CPD Accreditation Process
A. Introduction
Commencing January 1, 2011, lawyers and paralegals who have been practising or providing legal services for more than 2 years (including those licensed on or before May 31, 2010) must complete in each calendar year at least 12 hours of CPD in Eligible Educational Activities (PDF). A minimum of 3 of the 12 hours must be on topics related to professional responsibility, ethics and/or practice management ("Professionalism Hours"). Only Professionalism Hours must be accredited by the Law Society of Upper Canada. The remaining 9 Substantive Hours need not be accredited. Substantive Hours may address substantive or procedural law topics and/or related skills or relevant non-legal topics.
New lawyers and paralegals in their first full 2 years of practising law or providing legal services (including those licensed after May 31, 2010) are required to take 12 hours of accredited programming or activities per calendar year. All 12 hours must integrate topics related to professionalism in order to qualify for accreditation and be eligible for new member CPD Hours.
B. Accreditation Criteria
Programs and activities must meet the standards outlined in the Accreditation Criteria for Professionalism Hours and New Member CPD Hours (PDF) in order to qualify for accreditation.
Only two kinds of content must be accredited by the Law Society:
1. Content for Professionalism Hours
Programs and activities may address topics from one or more of the three categories of professionalism content: professional responsibility, ethics and/or practice management in order to be eligible for Professionalism Hours. Professionalism content may be included as one or more topics within a substantive law program; offered as part of a series of programs related by subject matter; or presented as a stand-alone program. Alternate Eligible Educational Activities such as teaching, writing/editing, mentoring, and study groups may also be accredited for Professionalism Hours if they address professionalism topics.
Professionalism Hours are calculated based on actual time spent on professionalism topics in a program or activity. For example, where a program contains 1 hour of professionalism content, the program will be accredited for 1 Professionalism Hour. Substantive content included in the same program does not need to be accredited to be eligible for Substantive Hours. A minimum of 30 minutes of professionalism content must be included in the program or activity to be eligible for accreditation.
2. Content for New Members
In order to qualify for new member CPD Hours, programs for new lawyers and paralegals must include a substantial amount of professionalism content (defined as at least 25%) that is reasonably connected to the substantive or procedural law content of the program. Alternate Eligible Educational Activities such as teaching, writing/editing, mentoring, and study groups may also be accredited for new member CPD Hours if at least 25% of activity is devoted to professionalism topics.
New member CPD Hours are calculated according to the total length of an accredited new member program or activity. For example, if a new member attends an accredited 6-hour program that includes a minimum of 1.5 hours of professionalism content, that member will obtain 6 new member CPD hours.
C. Application Process
1. Effective Date
Providers or members may submit an Application for Accreditation for new member CPD Hours for eligible programs or activities that took place after June 1, 2010.
Providers or members may submit an Application for Accreditation for Professionalism Hours for eligible programs or activities that took place after December 31, 2010.
Content must have received accreditation from the Law Society prior to the delivery date of the program or activity.
2. Application Forms and Deadlines
CPD Programs – To apply for accreditation of program content for Professionalism Hours or new member CPD Hours, legal education providers must submit an Application for Program Content Accreditation (PDF) together with a highlighted program agenda, a minimum of 30 days prior to the delivery date of the program.
CPD Activities – Lawyers and paralegals seeking accreditation of activities such as teaching, writing, study groups, or mentoring for Professionalism Hours or new member CPD Hours must complete an Application for Accreditation of Alternate Eligible Educational Activities (PDF) a minimum of 30 days in advance of the commencement date of the proposed activity.
Applications submitted fewer than 30 days prior to the program or activity date will not be considered unless the applicant makes a request to the Law Society for special consideration. Requests for special consideration will only be granted in circumstances where a program or activity is:
- being expedited to address a change in legislation or procedure, a precedent-setting decision, or other time-sensitive issue; and
- scheduled at least three days from the Application date.
The Law Society will review each application for completeness upon receipt. If the Application is approved, the Law Society will notify the provider or member as to whether the program or activity is accredited for Professionalism Hours and/or new member CPD Hours. If additional information or revisions are required to complete the Application, the Law Society will notify the applicant. The applicant may then revise and resubmit the Application.
3. Response Time
The Law Society will endeavour to respond to applicants within 10 business days from the initial receipt of a completed Application. Accreditation review may be delayed if the Application is incomplete or if more information is required.
4. Accreditation Logos for Programs
Once a program has been accredited, the provider will receive the following logo(s) in an electronic format, in addition to the appropriate language to be displayed with the logos. The provider may use the logo(s) to market the program and indicate the number of Professionalism Hours and or new member CPD Hours for which the program qualifies.
5. Repeated Programs
The content of programs repeated within one year of the original program date will be considered accredited as long as the professionalism content of the repeated program is substantially similar to that of the original accredited program as determined by the Law Society. If the repeat date is not known at the time of the initial application for program accreditation, the Provider must submit a Notice of Repeat Accredited Program Form (PDF) at least 30 days prior to its delivery date so that the program can be added to the selection of options on the LSUC Portal. Providers must submit a new Application for programs repeated after the one-year accreditation period has expired.
6. Changes to Accredited Programs or Activities
The Law Society recognizes that changes to the program or activity content may occur after the program has been accredited. If a change is made to the title or timing of an accredited program, the provider is required to notify the Law Society immediately so that the LSUC Portal can be updated. If significant changes are made to the program or activity content, the provider or member must reapply for accreditation.
7. Record-Keeping and Monitoring
Providers whose program content has been accredited by the Law Society are required to implement record-keeping systems and be able to provide members with written confirmation of their registration at the program. The Law Society may also require providers to submit the registration and/or attendance records of the members who registered and/or attended the accredited program.
To validate the information contained in the Application and to assess the content of an accredited program or activity, the Law Society may
- attend the program; and
- require the provider to supply a copy of the program materials.
In addition, members should retain materials such as agendas, papers, and discussion notes on file until the end of the year following the year in which the accredited program or activity was completed. For a detailed outline of required documentation according to the type of eligible educational activity, please see Record Keeping Standards - Evidence of Compliance with Section 5 of By-Law 6.1 (PDF)
8. Application Information and LSUC Portal
Once a program has been accredited for Professionalism Hours or new member CPD Hours and the provider has been notified, the Law Society will add the program to the listing of accredited programs in the LSUC Portal. An accredited program will appear in the Portal by the end of the business day following the date of the program. The following information will be posted in the portal: program title, date, provider's name, and total number of accredited hours of professionalism content. Members using the portal will be directed to the named provider for further particulars about the program. In-house programs open only to members of an organization will be noted as such. The Law Society agrees to keep Applications from providers, including information about program agendas, confidential.
Once an activity is accredited for Professionalism Hours or new member CPD Hours, the Law Society will notify the member. The Law Society will update the member’s Portal account to reflect the appropriate number of hours that have been completed by the end of the business day following the date of the activity.
9. Revocation of Accreditation
If Law Society monitoring reveals that a provider's accredited professionalism content does not meet the criteria, accreditation for the Professionalism Hours or new member CPD Hours of that provider's program may be suspended or revoked at the discretion of the Director of Professional Development and Competence of the Law Society.
D. Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the process for accreditation of programs and activities?
Providers and members must submit the appropriate application a minimum of 30 days prior to the date of the program or activity and provide the necessary information. The Law Society will review the Application for completeness and notify you as to whether or not the content of your program or activity has been accredited. If additional information or revisions are required to complete the Application, the Law Society will provide you with specific details regarding the information needed to complete the Application. If you choose to resubmit the Application, the Law Society will consider the revised Application.
2. When can I expect to receive a response from the Law Society to my Application?
The Law Society will endeavour to respond within 10 business days from the initial receipt of a completed Application. Accreditation may be delayed if the Application is incomplete or if more information is required.
3. Do lawyers and paralegals have to complete accredited programs and activities to fulfill the CPD requirement?
If you obtained your licence to practise law or provide legal services on or before May 31, 2010, you are required to complete a minimum of 3 Professionalism Hours (professional responsibility, ethics and/or practice management) and up to 9 Substantive Hours per calendar year. Only programs and activities for Professionalism Hours must be accredited by the Law Society. Substantive Hours do not have to be accredited and may address substantive or procedural law topics, non-legal topics relevant to your practice, and/or related skills.
If you obtained your licence after May 31, 2010, you are required to take 12 hours of accredited CPD programming or activities per calendar year. All 12 hours must integrate topics related to professional responsibility, ethics and/or practice management (“professionalism”) and be accredited for new member CPD Hours.
4. If a program focuses on substantive or procedural law, do providers have to apply for accreditation?
No. Substantive content is not subject to accreditation. If a program focusing on substantive or procedural law includes professionalism content on related topics and issues, that portion of the program may be eligible for Professionalism Hours. If 25% of the program integrates professionalism content, the program may also be eligible for new member CPD Hours.
Examples:
A program on developments in corporate/commercial law could contain content on one or more of the following professionalism topics: managing client expectations in a commercial transaction, identifying and managing conflicts of interest, billing the corporate client, or marketing your corporate and commercial expertise to clients.
A program on custody and access in family law matters could contain content on one or more of the following professionalism topics: client identification, managing the difficult client, dealing with the self-represented party and risk management.
A series of programs on special needs trusts could include content on communicating with clients under a disability.
See Application Process for more information.
5. What is the minimum amount of time that will be considered for accreditation?
Programs and activities must contain a minimum of 0.5 hours of professionalism content to be considered for accreditation.
6. How are CPD Hours calculated?
Professionalism Hours are calculated based on actual time spent on professionalism topics in a program or activity. For example, where a program contains 1 hour of professionalism content, the program will be accredited for 1 Professionalism Hour. Substantive content included in the same program does not need to be accredited to be eligible for Substantive Hours.
New member CPD Hours are calculated according to the total length of an accredited new member program or activity. For example, if a new member attends a 6-hour program that includes a minimum of 1.5 hours of professionalism content, that member will obtain 6 CPD Hours.
7. Will a CPD program qualify for accreditation if it is viewed as a webcast?
Programs may be delivered in a variety of flexible formats, including live lecture, discussion, demonstration, small-group workshop, and audio and webcast (either live or archived). For a live webcast to be interactive, there must be an opportunity to pose a question during the program via e-mail or some other interactive mechanism. In order for archived program formats to qualify, there must be an opportunity to interact with colleagues and/or instructors. For example, a member of a small firm may arrange to watch an archived video webcast with colleagues and then have a group discussion about the issues raised after the presentation.
New! Members no longer need to apply for approval when viewing archived webcasts of recordings of accredited programs. Simply view the archived/recorded program with at least one colleague and log the program into your LSUC Portal account using the live date listed. For audit purposes, please keep a record of your viewing date and the names of the colleagues(s) with whom you watched the program.
8. Is it possible to obtain accreditation for the professionalism content of a program or activity scheduled earlier than 30 days from the Application date?
If you seek accreditation for a program to be held earlier than 30 days from the Application date, you must request special consideration and explain your reasons on the Application. Special consideration will only be granted to programs being expedited to provide members with timely information on significant changes in the law. To enable the Law Society to audit the expedited program, the provider must schedule the program for a date no earlier than three business days from the Application date.
9. How long is accreditation valid for?
Accreditation is valid for one year from the original program date. A program may be repeated within one year of the original delivery date as long as
- the professionalism content is substantially similar to that of the original accredited program; and
- the provider submits a Notice of Repeat Accredited Program Form (PDF) to the Law Society a minimum of 30 days prior to the date of the repeat program.
A new Application must be submitted for any program or activity that is repeated after the one year accreditation period has expired.
10. May I submit one Application for the professionalism content of more than one program or activity?
No, a separate Application is required for the professionalism content of each program for which you seek accreditation. Only one Application is required for the professionalism content of programs with related subject matter that are presented as a series.
11. What if the content or timing of my program or activity changes after the program has been accredited?
If the program title or timing has changed, you must notify the Law Society immediately so that we can update our records. If the professionalism content of the program or activity has changed significantly, you must reapply for accreditation. Otherwise, you do not need to reapply for accreditation. The original accreditation will still apply.
12. How will the Law Society monitor my program or activity?
The Law Society may attend accredited programs to ensure that they include the requisite professionalism content. The Law Society may also audit providers' registration records for the purpose of determining member compliance with the Requirement.
In addition, the Law Society will audit members to verify completion of CPD Hours. Please see Record Keeping Standards - Evidence of Compliance with Section 5 of By-Law 6.1 (PDF) for more information on required documentation according to the type of eligible educational activity.
13. I do not want other providers to see the professionalism content of my program. Is the Application I submit to the Law Society confidential?
Prior to accreditation, the Law Society will keep the information contained within your Application, including information about the program agenda, confidential. Once your program is accredited, the program title, date, provider name, and total number of hours of accredited professionalism content, will be posted on the LSUC Portal. Members using the Portal will be directed to the named provider for further particulars about the program. In-house programs open only to members of an organization will be noted as such.
Questions?
For additional information please contact us by e-mail at cpdacc@lsuc.on.ca or by phone at 1-800-668-7380 ext. 3315 or 416-947-3315.
