An Assessment Developer is a lawyer who is experienced in a practice area (Business Law, Criminal Law and/or Family Law) who will work with CPLED staff to develop simulated learning experiences that achieve the skill development required for students to be called to the Bars in Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Saskatchewan. Assessment Developers will work with CPLED to set the foundation of a meaningful learning experience for future lawyers.

We are seeking lawyers with five or more years of experience who can work with CPLED staff to develop simulated learning experiences for students. These simulations will be used during the final assessment of PREP, the Capstone. During the Capstone students will need to demonstrate their skills and competencies in one final simulated transaction. They will complete tasks demonstrating their competence in interviewing, negotiation, oral advocacy, legal writing, legal drafting, research as well as decision-making, providing their client with ethical and professional representation and using the appropriate case management and technical tools to guide their work.

Assessment Developers will suggest and develop legal matters, at a level of complexity that is reasonable for a lawyer new to the profession, which includes common legal tasks such as interviewing, researching, writing, drafting, negotiation and advocacy. CPLED staff will work alongside Assessment Developers to provide training, guidance, instructional design, editing and implementation. Interested applicants are required to commit to working between 50 and 75 hours.

Qualifications and skills

• Subject matter expert in one of the practice areas
• Practised in Alberta, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, and/or Saskatchewan for a minimum of five years

Technology requirements

Assessment Developers must have access to a computer with Microsoft Word and a reliable internet connection. If you are interested in applying for this role, complete the application form.

An Assessment Reviewer is a lawyer who is experienced in a practice area (Business Law, Criminal Law and/or Family Law) who will work with CPLED staff to review simulated learning experiences that achieve the skill development required for students to be called to the Bars in Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Saskatchewan. We are seeking lawyers with five or more years of experience who can work with CPLED staff to review simulated learning experiences for students.

These simulations will be used during the final assessment of PREP, the Capstone. During the Capstone students will need to demonstrate their skills and competencies in one final simulated transaction. They will complete tasks demonstrating their competence in interviewing, negotiation, oral advocacy, legal writing, legal drafting, research as well as decision-making, providing their client with ethical and professional representation and using the appropriate case management and technical tools to guide their work.

Assessment Reviewers will review the developed simulations for legal accuracy, currency, instructional design and jurisdictional differences. This position is not expected to simply review the simulations from a copy edit perceptive but will be reviewing for missed legal issues, instructional clarity and level of complexity. CPLED staff will work with Assessment Reviewers to provide training and guidance. Interested applicants are required to commit to working between 25 and 38 hours.

Qualifications and skills

• Subject matter expert in one of the practice areas
• Practised in Alberta, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, and/or Saskatchewan for a minimum of five years

Technology requirements

Assessment Reviewers must have access to a computer with Microsoft Word and a reliable internet connection. If you are interested in applying for this role, complete the application form.

Foundation Workshop Facilitators will work in pairs to guide a cohort of students (maximum 32) during large and small group discussions and facilitate student activities during interactive workshops. Please note workshops may be delivered at in-person sessions or online. The facilitators will provide oversight to the students, encouraging professional behaviour and active participation and engagement by all students in workshop activities and discussions. Facilitators do not need to be experts in all skills covered over the week.

Before the session, CPLED will provide facilitators with workshop training and with detailed Facilitator and Student Handbooks that will guide the various workshop activities. Facilitators are required to develop an intimate knowledge of both the Facilitator and Student Handbooks. It is imperative that the facilitator adhere, and ensure students adhere, to the workshop schedule and cover the requisite content. Facilitators are not required to be experts in all skills covered over the week. Facilitators may commit to attending an entire one-week session, or a portion thereof.  

Qualifications and skills

• Practised in Alberta, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut and/or Saskatchewan for a minimum of five years
• Facilitation skills

Compensation

Foundation Workshop Facilitators will be compensated $1,000 CAD/day.

Training  Foundation Workshop Facilitators will be required to attend a two and a half-hour training session in September 2020 and work will begin in mid-October 2020. Please note training will not be compensated but is a requirement for the position.

Technology requirements

• Reliable high-speed internet connection
• A computer with a camera and microphone

If you are interested in applying for this role, complete the application form.

The Virtual Law Firm Assessor (Business Law Assessor, Criminal Law Assessor, Family Law and Real Estate Assessor) is a lawyer who can assess student assignments during the Virtual Law Firm phase of PREP. Assessors do not need to be experienced in a particular practice area or practice within the jurisdiction of the students to which they are assessing.

The Virtual Law Firm rotations will require students to manage simulated client files for their fictional supervising lawyers. These deliverables may take the form of video recorded advocacy, interviews, negotiations, written correspondence, memorandums, contracts, or court documents. Students will upload their assignments to the online learning environment, D2L and assessors will use a competency-based rubric to mark the assignments and to provide developmental feedback to students. 

CPLED will train assessors on the rubrics and provision of constructive feedback. As part of the training, assessors will assess sample assignments, which will be benchmarked to ensure consistency. CPLED uses an online plagiarism program to detect potential breaches of academic integrity.

Qualifications and skills

• Practised in Alberta, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut and/or Saskatchewan for a minimum of five years

Compensation

Each rotation of the Virtual Law Firm has a different time commitment and a different number of assignments that require assessment. Virtual Firm Assessors must commit to assessing a minimum of five students per Virtual Law Firm rotation and will be compensated as follows:

• Business Law rotation $150/student
• Criminal Law rotation $150/student
• Family Law and Real Estate $240/student

Training

Virtual Law Firm Assessors will be required to attend a one and a half-hour orientation session as well as the calibration session for each rotation of the Virtual Law Firm they will be assessing. Please note that training and calibration sessions will not be compensated but are requirements for the position.

Technology requirements

• Access to a computer with a reliable high-speed internet connection 

If you are interested in applying for this role, complete the application form.

The Practice Manager is a lawyer who can commit to following a group of students (minimum of five) over a three-month period during which they complete their Virtual Law Firm practice rotations. The Practice Manager will perform two functions: assessing students’ practice management skills and acting as a coach/mentor. In the assessment function, the

Practice Manager will review the students’ practice management tasks (conflict checks, diary dates, etc.) to ensure they have been completed. CPLED uses Clio Legal Software for practice management. As a coach and mentor, Practice Managers will review the results of students’ assessments from their Virtual Law Firm assignments and monitor students’ self-management skills (time-management, interpersonal communication, etc.).

Practice Managers will conduct a thirty-minute video call with each student during each Virtual Law Firm rotation to answer questions, provide constructive feedback and advice, and help students to reflect on their performance and plan for continued competency development, focusing on areas of concern. CPLED will train practice managers on the use of Clio Legal Software and the student assessment processes.

Qualifications and skills

• Required to devote 3 hours/student over 3 months
• Experienced in formal/informal mentoring of young lawyers
• Practised in Alberta, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut and/or Saskatchewan for a minimum of five years

Compensation

Practice Managers will be compensated $225/student for all three 30-minute mentoring sessions throughout the Virtual Law Firm rotations. 

Training Practice Managers will be required to attend an hour and a half online orientation session before they are eligible to meet with students. Please note that training will not be compensated but is a requirement for the position.

Technology requirements

• Reliable high-speed internet connection 
• A computer with a camera and microphone 

If you are interested in applying for this role, complete the application form.

Capstone Assessors will assess assignments completed by students during the final phase of PREP, the Capstone assessment. The Capstone assessment is a four-day session where students will work through a simulation that may follow one or multiple matters.

Some Capstone Assessors will attend portions of the Capstone assessment to observe and assess students’ oral skills such as interviewing, negotiation and advocacy. Others will assess students’ written submissions using CPLED’s online learning platform, D2L. CPLED will train assessors on the rubrics and provision of constructive feedback. As part of the training, assessors will assess sample assignments, which will be benchmarked to ensure consistency. 

Qualifications and skills

• Practised in Alberta, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut and/or Saskatchewan for a minimum of five years
• Must have been an assessor for at least one Virtual Law Firm rotation

Compensation

Capstone Assessors will be compensated $30/assessment.

Training Capstone Assessors will be required to attend an hour orientation session as well as the calibration session(s) for the Capstone scenario they will be assessing for. Please note that orientation and calibration sessions will not be compensated but are requirements for the position.

Technology requirements

• A computer with a reliable high-speed internet connection 
• Oral assessors also require a camera and microphone

If you are interested in applying for this role, complete the application form.

Students who participate in PREP will have opportunities to practice, develop competence and be assessed in client interviewing. CPLED will train individuals to participate as standardized, simulated clients who will be interviewed by students in both video interviews and face-to-face interviews.

CPLED will also train simulated clients to score student performance according to a standardized competency-based rubric. Simulated clients participate in high-stakes student assessments and must commit to dates of training and assessment, as well as fulfilling the client-role in a standardized manner.

Qualifications and skills

• Strong communication skills
• Ability to follow detailed instructions and reproduce simulation consistently
• Ability to memorize scenarios
• Accepts constructive feedback and adjusts accordingly
• Reliable, courteous and professional

Compensation

Simulated clients will be compensated $25/student.

Training

Simulated clients will be required to attend an online multi-day (18 hours) training session in the fall of 2020 and work will begin in early November. Training time will be compensated at $20/hour. Interested applicants must be available to work on the following days:

• Sunday, November 8 to Sunday, November 15, 2020
• Monday, February 1 to Sunday, February 7, 2021
• Monday, March 15, 2021
• Monday, March 22, 2021
• Monday, March 29, 2021

Technology requirements

• Reliable high-speed internet connection 
• A computer with a camera and microphone 

If you are interested in applying for this role, complete the application form. To maintain the integrity of PREP, please note that current, former and future PREP students will not be considered for this role.