Join thousands of lawyers who benefit from our accredited, live, weekly webinars in increments of time designed to fit today’s busy schedules. For over a decade, our high quality courses led by expert teachers have helped lawyers like you enhance their understanding of important topics and refine their skills from work, home, or the road. You can watch our webinars on your computer, tablet or smartphone.
Browse our upcoming courses below to find the webinars right for you, and start completing your continuing professional development requirement today! All of our courses are backed by excellent customer service and our satisfaction guarantee.
Whether for a client, relative, or friend, sooner or later many lawyers will be asked to draft a will. You follow your old Bar Admission materials with a few online updates you’ve found, and all is well, right? Wrong. Drafting even a basic will can be a difficult and time-consuming task, requiring specialized knowledge and skill. While you don’t have to be an expert, you do need a general understanding of the technical and human aspects of will drafting, and essential estate and gift tax laws, and income tax laws. This new short course with experienced estates lawyer Jasmine Sweatman is designed for early career lawyers or those new to will drafting. In just 90 minutes, Jasmine will explain how to...Read More
Bill C-46, known as the Impaired Driving Act, came into force on December 18, 2018. The Act is the companion legislation to Bill C-45, The Cannabis Act, which legalized possession of marijuana for personal use in Canada. The Impaired Driving Act makes significant and controversial changes to federal alcohol and drug impaired laws, including permitting roadside screening of suspected drug impaired drivers, introducing new drug related driving offences, and allowing for mandatory alcohol breathalyzer testing. Almost overnight, how lawyers prosecute and defend those charged with impaired driving offences, has changed. Join defence lawyers Ian Savage (Alberta and Saskatchewan) and Dylan Finlay (Ontario) for this convenient, 90 minute primer on what recent reforms to Canada’s impaired driving laws mean for...Read More
Privilege issues permeate every lawyer's practice, whether transactional or litigation-focused. Knowing when privilege does and does not apply, understanding the scope and reach of the privilege, and the circumstances in which waiver applies, and implementing best practices for invoking and preserving the privilege require an awareness of recent cases and how real-world privilege scenarios play out. Lawyers unfamiliar with these evolving principles put their clients and themselves at risk. This program examines key areas in the law of privilege where there have been significant recent developments. Noted author and award winning law Professor Peter Sankoff will...Read More
Microsoft Outlook is probably the second most important tool for lawyers after Microsoft Word. Most of us rely on it to process our emails, manage our contacts, organize our schedules, set up our meetings, and handle our to-do list. But without a little expert guidance, this powerful information manager can easily distract and overwhelm even the most organized practitioner. Attend this convenient, 90 minute webinar with legal technology trainer Craig Brody and learn how to make better use of Outlook’s numerous and often overlooked functions in four key areas - Mail, Calendar, Contacts, and Tasks. Using simple, easy to understand on-screen examples, Craig will show you how to...Read More
How many times have you reached the end of your workday and asked yourself "What did I accomplish today?" Most lawyers feel ineffective and out of balance more often than we want to admit. We think if we just work harder, things will fall into place. But working harder isn’t the solution. We need to change the way we approach time management. This new, 90 minute webinar with lawyer and certified performance coach Cami McLaren will introduce you to a different and more effective way of viewing time and time management, and offer specific changes you can implement right away to improve the way you use your time, decrease your stress, and increase your productivity. From understanding what is and is not currently working for you, to learning how to schedule your time and use to-do lists more effectively, Cami will teach you...Read More
Having a basic knowledge of financial statements is crucial for every well-rounded lawyer. The more you understand about financial statements, the better you’ll be able to counsel clients with confidence, and use your financial understanding to your client’s advantage during negotiations or litigation. Attend this this newly updated program and learn how to understand the basic structure of a financial statement and identify its key components. You’ll work through sample balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements, including examples for...Read More
Malpractice claims against wills and estates practitioners have steadily increased over the last decade, with inadequate fact investigation and lawyer/client communication failures being the top reasons complaints are made. Lawyers who draft estate planning documents are under more scrutiny than ever as the largest wealth transfer from one generation to the next begins. Mistakes can be found at every turn, from failure to have a working knowledge of tax, real estate, and family law, or misunderstanding a client’s unique, and often complex, family dynamics and asset ownership. Lawyers new to estates law and non-specialists who dabble in wills, trusts, and estates in addition to their regular practice must be particularly diligent to meet the standard of care. Among other things, drafting lawyers owe a duty of care not only to their clients, but third parties as well. Fortunately...Read More
As lawyers we encounter conflicting perspectives of reality every day. It happens in estates, family, criminal, employment, business, and other areas of law. We see it when documenting relationships, during negotiations, and in litigation. Clients, parties, opposing counsel, and colleagues sometimes hold on to their positions and their versions of the facts - even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. In this advanced presentation, lawyer, professor and internationally acclaimed conflict resolution expert Nina Meierding will explore how people develop very different perspectives of what has happened, what is right, and what is fair. You’ll learn how we each create, reinforce and remember our own realities, and specific reasons why it is so difficult for people to acknowledge they have made a mistake even when all the “facts” are against them. Using examples from a variety of practice areas and legal settings...Read More
The greatest skill any lawyer can possess is the ability to write clearly, concisely, and convincingly. Good writing skills will not only improve the results you obtain, but will also enhance your reputation, and improve your relationships with judges, other lawyers and clients. William Bernhardt, lawyer and New York Times bestselling author of more than forty books tells lawyers what they need to know to succeed on the printed page, based upon personal experience, interviews with judges and lawyers, and a lifetime of writing. Bernhardt uses...Read More
The relationship between you and your client, who is acting as executor, can be complicated - especially when disputes arise between the executor and beneficiaries. While the question as to whom you owe a duty when representing an executor - who, in turn, owes duties to the beneficiaries - may be answered in law, successfully navigating that relationship in practice requires a little expert guidance. This new, 90 minute program with experienced estates lawyer Lynne Butler will explore common questions about the responsibilities and powers of executors, and the rights of beneficiaries, with a focus on how counsel for the executor can avoid controversy! Among the subjects Lynne will address are...Read More
Most of us accept that law can be a stressful vocation. But did you know that practicing law - more than most professions - fortifies our negativity bias? Our lawyer brains are trained and paid to stay alert to what could go wrong. And constantly focusing on what might go wrong can negatively impact our cognitive function, focus, and ability to relate to others - the exact competencies clients require of us. Fortunately, we can alter the physiology of our brain. By implementing some basic mindfulness practices, we can shift our attention towards the positive and become more productive, effective and ethical lawyers, with more to offer to our clients and ourselves. In this inspiring new webinar, lawyer and mindfulness trainer Laura Mahr will share simple strategies to...Read More
Will challenges are often based on claims that the testator lacked the capacity to execute a will, or that the will was the result of undue influence. These are not easy matters to assess, especially with new clients for whom you have no frame of reference. As a practitioner, you must assume that the will you are drafting could be contested, and take clear steps to rule out issues of incapacity and undue influence, and build a record documenting your conclusions. This exciting new webinar featuring experienced estates counsel Mark Weintraub, Q.C. will review your duties when taking will planning instructions, offer practical techniques you can use to evaluate capacity and undue influence, and discuss how to better help or decline to help a prospective client, while protecting your practice from claims of negligence. By the end of the program you will...Read More
Blended families have come a long way since the Brady Bunch of the 1970’s. Today’s second (or third or fourth) marriages raise complex legal, financial and practical issues for families - and for their lawyers! Balancing the interests of the surviving spouse with those of children from prior marriages can be challenging for even the most experienced practitioner. Do you have the skills you need to meet the needs of this growing client base? This convenient, 90 minute webinar with experienced Toronto estates lawyers Rachel Blumenfeld and Marni Pernica will examine essential estate-planning tools lawyers can use to minimize disputes and protect the interests of all involved. After taking this course you will...Read More
Thinking about building an estates practice? Don’t forget the tax! Estate law and tax law issues can be very complex. Learn skills and gain confidence in this basic level course designed to introduce common taxation issues that most lawyers will encounter when assisting clients with estate planning or advising an executor in an estate administration. The program is geared towards lawyers who are new to estate and taxation practice, or who don’t specialize in estate taxation. Using examples from her own practice, experienced estates and trusts lawyer Lynne Butler will touch on essential steps that need to be taken after the death of an individual, as well as some ideas for tax planning before death. The presentation will...Read More
Modern technology can feel addictive – because it is! Smartphones, apps, and social media platforms are precision engineered to grab our attention and keep us coming back. We’d like to think that as lawyers, we’re immune to screen addiction, but we’re not. Instead our phones put us on call 24/7! We waste time, attention, and energy on unimportant information and interactions, increasing our stress, and reducing our efficiency and ability to fulfil our professional duties. So how do we reclaim our focus from digital distraction? Join us for this fun, highly practical webinar and learn how to use your digital devices so they enhance, rather than erode, your productivity...Read More
Because lawyers represent the interests of others, our profession has grown up with a deep and serious commitment to ethical behavior. However, the way ethics is taught in most law schools makes two assumptions that run contrary to what we know about human behavior: (a) most courses emphasize what not to do; and (b) most teaching is focused on avoiding intentional ethical violations. In this exciting, new webinar, Dr. Larry Richard, a lawyer-psychologist who studies lawyer behavior, explains the flaws in these two assumptions, and offers several principles and practices to help us foster ethical behavior. Dr. Richard explores the cognitive toll that...Read More
Good communication skills are essential for a successful and rewarding practice. They can help us progress in our careers, enhance our effectiveness as advocates, and make our interactions more satisfying and productive. The duty to communicate effectively is so important it’s even enshrined in the Rules of Professional Conduct – and for good reason! The hectic pace of litigating, deal-making, and advising means we don’t always remember to communicate as well as we should with clients, colleagues or our own staff. Our cryptic notes, hurried questions, instructions without context, and tardy communications can lead to unhappy clients, staff who don’t feel valued, and a reputation among colleagues for rushed or incomplete work. Join lawyer and leading legal productivity expert Irwin Karp and...Read More
Struggling with last-minute-itis? You’re not alone! Procrastination can rear its ugly head for everyone, including successful lawyers. While putting things off may provide immediate relief, the long-term effects of procrastination can have a disastrous impact on your practice, reputation, relationships, financial situation, and overall health. Attend this new, 90 minute webinar with Toronto productivity consultant Ann Gomez and learn the subconscious reasons why we procrastinate, and gain practical strategies on how to manage this natural tendency. After just 90 minutes, you will: identify your procrastination triggers; appreciate how the imposter syndrome and information overload contribute to procrastination...Read More
