How far CPD?

Two weeks from today, i.e. on 14 November, the Society will publish the proposals it has formulated to reshape legal education and training - the culmination of a two-year process that began with a very wide-ranging public consultation exercise.

The document will be open to further comment until 6 February prior to final presentation for approval at next year's AGM, and will doubtless feature in further entries on the Journal Online. The topic which attracted most debate at Council today, however, was the continuing professional development (CPD) commitment that should be expected of solicitors already in practice.

The upshot is that no increase is to be proposed in the number of hours undertaken, but greater flexibility will be allowed through a wider range of activities being recognised for CPD, and each firm or legal department will have a training supervisor to monitor compliance. In short, the focus will be on quality rather than quantity - one hopes a move that will be welcomed and will encourage a commitment to the spirit of the new regime.