Law Times

Law Times • may 17, 2010 FOCUS PAGE 11 Flexibility key to transition to mandatory CLE O BY JUDY VAN RHIJN For Law Times ntario lawyers and paralegals will have to take continuing pro- fessional development more seri- ously now that the Law Society of Upper Canada has approved a 12-hour requirement for ongo- ing education. As a result, they'll be search- ing for flexible, cost-effective, and convenient ways to meet the quo- ta, including volunteer work and technology-driven programs. Diana Miles, director of pro- fessional development and com- petence at the law society, says the stars have aligned on the question of mandatory continu- ing legal education. "From the perspective of the Law Society of Upper Canada, it was just good timing. Under our competence mandate, we had been looking at quality assurance, which is the assessment side, involving licens- ing and practice audits. Then we started looking at quality im- provement. A number of other law societies were looking at the same thing at the same time, and some had got approvals to put their regimes in place this year, which was relevant to mobility." Miles believes the profession has accepted the move without any drama. "The membership was not the least bit surprised. We had consulted extensively, and it was a given that it was go- ing to happen. Lawyers accept that a career in law means a life- time of learning." The number of mandatory hours also sparked little contro- versy, even with a requirement that three of them must deal with ethics, professionalism, and practice management. "We know from annual reporting that most lawyers get far more hours than that," says Miles. "It's not seen as a problem." Robert Zochodne, chairman of the County & District Law Presidents' Association, agrees the 12-hour target isn't onerous. He believes lawyers have had a perception that they needed to maintain a certain number of hours since the reporting re- quirement came in. CDLPA supported the move to mandatory training hours but was concerned about cost and access issues. "We are par- ticularly pleased with the part of the initiative where the law society is supplying ethics, professionalism, and practice management programs without charge," says Zochodne. "That's something our members can definitely take advantage of." But people are still wonder- ing what will count towards the quota. The LSUC regime has in- teractivity as its core concept, and Miles considers group thinking to be essential to higher learning. "From the perspective of learning, you need to be exchanging ideas and having dialogue to promote inspiration and improve knowl- edge. By yourself, you may not think deeply enough to see the full picture. You need someone to Untitled-5 1 ask the question that stumps you. It takes learning up a notch." The LSUC has endorsed a broad base of interactive options, including online learning such as video streams and live webcasts. "The interaction can be as simple as sending an e-mail, but you don't actually have to interact," Miles notes. "Someone watch- ing a presentation may not have a question, just as someone pres- ent may not have a question, but they will still benefit from the live interaction from the floor." Other less conventional activi- ties also count towards the quota, including writing, editing, teach- ing, acting as an articling princi- pal or mentor, and participating in bar and law association meet- ings with substantive law content. The research required for self-pro- motional writing isn't eligible, but Miles says it's easy to sidestep that restriction. "That is aimed to stop people counting research that is used for the repetitious dissemina- tion of information to 25 differ- ent customers. If you do core legal research that you use to instruct a client group, that will be eligible." Self-study isn't eligible, but you only need a group of two to be- come a study group, something that should be of assistance to remote and rural practitioners. "They can get together with other local lawyers," says Miles. "As long as two people are discussing updates, it's eligible. That's why the benchers wanted to build that in, as well as telephone seminars. Not everyone has access to live programs in person but everyone can access a teleseminar by tele- phone at least." Zochodne and his colleagues plan to monitor lawyers' ability to access education. "We are always vigilant when it comes to that," he says, noting online learning is much more available now than when the law society canvassed the issue of mandatory continu- ing legal education in 1996. Zochodne is also enthusiastic about the use of study groups, especially since he recalls partici- pating in discussions leading up to a major overhaul of the civil litigation rules in 1985. "It was much more helpful than going to a presentation where you just sit and listen," he says, adding that many local law associations, such as those of Carleton County and Thunder Bay, have developed re- gional legal education programs. "They can seek to be accredited, and I'm sure they will be." The requirements aren't quite so flexible for lawyers and para- legals in their first two years of work, however. They must com- plete 12 hours of "programming accredited by the law society" as opposed to "eligible educational activities." "That proviso maintains the earlier approval from October 2008," Miles explains. "There is still a wide variety of courses, substantive and professional, to help them inculcate the necessary skills and knowledge, but certain competencies are required." There may be some anxiety over the plan to administratively suspend those practitioners who don't meet their quota by the end of the year, but Miles points out that in practical terms, there is a grace period built in. "We can't flip a switch and suspend people. They will receive notices on mul- tiple occasions during the year and another in January. Then we have to wait until a governor or summary bencher is free to deal with the matter. In reality, there will be a grace period of a few weeks. In the third or fourth week of January, they will be sus- pended. They can still fulfil their requirement, and then we will lift the suspension immediately." But Zochodne is confident laywers will meet their obligation. "I acknowledge that we're all busy and time is limited, but if we plan our schedules reasonably, it's only an hour a month," he says. For her part, Miles recom- mends people work towards meeting their quota throughout the year. "Every quarter, they should be making plans to get through it as part of managing their practice and their time." LT The McKellar Structured Settlement™ www.lawtimesnews.com 5/11/10 3:10:05 PM

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