Professional Development

by Patricia Jordan

The Canadian Bar Association (CBA), on a National and Provincial level, offers Professional Development (PD) opportunities to members through CBA National CLE programs, conferences, seminars, Sections, teleconferences and webinars. The CBA is an approved education provider sanctioned by the Law Society of British Columbia to deliver accredited PD that meets the mandatory annual requirement.

Professional Development Reporting Hours
Effective January 1, 2009, all Law Society members are required to report their PD hours every year. As a service to CBA members, we automatically record your attendance at Section meetings and other CBA PD events when you sign-in at the meeting or register for a CBA PD event. Our online printable record of your PD hours makes it easy for you to check your record, and to see if you have completed your mandatory 12 hours of PD which includes two hours of the ethics/practice management requirement. Your online PD Report is available at cba.org/bc in “Professional Development Report” under “Professional Development.”

Sections/Fora
Sections are designed to meet the educational, advocacy and professional needs of lawyers. Section membership provides you with an excellent means to enhance your legal expertise, network and contribute to your profession. Many Section meetings are available by teleconference and webinar, making it easier for you to attend remotely. The CBA offers its members 70 B.C. Provincial Sections and 32 National Sections that are organized according to specific areas of law. Section members have online access to meeting notices, minutes, executive contact information and more at cba.org/bc in “Sections” under “Professional Development.” Enrolment in Sections is a great way to satisfy the Law Society’s minimum expectation for Professional Development.

Special-interest groups are also an excellent resource for PD. The Canadian Bar Association, British Columbia Branch Women Lawyers Forum (WLF) promotes the stature and interests of women in the legal profession through programs for education, mentoring and networking. The CBA National WLF provides a forum for sharing resources with other legal jurisdictions, organizations of professional women and women in the judiciary.

Listservs
Provincial Section listservs are available for Administrative Law, Business Law, Civil Litigation, Criminal Justice, Employment Law, Family Law, Immigration Law, Labour Law, Law Practice Management, Real Property/Commercial Real Estate, Wills and Trusts, Young Lawyers and the Woman Lawyers Forum. Section listservs are available to any Section where 20 or more members express an interest to participate. Section members are encouraged to contact their Section’s Chair to suggest the creation of a listserv. CBA National Section listservs include Alternate Dispute Resolution, Citizenship and Immigration Law, Elder Law, Privacy Law and Sexual Orientation and Gender Identify Conference.

Did You Know?

• There were 1,181,015 visits to cba.org/bc or an average of 3,226 per day in 2008.
• In 2008, employment ads were downloaded 156,748 times, a 48 per cent increase since 2007.

Patricia Jordan is the CBABC Web Manager. She welcomes your comments, questions and suggestions. Tel: 604-646-7861; E-mail: pjordan@bccba.org.

This article was published in the April 2009 issue of BarTalk. © 2009 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.