All attorneys should carefully read the Continuing Competence guidance which sets out the requirements which have now been in place since 1 July 2023. The guidance explains how to approach maintaining competence through regular self-evaluation and development. The guidance also provides some template record examples attorneys can use or adapt for their own use, as well as 'real-life' examples of records submitted by attorneys who participated in the 2024 thematic review (see below).
You can access the webinar on Continuing Competence IPReg held with CITMA and CIPA on 21 September 2023, here.
Do I need to submit my CPD records?
When attorneys come to complete their annual return in order to renew their registration for the following year, they will be asked to make a Continuing Competence Declaration. They will need to confirm that they have:
- reflected on their practice over the course of the year
- identified learning or development needs or opportunities to embed their understanding of a particular area
- put in place steps to meet those needs or opportunities
- recorded what they have done.
IPReg will not require attorneys to upload evidence that they have reflected on their practice, but as part of our assurance processes we will ask some attorneys to provide their records to us from time to time. The purpose of this is to understand how well attorneys are undertaking the process, identify whether there are any obstacles in place preventing attorneys from complying with the requirements and sharing best practice across the professions more widely.
Continuing Competence Thematic Review 2024
In 2024 we conducted an independent thematic review to look at how well the requirements, in place from 1 July 2023, had been understood and followed. You can read the report and IPReg's response on the Continuing Competence page.