Changes to annual continuing professional development requirements

From 1 November 2001, all solicitors and registered European lawyers will be subject to an annual continuing professional development (CPD) requirement of 16 hours during each complete year in legal practice or employment in England and Wales.

This will replace the current requirement of 48 hours in a three-year period and the training regulations have been amended to reflect this change.As a transitional arrangement, any solicitor or registered European lawyer who is already in a three-year period when the new regulations come into force on 1 November 2001 will be able to complete that three-year period before becoming subject to the new requirements if they wish.

Solicitors or registered European lawyers scheduled to begin a three-year period on 1 November 2001 will become subject to the new requirements from that date and will be required to undertake 16 hours CPD per year from that date.

The requirement for newly qualified solicitors and for solicitors in their first, second and third CPD years remains unchanged.Solicitors will still be required to undertake management course stage one during their first three CPD years and the requirements for solicitors who qualified by undertaking the Law Society finals examination or the qualified lawyers transfer test to undertake two modules of the professional skills course remain unchanged.

All solicitors will be notified of the changes in writing.

For details regarding the new requirements, contact the Law Society's information services on tel: 0870 606 2555.