Solicitors (Continuing Professional Development) Regulations 2012.

• Statutory Instrument No.: 501/2012
• Published date: 14 December 2012

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 14th December, 2012.

The Law Society of Ireland in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Sections 5 and 40 (as amended by Section 49 of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1994 ) of the Solicitors Act 1954 and with the concurrence of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence hereby make the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1. (a) These Regulations may be cited as the Solicitors (Continuing Professional Development) Regulations 2012.

(b) These Regulations shall come into operation on the first day of January 2013 and thenceforth, subject to sub-clause (c) of this Regulation, the Solicitors (Continuing Professional Development) Regulations 2009 ( S.I. No. 452 of 2009 ) (“the 2009 Regulations”) shall stand revoked.

(c) The 2009 Regulations shall—

(i) in respect of an application to the Society by a solicitor for a practising certificate for all or any part of the practice year commencing on the first day of January 2013, insofar as it relates to the requirements of the 2009 Regulations to undertake at least thirteen hours of continuing professional development during the period commencing on the first day of January 2012 and ending on the thirty-first day of December 2012, and/or

(ii) in respect of any solicitor who prior to the date of coming into operation of these Regulations has become the subject matter of an investigation by the Education Committee or any inquiry by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal which is continuing as of the thirty-first day of December 2012 as to:

(I) the alleged breach of the requirements of the 2009 Regulations to undertake at least thirteen hours of continuing professional development during the period commencing on the first day of January 2012 and ending on the thirty-first day of December 2012; or

(II) the alleged breach of the requirements of the 2009 Regulations to undertake at least twelve hours of continuing professional development during the period commencing on the first day of January 2011 and ending on the thirty-first day of December 2011; or

(III) the alleged breach of the requirements of the 2009 Regulations to undertake at least eleven hours of continuing professional development during the period commencing on the first day of January 2010 and ending on the thirty-first day of December 2010; or

(IV) the alleged breach of the requirements of the Solicitors (Continuing Professional Development) Regulations 2007 ( S.I. No. 807 of 2007 ) (“the 2007 Regulations”) to undertake at least ten hours of continuing professional development during the period commencing on the first day of January 2009 and ending on the thirty-first day of December 2009; or

(V) the alleged breach of the requirements of the 2007 Regulations to undertake at least ten hours of continuing professional development during the period commencing on the first day of January 2008 and ending on the thirty-first day of December 2008; or

(VI) the alleged breach of the requirements of the Solicitors (Continuing Professional Development) Regulations 2003 ( S.I. No. 37 of 2003 ) to undertake at least twenty hours of continuing professional development during the period commencing on the first day of July 2003 and ending on the thirty-first day of December 2005 or during the period commencing on the first day of January 2006 and ending on the thirty-first day of December 2007

— remain in full force and effect.

Definitions

2. (a) In these Regulations:—

“continuing professional development” means further education or training (or both) to a solicitor, whether relating to law or to management and professional development skills, intended to develop the solicitor in his or her professional knowledge, skills and abilities, and may be referred to in common usage as “CPD”;

“Council” means the Council of the Society;

“e-learning” means the provision of education or training (or both) that is generated, communicated, processed, sent, received, recorded, stored and/or displayed by electronic means or in electronic form, and includes education or training (or both) provided through:

(i) the internet or other computer network connections, sound only or sound and vision formats, or a combination thereof;

(ii) the provision of an electronic file, a CD-Rom and/or a DVD;

(iii) other technologies or formats.

“Education Committee” means the education committee appointed annually by the Council;

“electronic” includes electrical, digital, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, biometric, photonic and any other form of related technology;

“first cycle” means the period from the first day of January 2013 until the thirty-first day of December 2013;

“group study” means an organised structured session of continuing professional development undertaken in a group of three or more persons that lasts for a period of not less than thirty minutes, whether undertaken by means of lecture, workshop, seminar, tutorial, video-conferenced lecture/tutorial or diploma or certificate course or in such other manner as may be more particularly defined and specified in the Scheme;

“management and professional development skills” includes education or training (or both) in any one or more of, or a combination of, the following areas:

(i) financial and business management,

(ii) practice management,

(iii) self-management,

(iv) client care,

(v) Irish or English language enhancement as it relates to the practice of law,

(vi) foreign language enhancement as it relates to the practice of law, as may be more particularly defined and specified in the Scheme;

“newly admitted solicitor” means a solicitor who has been admitted to the Roll for less than twelve months prior to the commencement of the first cycle or the second cycle or the third cycle;

“Regulation” means a regulation in these Regulations;

“regulatory matters” means matters relating to the Solicitors Acts 1954 to 2008 and regulations made thereunder, to the current Guide to Professional Conduct of Solicitors in Ireland, risk management, professional ethics, to the maintenance of standards and best practice in complying with regulatory obligations applicable to solicitors, to the processing of complaints against solicitors by the Society and to the functions of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and the Courts in relation to solicitors and decisions relating thereto;

“Roll” means the roll of solicitors maintained by the Society pursuant to section 9 (as substituted by section 65 of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1994 ) of the Solicitors Act 1954 ;

“senior practitioner” means a solicitor who has been admitted to the Roll for at least forty years as of the thirty-first day of December in the year immediately preceding the first cycle or the second cycle or the third cycle;

“Scheme” means the scheme of continuing professional development of the Society as...