May 1, 2023Back to Latest

At the April 27, 2023 Board meeting, the Benchers approved amendments to the Rules of the Law Society of Alberta and documents to support the new approach to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) that will officially roll out on July 4, 2023 for Alberta lawyers.

The amendments to Rules 67.2 and 67.3 now align with the new approach to CPD for Alberta lawyers. Key highlights of the amendments and supporting documents include:

• participation in the CPD program is mandatory for all active lawyers;
• CPD plans must be prepared and submitted using the CPD Tool accessed through the Lawyer Portal;
• the deadline to submit CPD plans is now Oct. 1 in recognition of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation;
• a failure by an active lawyer to submit a CPD plan by Oct. 1 will result in an administrative suspension;
• the requirement to maintain a record of the CPD plan has been reduced from five to three years; and
• participation in the new review process will be mandatory.

The Law Society will implement the new CPD review process in early 2024. This will include random reviews on some lawyers’ CPD plans to check whether they are on track with their plans and to offer coaching to assist with implementation. More information about the CPD plan review process will be shared in the coming weeks.

View the Rules for the full amendments.