Speaking to Lawyers Weekly ahead of the end of month deadline for CPD requirements, Mr Harvey said that the past year has seen increased interest in “activity-based masterclasses and workshops”, meaning providers have to keep up with evolving demands for practitioner skill sets.

“I think a lot of lawyers appreciate the benefits of hands-on learning and want to use CPD to build their expertise on a specific topic or skill,” he mused.

“As a result, we have developed a number of practical and engaging masterclasses for our program, such as ‘Whistleblower protection laws in practice’, ‘Advocating at NCAT’ and ‘Migration law practice and procedure’, which provide lawyers with the opportunity to workshop ideas and build specific skills and knowledge.”

CPD courses have had to increase, he said, both in number and breadth so as to offer that hands-on learning that legal professionals need.

“This year we have offered more half-day Mandatory rule 6.1 courses containing a substantive law hour with a practice area or segment focus, so lawyers can hear from experts on legal issues and topics that are highly relevant to their practice,” he outlined.

“Our program also includes several exciting new hot topic sessions, such as an event panel on emerging issues in school law which will feature Judge Peter Johnstone, president of the Children’s Court of NSW. We are also recording select courses and uploading them onto our LawInform platform faster than ever before, so practitioners have the ability to purchase these courses to view on-demand.”

The Law Society of NSW’s February-March 2020 CPD program is “one of the largest we have ever offered”, Mr Harvey noted, with more than 50 face-to-face courses plus a number of webinars and new videocasts.

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“Our program includes a combination of workshops, masterclasses and hot topic sessions, as well as full-day intensives and numerous session times of our popular Mandatory rule 6.1 course covering the mandatory CPD knowledge areas,” he said.

However, even with such a broader offering, age-old challenges remain in getting lawyers to undertake their educational requirements, Mr Harvey ceded.

“We recognise that lawyers are busy people and that it is not always possible for them to attend one of our courses in person, particularly for our regional and rural practitioners. This was a key driver in recording our most popular courses and promptly making them available as on-demand videocasts, including both our property law one day intensive and our elder law, wills & estates one day intensive,” he explained.

“Practitioners are also increasingly aware of the impact that exposure to trauma can have, on both themselves and their clients, in their day-to-day practice. In response, this March we have partnered with Blue Knot Foundation to present two half-day courses, one on trauma-informed practice and the other on vicarious trauma.”

For those prone to leaving things to the last minute, Mr Harvey said that sessions are soon to sell out, and thus practitioners should jump onboard promptly.

“Alternatively, jump online and choose from our online CPD library,” he said.

“And, as the Law Society of NSW considers its response to the challenges arising from COVID-19, we are also working to clarify requirements for continuing professional development (CPD) given the 31 March 2020 CPD deadline. We understand that the COVID-19 situation could restrict assembly and face-to-face program delivery so we are considering what options are available and further information will be communicated to the profession as it comes to hand,” he added.

Broadly, he submitted that this year’s program has “received excellent feedback”.

“I really think that attendees enjoy coming to the Law Society building – and appreciate the sense of membership and collegiality that comes with learning from respected experts alongside your peers,” he surmised.

Looking ahead, CPD offerings will have to continually evolve in accordance with workplace and marketplace needs, Mr Harvey said.

“It’s really about continuing to deliver innovative and relevant CPD that meets the needs of our members and the legal profession. We are also preparing for our three major conferences later in the year; the Specialist Accreditation Conference, the Government Solicitors Conference and the Rural Issues Conference – which meet the needs of specific segments of the profession,” he concluded.