Solicitors (Continuing Professional Development) Regulations 2017.
Statutory Instruments
Source: Statutory Instruments

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paragraphs: These Regulations shall apply to:
(a) a solicitor in the full-time service of the State; and
(b) a solicitor who holds a practising certificate in respect of all or any part of a practice year.
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paragraphs: A solicitor to whom Regulation 3 applies shall undertake continuing professional development during each practice year as provided for in Regulation 5 and the Scheme but subject, as may be applicable, to Regulation 6.
5. (a) The Society shall provide from time to time for a scheme of continuing professional development (“the Scheme”) to be undertaken by a solicitor during each practice year for such minimum number of hours within each practice year as is provided for in paragraph (b) of this Regulation and as fulfils the requirements provided for in paragraph (c) of this Regulation; the Scheme to be approved of from time to time by the Education Committee.
(b) A solicitor shall be required to undertake continuing professional development during each practice year for a minimum of twenty hours;
(c) A solicitor to whom these Regulations apply shall be required during each practice year to fulfil the following requirements:
(i) the requirement to undertake continuing professional development for a minimum of twenty hours shall comprise a minimum of three hours of management and professional development skills and a minimum of two hours of regulatory matters and may be completed by means of e-learning and/or group study and/or written relevant material,
(ii) Without prejudice to the generality of sub-paragraph (i) of this paragraph, a solicitor who is a sole practitioner or a compliance partner and/or an anti-money laundering compliance partner shall be required to undertake, as part of his or her obligations to undertake CPD during each practice year, at least three hours of regulatory matters of which at least two hours shall be accounting and anti-money laundering compliance.
(d) A solicitor required to undertake continuing professional development pursuant to these Regulations shall maintain a written record of the hours of continuing professional development undertaken by him or her (including written verification thereof) in order to demonstrate the solicitor’s compliance with these Regulations and the Scheme; and the Scheme shall provide for the form and content of such written record to be so maintained by the solicitor.
(e) The written record and written verification(s) to be maintained by a solicitor to verify his or her hours of continuing professional development, as provided for in paragraph (d) of this Regulation, shall be produced by the solicitor on being so requested by the Society.
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paragraphs: The requirements of Regulation 5 shall, subject to paragraph (g) of this Regulation, be modified in respect of the following categories of solicitor:—
(a) A newly admitted solicitor shall be exempt from the requirement to undertake continuing professional development for a period of twelve months commencing on the first day of the month immediately following the date of his or her admission to the Roll to the effect that his or her requirement to undertake continuing professional development during the practice year within which such period of twelve months expires, shall be proportionately or otherwise reduced, as may be more particularly defined and specified in the Scheme;
(b) A senior practitioner shall be required to undertake continuing professional development only for a maximum of three hours in each practice year following upon his or her attainment of at least forty years after his or her admission to the Roll;
(c) A solicitor who for reasons of maternity and/or parental and/or carers and/or adoptive leave, does not practise or ceases to practise as a solicitor in the course of a practice year for a period of not less than one week within any such practice year may, on due written certification to the Society of that fact, have his or her requirement to have undertaken continuing professional development during that particular practice year proportionately or otherwise reduced, as may be more particularly defined and specified in the Scheme;
(d) A solicitor who, for reasons of illness, retirement, unemployment or other substantive reasons, does not practise or ceases to practise as a solicitor in the course of a practice year for a period of not less than eight weeks within any such practice year may, on due written certification to the Society of that fact, have his or her requirement to have undertaken continuing professional development during that particular practice year proportionately or otherwise reduced, as may be more particularly defined and specified in the Scheme;
(e) A solicitor who holds a practising certificate or is in the full-time service of the State for part only of a practice year may, on due written certification to the Society of that fact, have his or her requirement to have undertaken continuing professional development during that particular practice year proportionately or otherwise reduced, as may be more particularly defined and specified in the Scheme; and
(f) A solicitor who engages in practice part-time in the course of a practice year may, on due written certification to the Society of that fact, have his or her requirement to have undertaken continuing professional development during that particular practice year proportionately or otherwise reduced, as may be more particularly defined and specified in the Scheme.
(g) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraphs (a) to (f) of this Regulation, a solicitor who is a sole practitioner or a compliance partner and/or an anti-money laundering compliance partner shall be required to undertake as all or part of his/her modified CPD obligations to undertake CPD during each practice year, at least three hours of regulatory matters, of which at least two hours shall be accounting and anti-money laundering compliance.
7. (a) A solicitor who makes application to the Society for a practising certificate for all or any part of a practice year shall, as part of such application and in such other manner as may be more particularly defined and specified in the Scheme, certify to the Society (and verify such certification, if so requested by the Society, by production of the written record and written verification(s) maintained pursuant to Regulation 5 (d)) the fact of the solicitor having undertaken continuing professional development during each practice year for a minimum of twenty hours, in accordance with Regulation 5 and the Scheme but subject, as may be applicable, to Regulation 6.
(b) A solicitor in the full-time service of the State shall, within two months following the end of a practice year, certify to the Society in such manner as may be more particularly defined and specified in the Scheme (and verify such certification, if so requested by the Society, by production of the written record and written verification(s) maintained pursuant to Regulation 5 (d)) the fact of the solicitor having undertaken continuing professional development during each practice year for a minimum of twenty hours, in accordance with Regulation 5 and the Scheme but subject, as may be applicable, to Regulation 6.
8. (a) Any breach of these Regulations may, upon due inquiry by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal pursuant to section 7 (as substituted by section 17 of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1994 and as amended by section 9 of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act 2002 ) of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1960 , be found by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal to be misconduct within the meaning of section 3 (as amended by section 24 of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1994 and by section 7 of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act 2002 ) of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1960 .
(b) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (a) of this Regulation and for the purpose of ensuring compliance with these Regulations, the Education Committee may investigate the alleged breach by a solicitor of these Regulations and, to that end, may in respect of the solicitor concerned:
(i) seek explanations from the solicitor,
(ii) call the solicitor to a meeting,
(iii) give directions to the solicitor, and/or
(iv) direct that the Society refer the matter to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal for inquiry.
(c) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (a) of this Regulation and in the course of ensuring compliance with these Regulations the Society (acting through the Education Committee) may determine that a solicitor, the subject of an investigation of an alleged breach of these Regulations, has in the course of the investigation refused, neglected or otherwise failed, without reasonable cause, to respond appropriately in a timely manner, or at all, to a written request from the Society and the Society have incurred costs in consequence of the refusal, neglect or failure and may require payment by the solicitor to the Society of a sum not exceeding €300 by way of contribution towards those costs and the solicitor shall comply with any such requirement.
(d) A determination under paragraph (c) of this Regulation shall not be made by the Society (acting through the Education Committee) unless the solicitor concerned has been duly notified by the Society in writing in advance that such a determination might subsequently be made if the solicitor continued to refuse or neglect or otherwise fail, without reasonable cause, to respond appropriately in a timely manner to the written request or requests already made to the solicitor by the Society in the course of its investigation of an alleged breach of these Regulations.
(e) The Society may recover from the solicitor concerned any sum the payment of which has been required by the Society to be paid under paragraph (c) of this Regulation as a liquidated debt payable to the Society.
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paragraphs: The Society may, in exceptional circumstances and subject to such conditions as the Society deem appropriate, modify any requirement or provision of these Regulations.