Alberta
CPD Requirements: The Law Society of Alberta suspended the mandatory Continuing Professional Development (CPD) filing requirement for the profession for the years 2020 and 2021. Suspending the CPD program allows the Law Society to refocus its thinking and dedicate resources toward the next phase of lawyer competency.
The Law Society of Alberta’s CPD Program does not have a mandatory minimum number of accredited hours to be counted towards CPD. The Law Society Code of Conduct, Chapter 3, imposes an ethical responsibility on lawyers to be competent in all legal services undertaken on a client’s behalf. When determining competence, the Rules of the Law Society of Alberta, define CPD as any learning activity that is: relevant to the professional needs of a lawyer; pertinent to long-term career interests as a lawyer; in the interests of the employer of a lawyer or related to the professional ethics and responsibilities of lawyers. Continuing professional development must contain significant substantive, technical, practical or intellectual content.
It is each lawyer’s responsibility to determine whether a learning activity meets these criteria and therefore qualifies as continuing professional development.
Completing Your CPD Requirements with PLI: Alberta lawyers may include PLI courses as CPD learning activities in their annual Continuing Professional Development Plan. It is not necessary to have your CPD activities accredited by the Law Society of Alberta. The Law Society of Alberta does not accredit courses offered by CLE providers.
View PLI CPD activities that may be eligible for your CPD plan.
Attendance Reporting: It remains the responsibility of every Alberta lawyer to maintain their own competence and self-assess areas for improvement.
The CPD declaration period continues to be July 1 – September 30. Remember to check with your plan and reflect on your progress through the lawyer portal. Please keep a copy of your PLI CPD certificates for your records.