The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has commissioned research into Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in the legal profession—the first project of its kind for more than 25 years.
Professor Andrew Boon of Westminster University will look at the different options for CPD and ways to demonstrate compliance, using the subject of ethics as a specific example.
This research will be carried out ahead of any findings from the Legal Services Education and Training Review (Review 2020) which the SRA, Bar Standards Board and Ilex Professional Services (IPS) are commissioning this year. Law firms and solicitors will be taking part in this research from the beginning of the 2011–12 CPD year, which begins on 1 November.
Di Lawson, the SRA’s head of training, said: “The current compulsory scheme was introduced in 1985 and only minor amendments have been made since that time. Its main benefit has always been its flexibility, with only 25 per cent needing to be met by taking part in accredited courses. Other than the mandatory management course that solicitors attend within the first three years following admission, and specific requirements for higher court advocates, we do not currently specify how solicitors should meet their annual 16 hour CPD requirement, how we assess the relevance of the CPD undertaken or even ask solicitors to do so themselves.”
The SRA also plans to conduct a similar exercise into its managment training programme for newly qualified solicitors.
