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Mandatory CPD Requirements
Lawyers are required to complete 12 hours of professional development activities per year (or one hour per month or partial month of active practice).
If you are a practising member for three or more months in a year, then 1 ½ hours of your CPD must be related to ethics, professional responsibility or practice management.
In exceptional circumstances, the Chief Executive Officer may permit you to carryover no more than 12 hours of CPD to the following year. (e.g. pursuing a Masters of Law Degree or completing the Federation of Law Societies’ Criminal Law or Family Law Program).
Newly called lawyers:
- There is no requirement to have any eligible CPD activities for the year in which you are called.
- However, you are required to report on any CPD activities occurring in your year of call.
The CPD requirement takes effect for the first full calendar year starting on January 1st, immediately following your Call to the Bar.
Reporting Requirements
You are required to track your CPD activities for the calendar year and record them in your CPD tracker which is due on April 1st each year. You will be asked to report:
- Number of hours dedicated to the educational activity (exclude social aspects and lunch hours)
- Name of the provider
- Type of activity (in person; on-line; written materials)
- Your role (presenter; learner; author)
- Subject matter (area of substantive law; ethics, practice management, professional responsibility)
- Primary audience (lawyer, law students, support staff)
When requested by the Law Society, you will be required to produce all documents to substantiate the completion of your CPD activities.
If you registered and attended a program offered by The Law Society of Manitoba, this activity will be recorded in your Member Portal CPD Tracking by the Law Society.
Qualifying Activities
Eligible CPD activities must meet all of the following requirements:
- Relate to substantive, procedural or practical aspects of law, including law office management
- Not relate to a specific client file
- Not relate to purely business or social aspects of an activity
While the Law Society does not accredit providers, typical eligible CPD activities include:
- Live programs, workshops and conferences offered by The Law Society of Manitoba, the Canadian Bar Association, regional bar associations, the Federation of Law Societies and other continuing legal education providers
- In-house legal education programs offered by law firms and legal departments
- Interactive on-line programs
- Video and DVD replay of programs offered in an organized group setting
- Organized education discussion groups such as MBA section meetings
- Post LL.B or JD degree programs
- Teaching (including preparation time) in CPLED, CPD sessions or at the Faculty of Law
Self-study does not qualify as an eligible activity unless:
- They are on-line “real time” activities or webinars where questions can be asked and answered;
- They are non real time on-line activities if a test or examination is included; or
- Where exceptional circumstances prevent you from accessing CPD programming (e.g. distance, physical disability, lack of relevant options)
Writing is an eligible CPD activity with some restrictions. You can be credited for the actual time to produce the final product, up to a maximum of 6 hours for each writing project, except for writing for your employment or for clients.
Credit is available for writing law books, articles and blogs intended for publication and relating to the study or practice of law for the following audiences:
- Lawyers, paralegals, articling students or law school students
- Other professions, including students in a licensing program
- Students in another education program
- The public
This chart provides examples of eligible subject matter, but is not an exhaustive list.
Eligible Activities Subject Matter Chart |
|---|
| Substantive Knowledge & Skills |
| • Practice Area Knowledge (civil litigation, business law, tax law.) • Substantive Legal Procedures (conveyancing, estate administration, rules of court.) • Legal Skills Training (advocacy, legal drafting, legal research, legal writing, interviewing & advising, collaborative law, e- discovery.) • Generic skills training (negotiation, mediation, plain language writing.) |
| Ethics & Professionalism (EPPM Hours) |
| • Ethics (Code of Professional Conduct, integrity, trust conditions & undertakings, conflict of interest, confidentiality, privilege.) • Professionalism (civility, cultural competency, dealing with self-represented parties, dealing with the media.) • Professional Responsibility (The Legal Profession Act, Law Society Rules, trust accounting requirements & procedures, client ID requirements.) • The Legal Profession (history, current issues, future developments, equity & diversity within the legal profession.) |
| Practice & Risk Management (EPPM Hours) |
| • Client management (retainer agreements, managing client expectations, dealing with difficult people.) • Time management skills • Communication skills • Project management, including limitations of actions • Technology proficiency • Office management skills (human resources, financial management.) • Office systems infrastructure (technology, document & records management, research tools, disaster plans.) • Office governance • Office succession planning • Well-being • Fraud against lawyers • Professional liability (how to avoid professional insurance claims.) |
CPD Presenters
If you have presented some form of CPD you may report preparation time towards your required MCPD hours. You may report the actual time spent preparing to teach up to a maximum of 3 times the actual presentation time. For example, if your presentation time was 1 hour then the total time you may report for that presentation is 3 hours.
Non-Compliance
Failure to complete and report the required annual mandatory continuing professional development hours will result in the issuance of a 60 day notice that you comply. If you fail to comply within 60 days, you will be automatically suspended from practice until you have satisfied the MCPD requirements and have paid a reinstatement fee. (See Law Society Rule 2-81.1(12))
Failure to comply may also result in a referral to the complaints investigation committee for its consideration.
