Continuing Professional Development - CPD For Lawyers & Advocates

CPD For Lawyers & Advocates

In many countries lawyers (Advocates, Attorneys, Legal Practitioners, Legal Executives, Solicitors, barristers) are encouraged or required to complete a certain number of hours of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) or Continuing Legal Education (CLE).

In England and Wales, all solicitors and legal executives who are in legal practice or employment, or who work 32 hours or more per week, are required to complete a minimum of 16 hours of CPD (= 16 CPD points) per year.

In Scotland, all solicitors who are in full-time employment and wish to retain their Practising Certificate are required to undertake a minimum of 20 hours of CPD per year.

In INDIA, there is practice of Continuing professional development through Continuing Legal Education (CLE) platforms organized & conducted by The Bar Council of India (A Set up by an Act of Parliament) through State Bar Councils, National Law Schools, Universities, Bar Associations, Tax Bar Associations and at other various professional levels to enhance the Professional Knowledge, Professional Skill, Professional Acumen, Analytical Ability & Accountability, Legal Ethics, Professional Management & Business Skill etc.

In Queensland, Australia, each legal practitioner is required to undertake 10 hours of CPD each year to acquire 10 CPD points. Within each year, the practitioner must include 1 point for each of three core areas:

• Professional Skills,
• Practical Legal Ethics, and
• Practice Management & Business Skills.

Many of the major legal publishers run seminars for the profession. A variety of providers ensures practitioners have adequate choice of content and style of delivery.