Although the rules for CPD training vary somewhat from region to region across Australia, all of the territories require that you earn a minimum of one CPD point in the category of Professional Skills each year.
The professional skills category does not necessarily deal with the ins and outs of specific laws or areas of law but rather deals with the skills and competencies needed to carry out your roles and responsibilities as a professional solicitor in the legal space within Australia.
One of our most interesting CPD training courses in the area of professional skills development centres on the management of clients, colleagues and conflict. This course deals with psychology and how it plays into practising law and dealing with human beings in the course of business.
The first session, which was hosted in July and is now available on demand, dealt with trying to understand different personality traits that one might encounter when dealing with clients. Some of these personality traits can make operating as a legal professional exceedingly complex.
Among the traits explored are narcissism, introversion, anti-social behaviour, borderline personality disorders, extraversion and more. This session can help you to understand what strategies or techniques you could use from a psychological standpoint to best deal with complex personalities among your clients.
The second session was hosted in August and is also now available on demand. This session examined the ways in which lawyers and clients interact and how best to leverage this relationship to ensure success in the long term. This session focused on how to build understanding and respect and how to engender trust.
The session also explored the extent of professional boundaries and the power dynamics at play in a lawyer-client relationship.
The last session in this series will take place on September 15 and will explore the psychological perspective on disputes that are high in conflict.
High-conflict disputes are extremely volatile and are often unavoidable when operating as a legal professional. This session will explore what a high conflict dispute is, why they occur, what kinds of clients might be involved in such a dispute, and what kind of skills a lawyer or solicitor might need in order to cope with and navigate such a dispute with success.
In such disputes, counselling micro-skills are needed, such as active listening skills, nonverbal communication skills, and the ability to remain ethical and professional at all times.
This session will help you come through a high-conflict dispute with your integrity and reputation intact.
For more CPD training seminars and courses, browse our Legalwise Seminars website and sign up today to stay compliant.