Law Times

PAGE 4 Law society loosens CPD interactivity requirement NEWS BY KENDYL SEBESTA Law Times regime aſter lawyers complained the policy made accessing archived webcasts and meeting new-mem- ber requirements too difficult. Benchers approved the policy T he Law Society of Up- per Canada has made changes to its continuing professional development changes during Convocation proceedings on April 26. Under the amendments, lawyers and paralegals can now earn up to six hours per year by watching archived programs and using online courses. As well, they'll no longer have to watch the content with another lawyer or paralegal to meet the law society' tivity requirement. New members in their first s interac- two years of practising law will also be able to choose any pro- gram accredited for professional- ism. The programs will no longer have to meet the 25-per-cent professionalism requirement. tivity is an important component of the CPD requirement, we are recommending to Convoca- tion today that only six of the 12 hours be required and that com- puter modules and webcasts be included in that interactivity re- quirement," professional develop- ment and competence committee member Wendy Matheson told Convocation on April 26. Continuing professional de- "While we recognize interac- velopment became mandatory for lawyers and paralegals in Jan- uary 2011. According to the pol- icy, lawyers and paralegals who have been practising for more than two years must complete 12 hours of continuing professional development with three of them spent on topics related to profes- sional responsibility, ethics, and practice management. For new lawyers and paralegals step forward, say Ontario lawyers who note that the interactivity re- quirement had been particularly difficult to meet. "I think senior lawyers who are busy running their practice will find this particularly helpful, Bernard Gluckstein of Gluckstein & Associates LLP. "Perhaps now they can down- " says load webcasts on the weekends during their own time and meet the requirements that way. That being said, I think it' 'I think some lawyers felt requiring them to have another lawyer present when they viewed the webcasts communicated to them that the law society didn't trust them,' says Bernard Gluckstein. who have practised for less than two years, all of the required hours were originally mandatory in those three topic areas. But under the changes, new members will have more options to choose from and will only have to meet three hours of professionalism content each year. The changes are a welcome the younger lawyers shouldn't rely on. They should be out attending events and networking with col- leagues who can mentor them and hopefully the changes will give them that option." While Gluckstein says he oſten exceeds the law society's require- s something them," he notes. "Lawyers are pre- sumably honest, so I can see how someone who is away at trial or couldn't attend out-of-town pro- grams would find that require- ment troublesome. working group to look into the requirement during Convocation proceedings in January. A report released during the same month showed similar concerns among many of the lawyers and parale- gals subject to it. "New members have com- restriction on The law society approved a " mented on the ment each year, he has heard from fellow lawyers about how burden- some it can be. "I think some lawyers felt re- back from experiencing the broad- er range of substitutive learning options that are available to de- velop their knowledge and skills in their chosen area of practice. quiring them to have another law- yer present when they viewed the webcasts communicated to them that the law society didn't trust AUTHORITATIVE INSIGHT INTO PURE ECONOMIC LOSS NEW EDITION ECONOMIC NEGLIGENCE: THE RECOVERY OF PURE ECONOMIC LOSS, SIXTH EDITION BRUCe FeldthUSeN, B.A. (hoNS.), ll.B., ll.M., S.J.d. In Economic Negligence: The Recovery of Pure Economic Loss, Sixth Edition, author Bruce Feldthusen draws upon the law of Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand to paint a thorough analysis of pure economic loss and recovery. His expertise in analyzing pure economical loss has been adopted by the Supreme Court of Canada; now you can use it to your own benefit. 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"They feel they are being held The report also found more expe- rienced lawyers and paralegals felt the number of claimable hours for activities like teaching and men- toring were insufficient. People felt they were being "forced" into programs that weren't valuable to their practice and were oſten re- petitive, it noted. Matthew Baer, a lawyer at Sis- " kinds LLP, says the changes will be more helpful for lawyers and paralegals practising in smaller firms and isolated areas. "Their intentions are noble, says Baer. "They are trying to continue to educate the legal pro- fession, which I think is a good move. The archived webcasts will likely be more helpful for small practices and lawyers in remote locations who can't attend the conferences or don't have the time to take part in the requirements during office hours and can now presumably do it from home. " BrazeauSeller LLP, says the policy changes appear concerns lawyers have. "It would likely make things easi- the Harold Feder, a partner at to address " er and more convenient," says Feder. "Two lawyers oſten don't have the same interests and requiring them to sit together to view a webcast is difficult. Anything to broaden the opportunity of young lawyers and to increase access to live programs is a positive move, I think. It' portant to make sure lawyers are up on the latest legal trends and, when dealing with things like this, I find flexibility is usually better. s im- the only ones the LSUC is making to the continuing professional de- velopment requirement. A full as- sessment of the requirement will go before Convocation in April 2013. That report will address the first two years of the policy and any additional changes that may be necessary. Until then, Gluckstein says he For now, the two changes are " hopes any future assessments of the requirement will continue in the right direction. "I think the law society does a good job of providing great speak- ers and opportunities to lawyers to enable them to meet the require- ments," he says. "I hope they con- tinue to make positive steps toward keeping lawyers and paralegals up to date on the law. " www.lawtimesnews.com LT

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