Society plans CPD reform programme

All solicitors are to face an annual continuing professional development (CPD) requirement of 16 hours a year, under plans put together by the Law Society.

In a raft of planned reforms to CPD, the training committee has recommended replacing the current requirement of 48 hours over three years for solicitors qualified for four or more years, extending the present 'one-off' accreditation procedure for external CPD providers to accreditation every three years, and introducing a random audit of solicitors' training records.

In-house training providers would also be monitored under the proposals, which will go to the Law Society's Council at its meeting next month.

If approved, the changes will take effect from next year.

Law Society CPD manager Maxine Warr said that an annual 16-hour requirement for all solicitors would 'make things simpler to understand.

We think that it would encourage a more regular approach to CPD, rather than the rush that usually accompanies the end of a three-year period'.

According to Ms Warr, the training committee thought it was a 'good time' to review monitoring of course providers.

The proposals would have 'some resource implications' for the Society's professional development department, she added.

At its meeting, the committee discussed putting systems in place 'to guarantee the quality of course provision', resolving that 'the authorisation and monitoring processes for course providers should be reviewed and made more rigorous'.

Another proposal, to introduce a compulsory client care element in solicitors' annual CPD requirement, was suggested in the light of the number of complaints currently lodged with the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors.

This was decided against, although Ms Warr emphasised that 'the situation in relation to compulsory training in client care is still under review'.

Rowland Byass