Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50874
Virtual Web-based programs dominate continuing legal education classroom MANAGEMENT By Judy van Rhijn Across the country law societies are introducing mandatory con- tinuing legal education and broadening the content to include education deliv- ered via new technologies. This has led to a variety of providers creating platforms for online learning, many of which are ideally suited to cor- porate counsel. This allows in-house law- yers to tune into webinars, set up study groups, and access self-study courses to make the most of what's on offer, while meeting their continuing legal education targets at the same time. British Columbia lawyers kicked off the New Year with the introduction of the country's most structured continu- ing professional development program, which specifies lawyers must do 12 hours of CLE annually. In Quebec, a manda- tory regime of 30 hours over a two-year period was no April Fool's joke, even though it came into play on April 1, 2009. Ontario has similar requirements on its horizon. As of June 2010, all new lawyers will have to complete 24 hours of manda- tory education in 24 months. There are also mandatory CLE requirements built in to its certified specialist programs. On the east coast, Nova Scotia has been making courses mandatory for law- yers practising in certain areas of law since 2006. The Law Society of New Brunswick is getting member feedback on a report delivered in January, called "Has the time arrived for Mandatory Continuing Professional Development in New Brunswick?" The report's author, Crystal Critch, concluded it had recom- mended the B.C. model as most appro- priate for New Brunswick. There is a potential start-up date of Jan. 1, 2010. In addition to these initiatives, law societies have been broadening the cri- teria for what amounts to eligible educa- tion to include participation in online "real-time" courses, streaming video, and web courses, provided there is an oppor- tunity to ask and answer questions. It also counts when two or more lawyers review a previously recorded course or gather together in a study group. This includes in-house activities with at least two par- ticipants. Some CLE regimes also accept self-study of interactive online courses with a testing component. In B.C., two hours of solo work counts towards the 12-hour target. Law societies, continuing educa- tion providers, and private law firms are feeding educational material onto the Internet to meet the need. They are being rewarded by the rapidly increasing uptake in online courses across Canada. Conference organizers report as many or more people attend online as are attending in person at seminars. Nadia Martel, senior legal counsel at Bombardier Recreational Products and president of the Quebec chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel, believes a big factor is the increased facilities and savvy of the user, particularly with younger in-house counsel. "Older lawyers are often scared of technology but basically, if they have high-speed Internet, a 10-year-old can do it." The Law Society of Manitoba recently conducted a survey of members to find out what technology they are using, what they want to use, and the programs they're INHOUSE AUGUST 2009 • 31