Site grills lawyers seeking CPD points

EMPLOYMENT LAW: barrister launches service

Employment lawyers can now gain continuing professional development (CPD) points online with the launch of a tailor-made Web site.

The service functions as an add-on to Employment Law (UK), an existing free e-mail bulletin on employment law run by London barrister Daniel Barnett.

Subscribing practitioners are able to gain CPD points each session by answering the questions.

According to Mr Barnett, his online CPD scheme differs from others in allowing solicitors to obtain their CPD entitlement before committing to paying for the service.Users e-mail their answers to Mr Barnett, but only decide whether to pay - and hence receive CPD points - after receiving their results.

The initiative has been warmly greeted by specialist lawyers.

Jane Mann, chairwoman of theEmployment Lawyers' Association, said: 'This is another example of Daniel Barnett's marketing flair and initiative.

I welcome it as an excellent training tool - I only hope he will have time to mark the answers and run a practice at the Bar.'

Meanwhile, Criminal Law Week, a weekly digest for criminal law practitioners, also launched on-line in conjunction with Smith Bernal's Casetrack.

Criminal Law Week On Line contains case reports and commentary, along with links to relevant judgments.

Users can also answer multiple-choice criminal law questions through the web site, gaining up to 17.5 CPD hours per year.

The scheme costs 35 per year for existing Criminal Law Week subscribers or 70 for non-subscribers.

LINKS www.cpdpoints.co.uk; www.criminal-law.co.uk

Rowland Byass