by Deirdre O'Reilly | Sep 4, 2019 | Articling, CPLED
PREP pilot launches in Alberta and Manitoba is next, launching in February 2020.
The Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education (CPLED) is excited to report the first pilot for the new Bar admission course, the Practice Readiness Education Program (PREP), has launched. Twenty-seven Alberta students were welcomed to PREP in an in-person orientation on August 1st.
Built on best practices around the world, PREP delivers practical skills and competencies in an integrated approach that combines interactive, transactional learning and simulation. The program includes online modules, face-to-face workshops and something really unique – an interactive virtual law firm where students work as lawyers, managing cases in business law, criminal law, family law and real estate. Finally, students participate in a final capstone case and reflection before being called to the Bar.
A second pilot will take place in February of 2020 in Manitoba. Applicants who have received a JD or a certificate of qualification from the Federation of Law Societies of Canada and who are interested in participating in the Manitoba PREP pilot can fill out this form to express interest.
To learn more about PREP, visit CPLED’s website, or attend an upcoming CPLED Information Session being held at the University of Manitoba on September 17 for law students and faculty.
CPLED is now on LinkedIn and Facebook!
CPLED is encouraging Law Society members to follow them on LinkedIn and like them on Facebook. They are working to create online communities for the legal profession that will extend beyond the Bar admission course and create discussions on legal education.
CPLED will also be launching an e-newsletter in the coming weeks, featuring the latest news on the PREP pilot and recruitment opportunities for legal professionals beginning in 2020. To stay up to date on all CPLED related news, visit their website to sign up today.
by Deirdre O'Reilly | Nov 19, 2018 | Cannabis, Continuing Professional Development, Criminal Law, Impaired Driving
The federal government’s legalization of non-medical (recreational) cannabis on October 17, 2018, marks the end of a 95-year prohibition in Canada. The magnitude of this change on a societal level is yet to be determined and understood, but lawyers are already grappling with the legal rules and ramifications of legalization. In its continuing professional development (CPD) series Considering Cannabis, the Law Society of Manitoba will offer programs addressing the legalization of cannabis from a variety of legal perspectives.
Our first program in the series features RCMP Sergeant Mark Hume who will speak about the extensive changes to the transportation provisions of the Criminal Code, with a focus on the sections relating to drug-impaired driving. This CPD Reforms to Transportation Offences and Drug-Impaired Driving Offences takes place this Thursday, November 22, and registration for in-person or webinar attendance is still available.
Coming up next in the series, on January 10, 2019, Tracey L. Epp, Pitblado LLP will review the workplace impacts of cannabis legalization, including the need for employers to amend existing policies to address the use of recreational cannabis.
Please watch for further updates about Considering Cannabis programs to come in 2019.
by Deirdre O'Reilly | Apr 3, 2018 | Continuing Professional Development
Now that you have successfully submitted your 2017 AMR and MCPD report for April 1, 2018, what’s next? Might be hard to believe but even though you may have just completed your 2017 report, we are already entering the second quarter of 2018. So there is no time like the present to dive in and develop a Continuing Professional plan for the year.
Remember Your Annual MCPD activities must be completed in the current calendar Year.
This means your required 12 CPD hours for 2018 must be completed between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018. So while the actual report for these hours is not due until the following year (April 1, 2019), the clock has already begun for 2018. It’s time to put your 2018 Continuing Professional Development plan into action !
There is No Need to Wait
Having trouble remembering the exact details for a programs you completed earlier in the year? Don’t wait to fill this information in. Details about CPD activities can be entered into the CPD Tracker at any time during the year, just make sure to click submit!
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions ~ It’s your Responsibility to find Relevant CPD
Take the time to explore the many, many CPD options available to you and avoid the end of year scramble to complete your hours. On top of regular classroom style CPD programming, the Law Society also has many alternative cost effective and convenient CPD options including DVD replays, cpdonline and webinars which offer group discounts.
Additionally, there are plenty of alternatives outside the Law Society including other continuing legal education providers like, the Canadian Bar Association, in-house programs offered by law firms or even organized education discussion like the Manitoba Bar Association section meetings. Furthermore, teaching CPD sessions on a topic relevant to your practice is another great option to meet your CPD requirement. Eligible hours for teaching includes the preparation time required beforehand.
If you consider the wide range of CPD options available you will have no problem finding interesting and useful professional development opportunities.
To begin, check out the Law Society CPD Program page, which is regularly updated with new programming. If you don’t see a program that interests you, why not explore another CPD provider? For some ideas on where to look here is a brief list of CPD providers to get you started!
by Deirdre O'Reilly | Mar 27, 2018 | Continuing Professional Development
Still receiving friendly reminders from the Law Society about your AMR (Annual Member Report) and MCPD (Mandatory Continuing Professional Development) Report and not sure why?… “I could have sworn I submitted that weeks ago”.
Here are a few common pitfalls that may explain why your report was not successfully filed.
Both the AMR & MCPD Reports Must be Completed
The MCPD Report is part of the AMR. When completing your AMR there is a section that asks you to confirm you have submitted your MCPD report. For the AMR to be successfully submitted members must ensure that their CPD activities are recorded in the CPD Tracker and then also confirm (by checking the box) in the AMR that they have reported their required MCPD hours.
Note those programs taken through the Law Society of Manitoba will automatically be populated into your CPD tracker. However, any courses completed outside the Law Society with another CPD provider, like the Manitoba Bar Association, must be manually entered by the member. So when the AMR asks you to confirm that “you are satisfied that your CPD tracker is complete” be sure to review and confirm that the information in your CPD Tracker is correct.
Don’t forget to Click “Submit”!
Once you have taken the time to complete both the CPD Tracker and the AMR save yourself the headache of having to redo this form by remembering to click submit at the very end. The information you enter when going through these forms is not automatically saved, therefore you cannot leave the member’s portal without clicking “Submit” and expect to return at any time to pick up where you left off.
If you need to go back and edit either the AMR or MCPD Report you may do so until April 1…even if you have clicked “Submit”.
Look at your “Checklist” to Confirm that your Reports have been Successfully Submitted
When you log in to your Members’ Portal the first thing you will now see on the homepage is a checklist outlining the status for various Law Society items and their associated deadlines. This allows you to quickly review the status of any item requiring your response with the completed items highlighted in GREEN and YELLOW for those items not yet submitted.
by Deirdre O'Reilly | Mar 26, 2018 | Continuing Professional Development
The deadline for your 2017 Annual Member Report (AMR) and Mandatory Continuing Professional Development (MCPD) Report is quickly approaching. Here are answers to the common questions and issues that lawyers have when submitting these reports.
I didn’t practise for most of 2017.
Do I still have to complete the AMR and MCPD Reports?
Yes, if you practised for any portion of 2017 you must complete the AMR and MCPD reports.
The minimum MCPD requirement is 1 CPD hour for every month you held active practising status in the 2017 calendar year. And for those that practised for 3 months or more, 1.5 hours of those completed hours must relate to ethics, professional responsibility or practice management. For more details review the Guiding Principles and Division 8.1 – Professional Development of the Law Society Rules.
Are the Ethics Professionalism Practice Management (EPPM) hours I must complete in addition to the required 12 CPD hours?
No, the EPPM requirement of 1.5 hours per year is not in addition to the overarching requirement of 12 CPD hours. This means of the 12 CPD hours you have completed, 1.5 of these hours must qualify as EPPM.
For clarification on what type of subject matter qualifies as EPPM please see this Eligible Activities Subject Matter Chart .
I just received my Call in 2017.
Do I still need to complete and report CPD hours?
You still must complete the AMR and MCPD reports in the year of your Call to the Bar, however, there is no minimum requirement for the number of CPD hours you must complete.
So when you complete your MCPD report indicate how many hours you did, even if it was zero, and you will be in compliance with the requirements. Just remember, you must still complete the AMR and MCPD report.
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