Requirements - CLE for Lawyers and Paralegals in Canada

Lawyers are required to select at least two competencies from any of the domains contained within the Professional Development Profile (Profile). There are 29 competencies in the Profile that are broadly applicable to all lawyers. As CPD plans are personal to each lawyer, their practice and their learning goals, lawyers may tailor their chosen competencies to their practice through the learning activities they select and add other competencies that are not included in the Profile. Lawyers are required to select at least one learning activity to help develop or enhance each competency they selected in developing their plan, using either the drop-down menu in the CPD Tool or adding another activity of their choice. Lawyers may select more than one learning activity per competency, based on their practice and what they determine to be effective for their learning goals. Lawyers can choose up to 20 competencies for their plan. There are no consequences for failing to complete progress on any of the competencies or learning activities added to a lawyer’s CPD plan so lawyers are encouraged to add as many competencies and activities as they think are reasonable, to support their professional development goals. Alberta lawyers are not required to complete a minimum number of CPD hours. The Law Society does not accredit CPD activities. LSA does not require CPD providers to be accredited with their organizations in order to offer CPDs to their members. The courses listed on LearnFormula are verifiable for CPD and can be counted towards the annual CPD requirement. It is up to the professional to determine whether the activity qualifies as eligible towards their CPD requirement.

British Columbia practising lawyers, both full-time and part-time, must complete 12.0 hours of accredited CPD within the calendar year. At least 2.0 of the 12.0 hours must pertain to any combination of professional responsibility and ethics and practice management. The Law Society's continuing professional development program allows lawyers to meet the requirement in a way that matches their own professional goals and learning preferences. Recommended topics include Professional ethics, Practice management, Lawyering skills, Professional wellness, Substantive law, Procedural law and Non-legal topics sufficiently connected to the practice of law. LearnFormula is a Pre-approved provider by the Law Society of British Columbia.

Each lawyer must complete 12 hours of CPD each year. Lawyers who maintain active practicing status for three or more months must complete as part of their total CPD hours 1.5 hours of eligible CPD activities related to ethics, professional responsibility, or practice management (EPPM). The Law Society of Manitoba does not accredit eligible CPD activities. Each lawyer determines if a particular activity is an eligible CPD activity based on the requirements and guidelines set out by the Law Society. LSM does not require CPD providers to be accredited with their organizations in order to offer CPDs to their members. The courses listed on LearnFormula are verifiable for CPD and can be counted towards the annual CPD requirement. It is up to the professional to determine whether the activity qualifies as eligible towards their CPD requirement.

All practising members of the Law Society of New Brunswick, whether they work full-time or part-time, must complete, report and certify a minimum of twelve (12) hours of Continuing Professional Development annually (January 1st - December 31st) that consists of: a. a minimum of two (2) Professional Responsibility and Ethics hours (see Appendix A for a description of qualifying topics, with examples); AND b. a minimum of ten (10) additional hours of qualifying Continuing Professional Development either in the form of additional Professional Responsibility and Ethics hours, or in the following categories (see Appendix B for a detailed description of additional qualifying topics/activities, with examples): i. Substantive Law ii. Procedural Law iii. Lawyering Skills

The Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador administers a Mandatory Continuing Professional Development (“CPD”) Program whereby all practicing members are required to complete a minimum of 15 hours of eligible continuing professional development activities annually. LSNL does not require CPD providers to be accredited with their organizations in order to offer CPDs to their members. The courses listed on LearnFormula are verifiable for CPD and can be counted towards the annual CPD requirement. It is up to the professional to determine whether the activity qualifies as eligible towards their CPD requirement. According to the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador’s guidelines, eligible CPD activities must contain significant substantive or practical content with the primary objective of increasing lawyers’ professional competence.

Members are required to complete a minimum of twelve (12) hours of CPD activity, including a minimum of two (2) hours focused on legal ethics or law practice management, during each membership year (April 1st to March 31st). Law Society of the Northwest Territories does not require CPD providers to be accredited with their organizations in order to offer CPDs to their members. The courses listed on LearnFormula are verifiable for CPD and can be counted towards the annual CPD requirement. It is up to the professional to determine whether the activity qualifies as eligible towards their CPD requirement (Marketing courses are not eligible).

All practising lawyers are expected to complete a minimum of 12 hours of professional development in each reporting year. The Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society does not formally accredit providers or pre-approve any programs for CPD reporting purposes. Instead, it is up to practising members to determine that the specific CPD activity meets the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society’s requirements. If so, practising members can claim the CPD activity in their annual CPD Plan. According to the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society’s guidelines, eligible CPD activities must be relevant to the professional needs of a lawyer and preserves and enhances a lawyer’s knowledge or skills in the areas of: substantive legal education and skills development; risk and practice management; and professionalism.

All practising members of the Law Society of Nunavut must complete 12 hours of eligible CLE in each calendar year. The 12 hours of eligible CLE must include: -one hour devoted to professional responsibility and ethics; and -one hour devoted to cultural competency. CLEs in form of courses are limited to 9 hours a year. LSN does not require CPD providers to be accredited with their organizations in order to offer CPDs to their members. The courses listed on LearnFormula are verifiable for CPD and can be counted towards the annual CPD requirement. It is up to the professional to determine whether the activity qualifies as eligible towards their CPD requirement.

Lawyers and paralegals who are practicing law or providing legal services must complete in each calendar year at least 12 CPD Hours in Eligible Educational Activities consisting of a minimum of 3 Professionalism Hours (incl. 1 EDI credit) on topics related to professional responsibility, ethics and/or practice management and up to 9 Substantive Hours per year. Only Professionalism Hours must be accredited by the Law Society. Lawyers and paralegals must determine for themselves whether an activity is an eligible educational activity for CPD and qualifies for Substantive Hours. For more information about Substantive Hours, please see CPD Requirement.

Each lawyer must complete 24 hours of CPD within a 2 year period, of which 4 hours must be “Professionalism”: ethics, client communications, professional responsibility, or practice management. Lawyers decide for themselves which CPD content is relevant to their practice. According to the Law Society of Prince Edward Island’s guidelines, the CPD content must have significant intellectual or practical content with the primary objective of increasing members’ professional competence.

All lawyers must complete at least 30.0 eligible hours of training during a 2-year reference period, 3 of which must be taken in ethics and professional practice or professional practice from a list of activities offered by the Quebec Bar. For Quebec lawyers, consider including courses as a CLE activity in your annual Continuing Education Obligation. Please note that all lawyers have to self-report CLEs to the Bar of Quebec. The Barreau du Québec considers training activities to be eligible for continuing education where they "enable the member to acquire, maintain, update, improve and deepen the professional and ethical skills related to the practice of the profession". Distance learning courses are eligible training activities where they include: (a) interactivity, (b) the presence of exams or tests, (c) the presence of trainers, or (d) the combination of various educational supports and activities.

Under the CPD policy, all active members are required to complete and report 12 hours of qualifying CPD within the calendar year. Not less than 2 hours of the required 12 hours must pertain primarily to any one or any combination of the following topics (“Ethics Hours”): Professional responsibility Ethics Practice standards The Code of Professional Conduct Conflict of interest Rules of the Law Society Client care and relations Practice management LSS does not require CPD providers to be accredited with their organizations in order to offer CPDs to their members. The courses listed on LearnFormula are verifiable for CPD and can be counted towards the annual CPD requirement. It is up to the professional to determine whether the activity qualifies as eligible towards their CPD requirement.

Each Lawyer must complete 12 hours of CPD annually. These 12 hours can be in any area of “Substantive” or “Professionalism” content. The Law Society of Yukon does not formally accredit providers or pre-approve any programs for CPD reporting purposes. Instead, it is up to practising members to determine that the specific CPD activity meets the Law Society of Yukon’s requirements. If so, practising members can claim the CPD activity.

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