The Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education (CPLED) is excited to announce enhancements to the Practice Readiness Education Program (PREP) and Accelerated PREP content for the 2024 programs.

As the practice of law evolves, so too must the Bar admission program to ensure candidates are prepared with the necessary competencies to enter the practice of law. Since launching PREP in 2020, CPLED has engaged with past PREP Candidates, Principals, firms, and law societies to identify potential skill gaps experienced by lawyers who have been called to the Bar in the last five years. Based on the feedback and data gathered, CPLED has made several enhancements to the program’s content for 2024 delivery. These changes were made to improve the learning experience for PREP Candidates and better prepare them for their Capstone assessment.

The CPLED Content team and external Canadian lawyer contractors have been working tirelessly to launch these changes for the 2024 programs. The enhancements include revisions and updates to the competency framework, interactive practice scenarios, and additional opportunities for candidates to receive feedback from experienced lawyers.

What do these enhancements mean to upcoming PREP Candidates?

PREP Candidates enrolling in a 2024 program will still be required to complete the four phases of PREP or Accelerated PREP: three educational phases (Foundation Modules, Foundation Workshops and Virtual Law Firm) and the Capstone Assessment.

The Foundation Modules consist of 12 online self-directed learning modules that provide PREP Candidates with a foundation for all PREP competencies. They will complete quizzes, activities, assignments and reflections throughout the Foundation Modules. CPLED estimates that this phase will take approximately 150 hours to complete.

The Foundation Workshops are where PREP Candidates will come together in a live virtual classroom environment to interact in small groups and with trained Facilitators who are lawyers with over five years of experience. During the five-day Foundation Workshops, they will practice role-playing in interviewing, negotiating, and advocacy, workshop written skills and discuss ethical, client relationship management and practice management scenarios. As a result of significant research on the topic of lawyer well-being, workshops will now take place within one week for approximately six hours per day, a reduction of two to three hours from previous years.

During the Virtual Law Firm phase, PREP Candidates will work through legal matters during three rotations comprised of three business areas: business law, criminal law and family law. They will manage multiple aspects of a legal file throughout its life cycle in the online environment. Completing and submitting various deliverables during each rotation, such as Simulated Client interviews, oral advocacy, negotiation, legal writing, research, legal drafting, ethics and client relationship management, and meeting with their Practice Manager. All while receiving feedback and coaching from experienced lawyers on the development of their competencies.

In the final phase of PREP, the Capstone Assessment PREP Candidates will demonstrate their skills and competencies in one final simulated legal matter. They will complete tasks over four days (6.5 hours each day), demonstrating their competence in decision-making, providing their client with ethical and professional representation, and using appropriate practice management to guide their work.

CPLED recognizes that each PREP Candidate has their own unique learning style, pace and personal commitments. That is why we offer two distinct Bar admission intakes that PREP Candidates can choose from when seeking to complete their Bar admission program requirement. Annually, we offer Accelerated PREP, a full-time Bar admission program that offers the educational phases from the end of May to August and the Capstone Assessment in September, and PREP, a part-time program that begins in June and concludes with the Capstone Assessment in March.

CPLED is confident that these enhancements will take PREP and Accelerated PREP to the next level and help PREP Candidates become more competent lawyers.