Continuing Professional Development – So Many Options!

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Sometimes we hear members say “I just need to get my hours…” While there is a concrete requirement that is measured by hours, please don’t reduce professional development to “hours”.

The Mandatory Continuing Professional Development rules were put in place to provide a minimum requirement to assist you in making sure that you prioritize maintaining and enhancing your professional competence… reality is, we all work to “deadlines.” The real intention is for you to reflect on your competence and determine your professional development needs so you can then find meaningful resources to address your needs and goals. This is not about just “getting your hours.” Please don’t do that to yourself.

Now, more than ever, you have so many options – many that are available at any time of the day – to enhance your own individual professional development.

Here are a few places for you to look for high quality CPD:

Manitoba Law Library posts education events from a variety of providers on the Library Events Calendar.

The Law Society of Manitoba offers both live CPD Programs, and CPD on Demand.

Manitoba and Canadian Bar Association record most programs. Members may contact sections@cba-mb.ca to request access to recordings of past programs.

Robson Hall Law School hosts events and you can also visit their YouTube channel to access video recordings of past lectures. Notable playlists include:

The Federation of Law Societies of Canada offers national law programs:

We know that the needs of individual lawyers vary a great deal and there is no one provider of CPD that can offer all things to all lawyers.

Here in Manitoba we are particularly fortunate to have a collaborative and collegial relationship amongst the various arms of the legal profession. Each arm contributes to and offers educational opportunities and we highly recommend that you take a look around to ensure you are taking advantage of the most relevant CPD for you and your practice.

As always, if you have any questions about CPD or the requirements you may contact us at: cpd@lawsociety.mb.ca or mcpd@lawsociety.mb.ca.