The Professional Development Profile (the Profile) serves as the foundation for our Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program.
Professional development profiles are used by organizations to understand the skills and abilities (competencies) that individuals should have to do their role effectively. Individuals may either already possess some of the competencies or can develop them with training and learning over time.
The Profile is designed to provide guidance to all Alberta lawyers, regardless of experience or practice area. The Profile is not intended to be a checklist and lawyers are not required to demonstrate competency in every area of the Profile each year. It is meant to provide guidance when lawyers are selecting areas for professional development that are meaningful to them and their practice.
 |
| Professional Development Profile |
The Profile does not include substantive areas of law, but broad areas of knowledge, skills and abilities that lawyers practising in all areas might look to develop or expand. As always, lawyers are encouraged to pursue CPD specific to their practice areas in addition to the areas in the new Profile.
The Profile outlines seven domains:
- Legal Practice
- Continuous Improvement
- Lawyer-Client Relationships
- Practice Management
- Professional Conduct
- Professional Contributions
- Well-Being
Each domain contains competencies or areas a lawyer may want to develop. The competencies should be thought of as a menu of options to pursue when creating CPD plans, rather than as a checklist of requirements.
Proficiency Scale
A proficiency scale, developed by Principia Assessments, Ltd., accompanies the Profile to help lawyers assess their current proficiency levels in various competencies and to set goals to improve or enhance those proficiency levels. For any competency selected from the Profile or elsewhere, different proficiency levels are expected at various career stages and in various practice areas or settings.
While the Law Society can offer guidance and suggestions, it is up to each lawyer to determine how to best improve proficiency in chosen areas of professional development, depending on level of experience, practice context and goals.
If you have any questions about the Profile and or the overall CPD program, please contact us.