September 10, 2024Back to Latest

If you are a new lawyer looking to enhance basic competencies that will help you in your legal practice, our brand-new Practice Fundamentals Program (the Program) might be for you.

The Law Society of Alberta and the Legal Education Society of Alberta (LESA), along with other subject matter experts, developed the Program to provide consistency in fundamental skills for lawyers early in their careers. Check out our animated video for a quick overview of the Program.

The Program is geared toward new lawyers who gained active status with the Law Society in January 2024 or later. These lawyers can access the Program at no cost, as we hope that by removing financial barriers more new lawyers will take advantage of this valuable learning opportunity.

Select courses from the new Program can also benefit other lawyers who might be returning to practice, or those who simply want to refresh their knowledge or explore new areas of interest. For these lawyers, the cost is minimal to take select individual Program courses.

How to Register and What to Expect

New lawyers can register for the Program on the LESA website and more experienced lawyers can purchase individual courses. Before accessing Program courses, you will need to create a LESA.org account.

The Program will be gradually rolled out over the next several years with new courses added each year. Beginning in September 2024, the courses offered are as follows:

Legal Practice

• Effective Legal Writing (3-hour live virtual workshop in November 2024; registration now open with limited enrolment)
• Drafting Effective Contracts (2-hour self-study course)
• Drafting Effective Pleadings and Affidavits (2-hour self-study course)
• Drafting Effective Legal Memos and Letters (2-hour self-study course)

Professional Conduct

• Introduction to the Code of Conduct (2-hour self-study course)
• Civility and Building Relationships (1-hour live webinar in March 2025; registration now open)

Practice Management

• Effective Time and Email Management (3-hour series of recorded webinars)

Courses are delivered in a variety of formats, including self-directed learning, webinars and workshops. Each course takes between one to three hours to complete and all courses are delivered online so lawyers anywhere in Alberta have equal access. Live virtual workshop access is restricted to only new lawyers and will be capped to support effective delivery.

Continuing Professional Development

The Program is intended to be practice-area neutral, so the courses are relevant to lawyers who practice in a variety of settings. The Practice Fundamentals Program is an easy and effective way for new lawyers to meet their Continuing Professional Development (CPD) obligations. Course content aligns with the Professional Development Profile, which sets the foundation for CPD in Alberta. This makes the Program a seamless fit when planning CPD learning activities.

Accessibility

The Program is built on the LearnDash platform and has been developed in accordance with the LearnDash accessibility guidelines. For optimal accessibility, we recommend using the Chrome browser. Accessibility questions or feedback on how we can improve equal access to this website can be directed to LESA at info@lesa.org.

Further Information

The Law Society website has more information about the Practice Fundamentals Program, including why the Program was developed and how it ties into the CPD program. The LESA website has full details on how to register for and access the Program, as well as additional benefits new lawyers can receive by registering.