Including CBA Alberta’s Sections in Your Annual CPD Plan

By Susan Borsic, K.C., Manager of Professional Development

As a lawyer in Alberta, you will know by now that the Law Society of Alberta (“LSA”) recently reinstated the annual requirement to submit a CPD Plan. What you may not know is how to include your involvement with CBA Alberta’s Sections in your CPD Plan. Whether you attend a Section meeting, deliver a presentation to a Section or are a member of a Section Executive, this article will help you understand how to include your Section involvement in the annual CPD Plan that you submit to the LSA.

Let’s start by looking at how the LSA’s new CPD Program works. This overview is not intended to explain everything there is to know about the CPD Program. If you want to learn more, you will find lots of information about the CPD Program on the LSA website. The LSA’s CPD Frequently Asked Questions are particularly helpful.

All Alberta lawyers who have an active status when the CPD planning period opens on August 1 each year are required to submit a CPD Plan by October 1. There are two exceptions to this requirement. First, active-non-practicing lawyers, who are not permitted to provide legal services, are not required to submit a CPD Plan. Second, active-practicing lawyers who become inactive between August 1 and September 30 are not required to submit a CPD Plan. All other active lawyers must apply for an exemption if circumstances prevent them from submitting a CPD Plan by October 1.

All CPD Plans must be prepared and submitted using the “CPD Tool”, which is accessed through the Lawyer Portal on the LSA website. The CPD Tool is an interactive tool that allows you to submit and track your annual CPD Plan.

The CPD Tool is based on the LSA’s Professional Development Profile for Alberta Lawyers (the “CPD Profile”). The CPD Profile is intended to provide lawyers with guidance on the competencies that the LSA believes are important to maintain a safe, effective and sustainable legal practice in Alberta today.

Because there are so many different practice areas in the legal profession, the CPD Profile does not include substantive areas of law. Instead, it includes nine broad areas of competency known as “domains”. The nine domains are:

  1. Legal Practice
  2. Continuous Improvement
  3. Cultural Competency & Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
  4. Lawyer-Client Relationships
  5. Practice Management
  6. Professional Conduct
  7. Professional Contributions
  8. Truth & Reconciliation
  9. Well-Being

Each domain has a “domain statement”, which is an introductory statement that conveys the overall scope and intent of the domain. Each domain also includes a number of specific “competencies”, which lawyers may wish to develop professionally within that domain. There are a total of 30 competencies in the nine domains.

Lawyers are not required to demonstrate competency in all nine domains each year. Instead, when you use the CPD Tool to create your CPD Plan each year, you are required to select a minimum of two and a maximum of 20 competencies from any of the nine domains. You can also add custom competencies that are specific to your practice area but these do not count toward the two-competency minimum requirement.

For each competency you select, you are required to select at least one “learning activity”. The CPD Tool includes a drop-down list of 18 different types of learning activities. The list includes both informal learning activities, such as reading a book or listening to a podcast, and formal learning activities, such as attending a conference or teaching a course. The list also includes an “other” option, which allows you to create a custom learning activity.

The LSA does not require lawyers to complete a minimum number of CPD hours. The LSA also does not accredit CPD learning activities. You can therefore choose any kind of learning activity that meets your learning needs, as long as the learning activity complies with the definition of CPD as set out Rule 67.1 of the Rules of the Law Society of Alberta, which states:

 (1) “Continuing professional development” is any learning activity that is:

               (a) relevant to the professional needs of a lawyer;
               (b) pertinent to long-term career interests as a lawyer;
               (c) in the interests of the employer of a lawyer; or
               (d) related to the professional ethics and responsibilities of lawyers.

(2) Continuing professional development must contain significant substantive, technical, practical or intellectual content.

(3) It is each lawyer’s responsibility to determine whether a learning activity meets these criteria and therefore qualifies as continuing professional development.

Now let’s look at how you can include your involvement with CBA Alberta’s Sections in your CPD Plan.

Most of you will know that CBA Alberta has a long history of delivering top-notch CPD programming through its Sections. But did you know that CBA Alberta currently has 65 Sections? These Sections focus on over 40 different substantive areas of law as well as on particular groups who may have common CPD needs such as articling students, law students and young lawyers. You can find more information about CBA Alberta’s Sections here.

There are lots of ways for you to get involved with CBA Alberta’s Sections. Attending Section meetings is just the beginning. Here are some examples of how you might include some of the most common types of Section involvement in your CPD Plan:

  1. If you attend a Section meeting virtually or in person:
    Domain 2: Continuous Improvement
    Competency 2.2: Cultivate a growth mindset
    Learning Activity: Attend organization or association meetings or events
  2. If you watch a video recording of a Section meeting:
    Domain 2: Continuous Improvement
    Competency 2.2: Cultivate a growth mindset
    Learning Activity: Watch a video
  3. If you are a member of a Section Executive:
    Domain 7: Professional Contributions
    Competency 7.2: Enhance the administration of justice
    Learning Activity: Volunteer
  4. If you organize a Section meeting:
    Domain 7: Professional Contributions
    Competency 7.2: Enhance the administration of justice
    Learning Activity: Plan and host a learning event for your firm or organization
  5. If you deliver a presentation to a Section:
    Domain 7: Professional Contributions
    Competency 7.2: Enhance the administration of justice
    Learning Activity: Teach a conference, course or seminar

These are just some of the ways that you can include CBA Alberta’s Sections in your annual CPD Plan. Remember, just like your Section involvement, your CPD Plan is unique to you so tailor it to fit your personal learning needs and professional goals.

Let me leave you with one final thought. After you have submitted your CPD Plan on October 1, the CPD Tool allows you to track your CPD progress throughout the year. This means that you can regularly add details to your CPD Plan about your completed Section learning activities, such as Section meeting topics and meeting dates. Having all of this information readily available in your CPD Plan will come in handy when the following year’s CPD planning period rolls around. It will also be helpful if your CPD Plan is selected for the LSA’s CPD Plan review process.

Thanks for reading. If you have questions or want to provide feedback, please send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!