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 Karen Sawatzky | Aug 1, 2018 | Continuing Professional Development
It’s your last chance for Law Society of Manitoba summer replays. Programs you may have meant to attend earlier in the year are now available for viewing at the law society’s new offices at 200 – 260 St. Mary Avenue. Register here.
The Manitoba Bar Association Family Law Section’s program “New Model for Scheduling and Case Flow Management” on August 23rd is full for in-person attendance, however, webinar registration is still available. The Court of Queen’s Bench Family Division will be introducing a New Model for Scheduling and Case Flow Management in respect of Non-Child Protection matters. Scheduling under the new model is anticipated to commence September 2018 with this then to be implemented and published in the circulated 2019 rotas.
Annual Rural Bar programs are also accepting registration. The Central Bar Annual CPD will take place in Portage La Prairie on August 24th. The first presentation will be on real estate conveyancing with a focus on trust conditions. The second presentation will be on the proposed federal Bill C-46 amendments to the transportation provisions in the Criminal Code, primarily focusing on drug-impaired driving. This is in anticipation of the legalization of marijuana under the federal Cannabis Act.
The Western Bar Annual CPD will take place at Elkhorn Resort and Conference Centre in Clear Lake, on September 7th. This presentation will focus on the important topic of diversity and inclusion.
by Allyssa McFadyen | Jun 5, 2018 | Continuing Professional Development, Legal Research
On Wednesday, June 20th our trainer, Frank Merryweather from LexisNexis will be here offering sessions to show users how to navigate and search the new Lexis Advance Quicklaw platform.
The sessions offered will be 30 minutes long, and each session qualifies for 30 minutes of your CPD requirements.
The schedule is as follows:
9:00 – 9:30 Criminal Law
10:00 – 10:30 Corporate/Commercial Law
11:00 – 11:30 Personal Injury Law
1:00 – 1:30 Family Law
2:00 – 2:30 Labour and Employment Law
3:00 – 3:30 Criminal Law
CPD in the Library – Registration Form
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact the library and we will be happy to help!
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 Allyssa McFadyen | Mar 28, 2018 | Continuing Professional Development, Legal Research
Navigating the world of legal research in the 21st century can be tricky: our technology has become vastly different from the way it was even 10 years ago. As legal publishers have gone increasingly digital, we now have a plethora of databases and resources to choose from. The question isn’t “which is the right database?” but rather “how do I effectively navigate the world of legal research to get me the information I need?”
This presentation will aim to give you a better understanding of the variety of resources available to lawyers, including what they offer and what their limitations are (print and digital), and what staff at the Manitoba Law Library can offer to help supplement your research.
We are currently offering this presentation:
If you would like a personalized presentation, please contact Karen Sawatzky. These presentations count towards your mandatory Continuing Professional Development.
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.
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