SRA LEGAL LEARNING

UPDATE

The Start of the Journey ……..

Introduction The Legal Education Review began in 2011

It had involvement from SRA, BSB and IPS

Most substantial review of legal education since the ‘Ormrod Report’ in 1971

Primary objective – to ensure that England & Wales legal education & training system delivers more than the regulatory objectives in LSA 2007

To ensure an independent, strong, diverse & effective legal profession.

Final report was delivered June 2013

Key Findings

Broken down into 3 key areas:-

Quality

Access and mobility

Flexibility

Quality

Strengthen requirements for training in following areas:-

legal ethics

values & professionalism

develop management skills

communication skills

equality & diversity

Access and mobility Establish professional standards for

internships & work experience

Increase opportunities for career progression within paralegal work, by encouraging bodies to work together to create a common set of standards

Provide greater information on the range of legal careers and the realities

Support & monitor higher apprenticeships as a non-graduate pathway

Flexibility Encourage regulators to co-operate in

setting outcomes to ensure baseline standards

Clarify systems for accreditation of prior learning and how to transfer between professional routes to avoid unnecessary barriers

Remove training requirements which restrict innovative and flexible pathways to qualification

SRA’s ReactionCharles Plant, Chair of the Board, said:

"Our programme of reforms to education and training will be driven by three overarching aims:

that clients and the public should have the highest confidence in the quality and integrity of legal services;

that organisations providing legal services should be able to employ lawyers with the skills needed to deliver those

services;

and that people with the ability to practise law, whatever their background, should be able to obtain the education

and training they need in a way which encourages excellence and diversity."

The next step …..SRA released the “Training for Tomorrow” report in Oct 2013 and began a consultation process. The key objectives being;

Rigorous - to ensure that those subject to it uphold the highest ethical standards and have the necessary competence to deliver safe, ethical, good quality legal services

Relevant - to produce lawyers with the right skills to deliver those services

Flexible - to recognise the range of backgrounds and experiences of the individuals subject to it and to enable legal education and training to respond to the fast pace of change in legal services markets, and

Inspires the confidence of consumers, the public, the courts and employers

CPD Requirements – 3 Options

1. Shift from set hours to rely on provisions in the handbook in relation to training and supervision

2. Replace current CPD scheme with mandatory requirement to reflect on practice and start using development plans without mandatory hours

3. Retain current requirement to do a minimum number of hours but relate it to legal area and a wider range of development activities

May 2014 SRA release “Training for Tomorrow : A new approach to continuing competence”

Competency Statement

Released Oct 2014

ethical behaviour

technical skills (drafting, negotiating, researching),

management of work (planning, prioritising, record keeping)

working and communicating with other people

Have your say ….

Consultation period on the Competency Statement ends 12 January 2015

http://www.sra.org.uk/sra/policy/training-for-tomorrow/Resources/cpd-position-statement-q-a.page

Things to Think About

Firms & Solicitors need to show they have considered learning and development needs

Training Needs Analysis considering the 4 areas

Show they have taken appropriate steps to address them

Keeping records – CPD reflective log / firm-wide system for recording should you have an audit

Timescales

1 November 2014 We will cease to recognise accredited training Spring 2015 Publication of a toolkit outlining good practice in learning and

development and a Competence Statement defining the competences practising solicitors are required to maintain

1 April 2015 Solicitors can move to the new approach to continuing competence

Changes to the Handbook to embed the Competence Statement as one requirement for solicitors for compliance with Principle 5 (providing a proper standard of service)

October 2015 Practising Certificate Renewal Exercise for the 2013/14 CPD year 1 November 2016 The current CPD Regulations will be removed from the SRA's Handbook

and the Handbook will be amended to reflect the new approach to continuing competence. Solicitors must move to the new approach

Thanks for coming