This Friday will mark the middle of March, already. Along with another year starting to skip by at an alarming rate, it also means the end of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) year.

LawInform, our online platform for all your CPD needs, has a stimulating and enriching variety of courses for those who set time aside in this part of the year to complete their annual CPD requirements.

These high-quality courses, all led by experts in their fields, represent excellent value for members and include quality Mandatory Rule 6.1 CPD sessions of between three and four units across areas of law to suit almost every practitioner.

There are several live courses running this week with sessions for in house, personal injury, and early career lawyers. Next Thursday 20 March, there’s a session for civil litigators and closing out the month, there will be sessions on privacy and data management, legal practice for sole practitioners, and contract law.

Members will also have access to several complimentary course options which present invaluable opportunities to deepen your skills, better serve your clients and contribute to the system of justice.

Next Tuesday 18 March, private practitioners can hear from Crown Prosecutor Andrew McMaster and Senior Solicitor of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) Tessa Lumsden. The live webinar will provide useful information about the ODPP’s function and provide practical advice on navigating interactions with the Office.

The following Monday, 24 March, Susan Dixon, Senior Commissioner of the Land and Environment Court will lead a live webinar; Appropriate Environmental Dispute Resolution. Commissioner Dixon will outline the Court’s method of screening and allocating cases to appropriate alternative dispute resolution processes. Cases resolved in this way can range from car park disputes through to development applications for large-scale solar farms.

I’m continually impressed by the range and depth of the year-round learning opportunities LawInform makes available to members and the profession generally.

Such courses are not just designed for you to meet your mandatory CPD requirements – necessary as that is. They also offer engaging and compelling content that aligns with one of my President’s Priorities for this year; of delivering quality support for solicitors’ career success.

Jennifer Ball, President, Law Society of NSW