The UK has requirements that their solicitors who are practicing must have continuing education so that they can be up to date on the latest changes in the law. This regulation is called the CPD (continuing professional development) Scheme and it means that they are required to take at least ten hours of development courses in the first two cycles in order for them to continue in practice.

These requirements involve taking “Management and Professional Development Skills” classes as well as group study classes. The solicitors must take these classes in cycles, in the first two cycles they are required ten hours but in the next cycle the amount will increase to group study at 15 hours and “Management and Professional Skills” for another four hours.

The UK, in the past allowed a solicitor to take their hours in private study, however since the new regulations this is no longer an option. They however do allow a solicitor to acquire these hours through e-learning venues for up to two hours of CPD per cycle. There is an exception to this rule, and that is where the solicitor writes articles for use in law periodicals and in law school textbooks, which will account for up to two hours of the CPD education requirement.

A solicitor must take some of this requirement in a group study session in which three or more solicitors are learning together for thirty or more minutes. The class must be verifiable and it must be either in the form of a seminar, video conference, lecture, workshop, and tutorial or certificate program. It may also be run by one of the different firms, the bar association or a law society.  Credit is given only for the actual hours of contact which means breaks and registration does not count toward the hours.

There is also a requirement for proof of attendance that must be provided as evidence that must be submitted to meet the compliance of the training regulation. When a solicitor takes part in one of these group studies as a delegate (instructor), he or she will receive an additional one-quarter of the hours needed to meet their CPD requirement. In addition if that solicitor leads the lecture or the tutorial they will get up to 4 hours of time toward this requirement.

Since one of the biggest problems most solicitors have, they are required to take at the very least three hours in the “management and professional skills” class every cycle. These classes teach ethics, business management, financial management, budgeting, computer education and legal language skills as well as human resources so that a new solicitor knows how to deal with employees. This list is just some of the topics that this class will teach a solicitor to prepare them to give clients the best service imaginable.