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Dr Vanessa Davies explains how and why the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) scheme for established barristers is changing in January
A constant commitment to update knowledge and skills is a hallmark of being a professional. In the words of Alistair Hodge, advocacy trainer at Inner Temple:
‘As with any other profession, the Bar must deliver, and be seen to be delivering, the best service to its clients and only the continual refreshing of skills and knowledge can achieve this.’
We at the Bar Standards Board (BSB) believe that CPD is not just about keeping up-to-date with changes in the law – although that is obviously vital. As your career or practice develops, so do your other developmental needs. Under the old CPD scheme, some types of valid training needs were not recognised. For example, all barristers have a responsibility and a regulatory requirement to make sure that their practice is efficiently managed. This could and does give rise to a range of development needs such as management training or increased knowledge of financial management.
However, under the outgoing CPD scheme, you would not have been permitted to count this type of training towards your CPD. We think that was wrong. This is just one reason why…
We believe our new scheme will be better for barristers and better for the public, whose interests we must have at the heart of everything that we do. Key improvements within the new CPD scheme include the following:
We intend to work closely with the profession. We want to support you and to help you comply. And importantly, we intend to use disciplinary sanctions only as a last resort.
There are four stages of the new CPD scheme. These are explained briefly below and shown within the graphic (see right):
Please refer to the BSB website for more detail on how the scheme will operate.
I acknowledge that the new scheme may take barristers, and indeed the BSB, a little while to get used to. But I am confident that, with time, we will all see its advantages.
We have been developing the new scheme for over two years. There has been extensive consultation with the Bar, and a trial of the new scheme took place in 2015 involving 76 barristers. The model that we are adopting is also similar to those used in other professions.
My team and I have been travelling the country over the past few months to explain the new CPD scheme to as many of you as possible. Your feedback has enabled us to refine our guidance. The finalised guidance will be available on our website from December, together with some model plans and worked examples of the sort of records we are asking you to keep.
Our emphasis will always be on helping you to comply with the new scheme and not to issue immediate sanctions for failure. Please do not hesitate to contact us for advice and assistance: email cpdrecords@barstandardsboard.org.uk.
Contributor Dr Vanessa Davies, Director General of the Bar Standards Board
‘As with any other profession, the Bar must deliver, and be seen to be delivering, the best service to its clients and only the continual refreshing of skills and knowledge can achieve this.’
We at the Bar Standards Board (BSB) believe that CPD is not just about keeping up-to-date with changes in the law – although that is obviously vital. As your career or practice develops, so do your other developmental needs. Under the old CPD scheme, some types of valid training needs were not recognised. For example, all barristers have a responsibility and a regulatory requirement to make sure that their practice is efficiently managed. This could and does give rise to a range of development needs such as management training or increased knowledge of financial management.
However, under the outgoing CPD scheme, you would not have been permitted to count this type of training towards your CPD. We think that was wrong. This is just one reason why…
We believe our new scheme will be better for barristers and better for the public, whose interests we must have at the heart of everything that we do. Key improvements within the new CPD scheme include the following:
We intend to work closely with the profession. We want to support you and to help you comply. And importantly, we intend to use disciplinary sanctions only as a last resort.
There are four stages of the new CPD scheme. These are explained briefly below and shown within the graphic (see right):
Please refer to the BSB website for more detail on how the scheme will operate.
I acknowledge that the new scheme may take barristers, and indeed the BSB, a little while to get used to. But I am confident that, with time, we will all see its advantages.
We have been developing the new scheme for over two years. There has been extensive consultation with the Bar, and a trial of the new scheme took place in 2015 involving 76 barristers. The model that we are adopting is also similar to those used in other professions.
My team and I have been travelling the country over the past few months to explain the new CPD scheme to as many of you as possible. Your feedback has enabled us to refine our guidance. The finalised guidance will be available on our website from December, together with some model plans and worked examples of the sort of records we are asking you to keep.
Our emphasis will always be on helping you to comply with the new scheme and not to issue immediate sanctions for failure. Please do not hesitate to contact us for advice and assistance: email cpdrecords@barstandardsboard.org.uk.
Contributor Dr Vanessa Davies, Director General of the Bar Standards Board
Dr Vanessa Davies explains how and why the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) scheme for established barristers is changing in January
A constant commitment to update knowledge and skills is a hallmark of being a professional. In the words of Alistair Hodge, advocacy trainer at Inner Temple:
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