Continuing professional development (CPD) or continuing competence as the SRA terms it, is an essential part of being a lawyer. The SRA and the firm require that you are competent to practise the type of law on which you advise and you are conversant with the legal and ethical rules.
All lawyers in Keystone must be legal experts in what they practise and keep themselves at that level, or, in the case of those who have not yet attained that level of knowledge, they must be supervised appropriately by a subject matter expert. No Keystone lawyer may practise in an area in which they are not a true subject expert.
All lawyers in the firm must be conversant with the SRA Code for firms, and all solicitors must be conversant with their ethical obligations. This includes the SRA Code for solicitors and the attendant guidance, of which there is substantial amount. For this reason, the firm has a sophisticated compliance offering and you will receive email updates on changes to applicable regulatory rules. Further, the Compliance team are there to answer your questions and your first port of call is our General Counsel.
You are required to undertake such CPD as you think you need in order to remain competent. You must reflect on your competence and practice, and you must keep a written record of both your CPD and your reflections. All solicitors give an annual competence declaration as to their practice and their regulatory obligations when they renew their practising certificate. Accordingly, any failure to remain competent and to keep records becomes an honesty offence, and thus a very serious matter.
The SRA has put together a toolkit on continuing competence (see here), including these templates for record keeping https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/resources/continuing-competence/templates/. We have produced our own Continuing Competence Policy which links back to that SRA guidance. If you feel that the SRA templates are difficult to use, the firm offers a simpler alternative. However, note that whatever recording method is used, compliance with the SRA's continuing competence requirements remains your responsibility.
Our alternative approach is as follows:
Part 1 - Recording learning and development activity
You may use the SRA's continuing competence templates or any other form of written record you consider appropriate. A simple and acceptable approach is to retain copies of relevant know-how updates, articles, training materials, webinar notes and similar resources together with your comments on them. In practice, this can be done by emailing yourself the relevant material together with a brief note recording what you learned, how it assisted your practice and any follow-up action required. These records should be retained in an Outlook folder marked "CPD" (which you will need to set up for this purpose).
Examples of relevant learning and development materials may include know-how updates from PLC, barristers' chambers, Lexology, legal publishers, professional bodies and other commentators in your area of practice. You should also keep records of learning and development arising from ethical, regulatory and practice management materials, including updates and guidance received from the firm's Risk and Compliance Team, the SRA, the Law Society and other relevant sources.
Part 2 - Ongoing reflection
You may use the SRA's reflection templates or any other form of written record you consider appropriate. From time to time, and at least annually, reflect on the work you undertake, how you keep your knowledge and skills up to date, whether your current approach remains sufficient and whether any additional learning and development needs have arisen.
This reflection may be recorded informally, for example by email or file note.
Part 3 - Annual Continuing Competence Review
Each year, complete the firm's Continuing Competence Review Template. The review should take account of your area of practice, relevant legal, regulatory and ethical developments, learning and development undertaken during the year, feedback received and any future learning and development needs identified. The review may be completed manually or with appropriate AI assistance, but you remain responsible for ensuring that its contents are accurate, complete and reflects your own circumstances.