CPD Cycle Opens July 1; Alberta Law Libraries Board

JUNE 16, 2017

CPD Cycle Opens July 1, 2017

Beginning on Saturday, July 1, you can visit the Lawyer Portal to develop and declare your 2017 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Plan. You may notice the Lawyer Portal has a new design - see the screen capture below to see where you can access your CPD information.

Program Changes

The two major changes made to this year�s CPD program affect all active lawyers:

The first change is the timing of the CPD declaration period. Going forward, the CPD declaration period opens on July 1 and declarations are due on September 30.

This change coordinates the planning cycle with the traditional education calendar so you have an opportunity to review the Legal Education Society of Alberta course offerings for the upcoming year and the Canadian Bar Association � Alberta Branch subsection memberships and conference offerings while you develop your CPD plan. This does not preclude you from exploring other professional development opportunities outside of course offerings and subsection meetings. You are encouraged to select professional development opportunities that best meet your learning needs and preferences.
The second change is that failure to develop and declare a CPD plan results in an administrative suspension.

An environmental scan found that all of the other provincial law societies, as well as many other legal regulators have suspensions for failure to complete the requirements of Continuing Legal Education. While our CPD declaration rates have increased over the past three years, these rates are below those of other provinces with penalties in place. For the vast majority of lawyers who fulfil their obligation to declare, this change will have no impact. Administrative suspension for failure to declare comes into effect October 1, 2017.

CPD Requirements and Process

The Law Society of Alberta supports flexible CPD planning that enables you to determine what works best without hourly requirements. All active lawyers are required to declare their CPD plan online through the Lawyer Portal using a standard competency-based planning template.

The Federation of Law Societies of Canada has released a National Entry to Practice Competency Profile for Lawyers and Quebec Notaries. The Law Society of Alberta is using this profile to guide competencies required upon entry to the profession and throughout the career of a lawyer.

While the flexibility and convenience of the current CPD program is maintained, the Law Society of Alberta planning template addresses six competency areas that lawyers can measure their development based upon:

Substantive Legal Knowledge
Ethics and Professionalism
Oral and Written Communication, Analytical and Research Skills
Client Relationship Management
Practice Management
Wellness

While the Law Society encourages lawyers to consider all six competencies, lawyers are required to complete the mandatory competency, Ethics & Professionalism.

The CPD program supports Alberta lawyers to continually strive for excellence in the practice of law.

Alberta Law Libraries Board of Directors

The Law Society of Alberta and the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General are recruiting for four new Directors of the Board for Alberta Law Libraries (ALL).

The Board is responsible for oversight of the management of the library resources, overseeing the operation of ALL, strategic and business planning, setting policies and procedures for Board governance, approving an annual budget for the operation of ALL, and operating ALL within the funding received. Appointments will be for either a two-year or a three-year term and may be renewed for a second term. Board Directors must be available to attend a minimum of four meetings per year. This includes preparation for and participation in meetings, and may in some circumstances require travel.

ALL seeks to develop a Board whose Directors possess and demonstrate a strategic combination of personal attributes, expertise, social capital, competencies and occupational backgrounds. As such candidates must demonstrate at least five years of previous Board experience (not-for-profit, public or corporate setting) as well as experience in governance, strategic planning, business management, financial/risk management, performance management and succession planning. It would be particularly beneficial if applicants possessed in-depth familiarity with new and emerging technologies, trends, and various platforms who can act as a technology advocate and assist board and staff in leveraging resources to increase reach and impact. This includes an in-depth understanding of the intersection of people, information, and technology in information/knowledge transfer.

View more details and application information

ALL is a not-for-profit organization that supports the administration of justice, and access to justice for all Albertans, through a provincial law library network comprised of 18 libraries in 11 locations. ALL manages a comprehensive collection of primary and secondary legal resources, in print and electronic media, and provides reference and legal research services to the judiciary, Crown prosecutors, lawyers, and public. ALL provides library materials, required for the purposes of research, review, private study and criticism, as well as for use in court, tribunal, legislative and government proceedings.

The Practice Advisors operate AdvisorLink (previously known as the Practice Advisor Mentor Program) as a service to provide lawyers or articling students with the assistance of more experienced counsel. The program carries on the long-standing tradition of the Alberta Bar to provide assistance to professional colleagues. These volunteer lawyers (Advisors) answer one-off inquiries in a wide range of practice areas.

How do I submit an AdvisorLink request?

Between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm a lawyer or articling student may telephone 1.866.440.4640 (toll free) or 587.390.8462 or use our new Online Request Form. You will receive the contact information for an Advisor in the requested practice area.