Plan and address your learning and development

Updated 9 August 2022

You have a competence requirement to take responsibility for your personal learning and development.

How you choose to plan and address your needs can depend on things like:

the activities you plan to complete to address your learning and development needs
what you want to achieve from each activity
your timescales for completing each activity.

Our template also includes an example of the steps a solicitor could take to address a learning and development need. Other examples could include:

Meeting your competence requirement to maintain an adequate and up-to-date understanding of relevant law, policy and practice by setting aside time (eg weekly or monthly) to complete self-study (eg of newsletters, law journals and blogs).
Acquiring knowledge about a new or evolving issue in your area(s) of practice by attending an event about it.
Completing training to improve a technical legal skill such as advocacy.
Completing training to develop or strengthen other skills or attributes, such as behaving inclusively and dealing effectively with people who are vulnerable.
Completing a secondment to a different department, practice area, office or organisation to acquire new knowledge or skills and diversify your practice.
Finding a mentor to help meet your professional goals.
Observing more experienced lawyers practise a specific skill to improve your understanding of how to provide it to a high standard.
Taking part in initiatives run by a professional network to develop your knowledge or skills in a particular area.
Attending regular meetings with colleagues to discuss developments in your area(s) of practice and share knowledge and good practice.
Forming an informal reflective discussion group with a colleague or small group of colleagues, to help meet your competence requirement to learn from other people.
Taking part in development initiatives run by your employer if you have one.