 2025. Each of them chose the questions that resonated most and replied in their own voice. Their answers speak volumes.

We are pleased to continue with the next episode. Our next guest is: Oana Ionescu-Matei, Senior Associate:

• What have you learned from students through your interaction with them as a mentor?

Oana: Students reminded me what it feels like to be at the very beginning of a journey: with emotions, impatience, and eyes full of questions. They taught me that sometimes the simplest questions open the most important perspectives, and they made me realize how precious curiosity is, no matter how many years of experience you gather in the profession.

• If you could put into one single sentence the reason why it is worth being a mentor, what would that be? And of course, feel free to elaborate 😊

Oana: Because mentorship is one of those rare opportunities where you can change someone’s path—not through big decisions, but through small gestures and consistent presence. It’s not about having all the answers, but about offering availability, trust, and that reassuring feeling of “you are not alone.” And sometimes, that is all that matters.

Below, you will also find the Romanian version of these thoughts.

• Ce ai învățat tu de la studenți, în interacțiunea ta cu ei ca mentor?

Studenții mi-au reamintit ce înseamnă să fii la început de drum, cu emoții, nerăbdare și ochii plini de întrebări. Ei m-au învățat că, uneori, cele mai simple întrebări sunt cele care deschid cele mai importante perspective și m-au făcut să realizez cât de prețioasă este curiozitatea, indiferent câți ani aduni în profesie.

• Dacă ai putea să pui într-o singură propoziție motivul pentru care merită să fii mentor, care ar fi acela? Și, desigur, poți detalia 😊

Pentru că mentoratul este una dintre rarele ocazii în care poți să schimbi parcursul cuiva nu prin decizii mari, ci prin micile gesturi și prezență constantă. Nu e despre a avea toate răspunsurile, ci despre a oferi disponibilitate, încredere și acel sentiment că „nu ești singur”. Și asta e, uneori, tot ce contează.

Step into Answers is part of our wider effort to amplify the sound of knowledge, not only through legal expertise, but also by investing in people, curiosity, and the small steps that shape future careers.

More details about the BACIU PARTNERS Internship program can be found HERE.