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(Reference: Guideline 22)
"Coaching" means a structured one-to-one training process conducted face-to-face internally in a law firm during which the coach assists an individual practitioner to achieve an enhancement of his general legal knowledge and skills (not to achieve an advancement of a fee-earning matter).
Criteria/Content
Like any other CPD activities, the content of a coaching session must meet the criteria for accreditation of CPD activities.
Further, a coaching session must last for at least 30 minutes to qualify for CPD point(s).
To qualify to act as a coach, a practitioner must have a minimum of 5 years of post-admission experience in the practice of law and the necessary practical and/or academic skills to assist the practitioner being coached to achieve the objectives set for the coaching sessions.
Objectives
A coaching session usually involves a more experienced practitioner of a law firm providing structured guidance and support to a junior practitioner of the same firm.
The coach and the practitioner being coached should first establish the objectives of the coaching session by identifying the training and development needs of the practitioner and determining which of those needs and how they will be addressed during the coaching session.
A coaching session may form part of a coaching programme which contains a series of coaching sessions, but each session should have its own objectives and should be clearly documented.
Outcome
During each coaching session, the coach is expected to provide structured guidance and feedback with a view to assisting the practitioner being coached to achieve the objectives of the session. The practitioner being coached should record in writing the development outcome following each session for review by the coach.
Accreditation
For a law firm which is an accredited course provider of CPD courses, no prior application for accreditation of a coaching session held internally within the firm is required.
Where a law firm is not an accredited course provider of CPD courses, prior application for accreditation of its coaching programme (at an application fee) is required. It is required to submit a detailed outline or plan for the coaching programme setting out:
| (a) |
the name of the coach |
| (b) |
the professional qualifications and experience of the coach |
| (c) |
the name of the practitioner being coached |
| (d) |
the venue where the programme is to be held |
| (e) |
the overall objectives of the programme |
| (f) |
an outline of the programme |
| (g) |
the proposed duration of the programme and the duration and frequency of individual sessions within the programme. |
Any subsequent changes to any approved coaching plan should be notified to the Society.
Record
A practitioner wishing to claim CPD point(s) for participation in a coaching session (which
can either be self-accredited where the law firm is an accredited course provider or be
accredited by prior application to the Society where the law firm is not an accredited course
provider) is responsible for keeping his own record of the details of each session of the
coaching programme for verification by the Society during audit. The details include:
| (a) |
the name of the coach |
| (b) |
the professional qualifications and experience of the coach |
| (c) |
the name of the practitioner being coached |
| (d) |
the venue where the session is held |
| (e) |
the duration of the session with the date, the start time and the finish time |
| (f) |
the number of CPD point(s) claimed for the session |
| (g) |
the objectives of the session |
| (h) |
an outline of the content of the session |
| (i) |
the development outcome of the session. |
The record must be signed by the coach and the practitioner being coached.
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