Also on this page: Free webinars and podcasts.

Organisations providing CPD and training

A to Z Construction Law is an essential first port of call for anyone who wishes to understand the fundamentals of construction law. The main component of the website is The Suite of 15 videos (around 9 hours in all) which should provide a solid grounding in construction law for each step of a construction project, from conception to completion to dispute resolution. There is also a growing construction law Dictionary and directory of relevant Cases.

Act Now Training is a company run by Ibrahim Hasan and Paul Simpkins specialising in all aspects of data protection, Freedom of Information and surveillance law (RIPA and RIPSA). The website includes free webcasts and podcasts on these topics which are eligible for CPD credits from the SRA and ILEX. There is also a Twitter feed to keep you up to date with the latest information law news.

Ark Group is a B2B publishing and events company providing a wide range of legal information products and services, including law books; legal training courses; business information books; business management strategy guides; legal magazines and information on legal conferences, seminars and webinars.

Beyond the Brief provides professionally tailored practical competency based training on Leadership, Management, Diversity, and Client Relationship Management for the legal profession. Since 2003, Ann Page has been delivering courses in these areas as well as coaching lawyers (in-house and private practice). All training and coaching is CPD accredited. She has written ‘Managing External Legal Resources’ published by ICSA in 2007. This can be odered on the site.

Birmingham Law Society offers a large number of training courses on many areas of law and practice management.

BPP Law School is a leading provider of professional legal education in the UK with over 4,000 students based nationally across 4 sites based in Leeds, London (Holborn and Waterloo) and Manchester. Both full time and part time courses as well as distance learning courses. The courses use a unique mix of academic and practitioner lecturers, course materials prepared in partnership with numerous law firms, and innovative pro bono projects.

Bristol Law Society organises three full day conferences a year in the areas of Civil/ Commercial Litigation (June), Property Law (September) and Private Client (October). They also have a strategic partnership with Central Law Training and offer a diverse range of specialist legal and skill based courses, workshops and webinars at discounted prices

British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) exists to advance the understanding of international and comparative law, and to promote the rule of law in international affairs. It has played an important role in providing research, advice, and strategic consulting services in law reform projects around the world. Training courses have been designed for a variety of participants including judges, government legal advisers, leading practising lawyers and court officials. The Institute is able to provide initial needs assessment, customised programmes designed for specific requirements and training by leading practitioners and professional bodies in the United Kingdom.

Cardiff University Professional Development Unit offers training and assessment in relation to the Law Society Police Station Accreditation Scheme for representatives and for those solicitors hoping to qualify as duty solicitors (Law Society Criminal Litigation Accreditation Scheme). The training is approved by the Law Society for CPD purposes.

Central Law Training is the largest provider of CPD law training in the UK offering around 3,000 conferences, courses and webinars nationwide per year. Qualifications are also provided for Paralegals, Accreditation of Police Station Representatives, Criminal Litigation Accreditation Scheme, Immigration Accreditation and Re-accreditation and Chambers Administration.

Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP) at the University of Dundee offers a programme of seminars, conferences and professional development courses that are attended by delegates from government, ministries, academia and industry, providing those attending with a global forum for theoretical and practical interaction. These courses, for the natural resource and energy sectors, include negotiation skills, petroleum regulation and licensing, managing contracts and agreements, arbitration and dispute management skills.

City Law School runs legal skills courses for solicitors, accountants, healthcare practitioners and other professionals, drawing on the collective knowledge and skills of staff in the School. They are pioneers in practical legal skills training and trainers all have practical legal experience and many are leaders in their field. They offer in-house and public courses and are accredited by the Bar Standards Board and the Solicitors Regulation Authority for the provision of CPD.

Civil Court Users Association exists to represent the interests of organisations that use the Civil Courts in England and Wales. Amongst other activities, they offer CPD courses to their members – 45 hours of CPD, free of charge.

CPD Training (UK) is a specialist legal skills training company with expertise in advocacy and communication, Higher Rights, arbitration advocacy, negotiation and dispute resolution. It is accredited by the SRA to conduct assessments in Higher Rights of Audience. Its clients include some of the major City and European firms and its trainers have taught around the world.

CrimeLine is a specialist publishing company headed up by barrister Andrew Keogh. CrimeLine Complete is its flagship product providing continually updated legal texts and awareness to legal professionals and judiciary across the UK and abroad. Practitioners can also satisfy their CPD/Competence requirements via a subscription to the service.

Datalaw offers over 800 legal CPD courses in Criminal Law Training, Family Law Training and Conveyancing Law Training. They have courses in, as many as 46 areas of law, from a minimum of £49/month per course. They also provide Qualifications and Accreditations such as The Magistrates Court Qualification, Police Station Qualification and the Police Station Accreditation. Datalaw also provides a Level 3 Paralegal Diploma, which is included in the Level 3 Paralegal Apprenticeship. This apprenticeship is suitable for all levels of staff in law firms, such as Support Staff, Admin Staff, Secretaries, Clerks, and Training Paralegals.

DJB Learning is a learning portal created by Davitt Jones Bould (DJB), comprising materials produced by DJB and other resources gathered from across the Internet. The site is aimed at real estate lawyers, professionals and those working in the real estate sector, intended to provide a simple way for property professionals to maintain their competencies and to help meet CPD requirements. ​The site is fully compatible with the SRA continuing competence framework and covers a large part of the RICS CPD requirements. ​

Employment Cases Update is a new service for employment lawyers from Bath Publishing that provides free access to the full text of key employment law cases as they are published, from the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court and EAT, starting from January 2010. Many of the cases have been sourced from existing free resources but are convenient to find in one place, rather than having to search across these other sources. The text is all free to view and users can also sign up for a free weekly newsletter or a RSS feed. Associated with the case reports is a modestly priced CPD facility costing £64 a year.

Family Law Week covers developments in divorce, ancillary relief, private child law, public child law and cohabitation. (You have to register, but it is free). Each week, there is: news, covering consultations, policy announcements and reports; cases, with the latest publicly available judgments from Casetrack, Court Service and Bailli. For significant cases, there will be a digest with the full text of the judgment. Where a case significantly alters family law and practice, there will be a commentary highlighting the impact that the case will have; articles from leading family law writers; legislation, with details of all new SIs, together with a link to the full text of the legislation; progress of Bills will be tracked; resources, with useful links and documents such as updated Family Proceedings Fees. The site provides CPD courses which are based around each month’s new material. The user also builds up a training log with date passed, number of CPD points etc.

Financial Training Associates offers an extensive range of introductory, intermediate and specialist CPD courses which can be delivered at a location to suit. They can tailor the courses to meet any specific needs and are happy to provide completely bespoke training solutions. The courses are rigorous, commercially relevant, up to the minute and (even) fun.

fresh is a new company providing professional development for lawyers at all levels and in all types of practice. Fresh specialises in skills and management training tailored to meet client needs and delivered in- house. fresh also offers professional development, public relations, pro bono and community affairs consultancy services.

FutureLearn provide structured online learning courses in partnership with hundreds of universities and other bodies. These cover all subject areas and range from short courses, through professional accreditation programmes, to university degrees. Courses are divided into “weeks” of prescribed activities. You can learn by watching videos, listening to audio and reading articles. Many of these steps are followed by short quizzes to help you check that you have understood. They may be started at any time after they are published (and can be done to any timescale) and are free to access for their duration plus 14 days, regardless of when joined. Continuing access and other facilities are available on upgrade to a paid subscription. The Law subject area includes several courses which should be useful in completing CPD/competence requirements.

HJT Training Limited provides dynamic and practical training in a range of specialist areas, including human rights, immigration law and practice and management and diversity issues for legal and human resources professionals. Set up and run by barristers, they also specialise in presentation and advocacy skills.

The Institute of Legal Finance and Management (ILFM) is a not for profit organization dedicated to the education, support and promotion of excellence for everyone working in the legal finance and management sector. The ILFM provides nationally recognized qualifications through distance learning correspondence Diploma and Associate courses. The ILFM also run one day and half day seminars across England and Wales on a selection of legal finance and practice management topics. Titles include; COFA workshop, COFA – A Practical View, SRA Accounts Rules, Practice Management, Credit Management, VAT for Legal Finance, Introduction to Legal Finance Department and Financial Management in the Legal Department.

Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs was founded in 1990 to promote the excellence and professional recognition of Legal Secretaries and PAs. They are a professional organisation with Students and Members throughout the UK and overseas. The Institute provides nationally recognised qualifications and helps people with their legal secretarial careers by giving advice, support and career guidance. The Legal Secretaries Diploma course provides the legal knowledge and skills needed to work as a Legal Secretary. There are evening classes in London throughout the year and also Distance Learning available.

Jordan Publishing Seminars offer high quality, value for money training. Theor programme includes courses on: Family Law, Children Law, Personal Injury Litigation, Charity Administration and Financial Reporting, Insolvency, Company Secretarial Administration, Criminal Law and Human Rights.

Kaplan Altior is a leading UK provider of management consulting services and skills training courses for lawyers. Each year they tutor thousands of professionals in the UK and abroad as well as advising a large number of firms on a consulting basis. They have been providing training and consulting services to the legal profession for over 30 years and aim to bring the best out of our clients by delivering the Professional Skills Course (PSC), Trainee Litigation Programme (TLP), Higher Rights of Audience and a range of other CPD courses. All courses are accredited for CPD purposes by The Law Society, The Bar Council and The Institute of Legal Executives. Courses include Advocacy, Civil Litigation, Legal Aid, Clinical Negligence, LSC Contract Compliance & Management Audits, Commercial, Crime, Management Course Stage 1, Management Course Stage 2, Employment, Practice Management, Family, Professional Skills Course, Higher Rights of Audience and Property. Together with their sister companies Kaplan Law School and Kaplan Hawksmere, they offer legal training for all stages of a legal career.

Kate Shepherd Associates is a training company specialising in employment law training in the Midlands. Kate is a qualified solicitor and worked at a senior level within private practice before setting up the company. She has brought together a team of experts in employment law, HR, management development, health and safety, communication, cultural and behavioural change, diversity, workplace mediation and psychology.

1 King’s Bench Walk, a leading set specialising in Family Law, hold four CPD accredited conferences per year, to assist solicitors to keep their knowledge up-to-date and at the forefront of family law. Topics include Child Abduction, Matrimonial Finance, Public Law Children and Private Law Children. See the website for more details of all these courses. 1kbw are market leaders for both finance and children and are “the actual and future heavyweights of the family bar” (Chambers and Partners).

LawSkills provides learning and development for Private Client Practitioners.  Owned and managed by Gill Steel, one of the country’s most respected and compelling conference speakers on Private Client matters, LawSkills has more than 30 years specialist experience working in and for Private Client Departments.  Our services are designed to help practitioners in the areas of Wills, Probate, Trusts, Tax and Elderly and Vulnerable Client. Our unique approach allows us to offer insights into how you can adapt within an ever-changing profession, whilst managing a heavy caseload and complying with regulatory changes.

Lawtalks is a Community Interest Company running training courses for solicitors, barristers, para legals, charities, and members of the public. The aim of Lawtalks is to provide local courses at reasonable prices around the UK. They are accredited for training courses for solicitors. These are lecture style with questions and discussions. They also offer in-house seminars at solicitors’ firms.

Lawyers in Business is dedicated to developing, coaching and supporting in-house lawyers. They run workshops and webinars accredited for SRA CPD on how to orchestrate legal services, manage legal departments and deal with the ongoing challenges with which in-house lawyers are confronted.

Lawyers Online offer Online CPD, by studying material on their web site and answering a set of questions. It has the major benefit that you can take the CPD approved course before you spend any money (Try before you Buy).

The Law Society provides CPD training seminars, conferences and networking events for members across England and Wales and internationally. You can search for upcoming events on the site and book online.

LBS Legal is a niche practice with high level expertise in every aspect of professional conduct and the duties, obligations and liabilities of solicitors. Their courses are delivered on-site in consultation with the firm’s wishes and requirements.

Legal Action Group provides a programme of continuing professional development courses which are designed to meet the needs of legal aid practitioners, advisers and voluntary sector professionals.

Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG), comprising membership of firms and not-for-profit organisations across England and Wales, is a leading representative body for the legal aid sector. They provide ‘Pop-Up’ courses that offer key training on civil legal aid in the post-LASPO world and Management Course Stage 1 for newly qualified solicitors. Their annual conference consists of the latest developments in the legal aid sector.

Legal Finance Professionals Limited (LFP) provides SRA accredited CPD training courses to the legal sector offering a full schedule of public courses throughout England & Wales or via in-house training. Courses cover a range of regulatory and compliance topics including SRA Accounts Rules, SRA Handbook, Acting as a Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration (COFA), Acting as a Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP), VAT for Solicitors and Money Laundering Regulations 2007.

Legal Futures provides practical, online CPD training to hundreds of law firms across England & Wales. Our comprehensive selection of webinars covers all practice areas including property, private client, family, compliance, employment, litigation and company & commercial. We produce 150 new topics and case law updates every year, presented by experts in their field. All our webinars are pre-recorded, so you can watch them whenever suits you, on any device – a laptop, PC, tablet or phone – providing easy, flexible and cost-effective CPD for fee earners at all levels.

Legal Training is a well-established, accredited online CPD provider for barristers, solicitors and chartered legal executives. The website offers reasonably priced, instant access, online CPD courses covering a range of practice areas and subjects; family law, criminal law, property law, civil law, complaints handling, mental capacity, vulnerable clients, social media and IT skills. Established in 2004 by Amanda Millmore a barrister (currently non-practising) and an IT professional, the courses offer interesting, informative ways of obtaining CPD. The whole process is completed online.

The Legal Training Consultancy works with barristers chambers, firms of solicitors, law associations and in-house lawyers to create individual events and complete programmes where the primary objective is for internal training purposes or for the promotion of expertise to clients and contacts. Run by barrister David Jacobs, who has more than 20 years involvement in legal training, he can advise the organisation on developing their own events, such as conferences, webinars or in-house training courses on anything from law and practice to management and marketing. The courses are only offered on a bespoke in-house basis and will be subject to the requirements of specific clients in terms of date, duration and content. There is a very large set of examples on the web site of the types of courses, and the legal areas to be covered, which could be arranged.

Liverpool Law Society runs its own CPD programme which both members and non-members can attend. Special events and exhibitions are also arranged such as the Judges’ Question Time whereby delegates put questions to local senior judiciary on chancery, civil, crime and family matters. Rates are competitive and members of the Liverpool Law Society receive additional discounts.

LGG is the Local Government Group, comprising all solicitors employed by local authorities in England and Wales. They work in close association with ACSeS – the Association of Council Secretaries and Solicitors and organise 100 legal training events each year, focussed on the training needs of public law/local government practitioners. They provide legal updates, basics and advanced courses, management courses, skills training and tailor made courses.

Local Government Lawyer is a free online publication for lawyers working for and advising local authorities. There are ongoing (up to date) news stories and analysis, with daily updated content from a team of experienced legal journalists as well as features from local government practitioners and leading private practice lawyers. Their courses are delivered by leading practitioners from private practice, the Bar and in-house.

Pacific Legal Training provides specialist immigration training for barristers, solicitors, lawyers and paralegals. It delivers online OISC courses (OISC Level 1, OISC Level 2 and OISC Level 3 courses), IAAS courses, immigration CPD courses and Private Tuition, along with offering consultancy services to law firms.

Pitman Training London, in High Holborn & Notting Hill, are leaders in touch typing courses, secretarial courses, shorthand, bookkeeping courses and IT courses. There are nationally recognised diploma programmes and in particular, the Legal Secretarial Course.

Pitman Training Centres in Ireland is the largest independent training network in Ireland. The company provides computer courses and office skills computer training to businesses and individuals alike and offers the Legal Secretary Diploma.

MASS (Motor Accident Solicitors Society) is a national non-proft making association of solicitors representing the victims of road traffic accidents. MASS has been lobbying the Government for over 20 years to ensure and protect the rights of the accident victim.
MASS Training is the training organisation associated with MASS. They provide a wide range of personal injury courses for paralegals, solicitors and secretaries that are cost effective, interesting and interactive.

MHA and MCA Law is run by Dave Sheppard and runs accredited CPD courses on all aspect of mental health law.

MBL Seminars was established in July 2003 to meet the training and development requirements of the professional service firm sector. Producing the highest quality seminars on Management, Business and Law-related topics, they only use speakers who are leaders in their fields of expertise. You can opt in to receive emails about new courses as they are available.

Mental Health Law Online is an internet resource on mental health law in England & Wales, primarily for mental health practitioners. The site has been set up by a mental health solicitor. There is now also a SRA-accredited CPD scheme based on the information on the site. Each month there is a multiple-choice questionnaire based on the updates made to the site that month. The CPD scheme is £60 per annum, and can earn a solicitor 12 points.

Money Laundering Resource offers a very wide range of AML training materials relating to the UK and worldwide. There are DVDs, interactive e-learning with automatically recorded assessments, and printed booklets, to build into a firm’s own compliance training programme. MLROs can demonstrate compliance via system records as lawyers earn CPD points for completing the anti-money laundering/anti-bribery learning course and awareness test.

Mosaic Learning specialise in working with Professionals and Managers who want to improve Time Management & Personal Productivity so they can achieve more of what really matters, feel less stressed & enjoy better Work/Life Balance.

Netlaw Media is a U.K based conference and events organisation which delivers high quality strategic law events, conferences and training programmes to the U.K and European legal sectors. They specialise in producing highly informative programs that deliver cutting edge presentations conducted by renowned U.K, European and Internationally acclaimed speakers. Events integrate a formulated blend of strategies, case studies and interactive discussions and workshops to enable law firms and their staff to gain a leading edge in a constantly evolving and demanding marketplace.

Potential Unearthed is a North West based company run by husband and wife team Mike & Sarah Ode. They provide CPD accredited business coaching, personal development and management development to Law Firms. They also deliver Management Course Stage One.

Practical Law offers a wide range of conferences, online training videos and practical workshops, with a strong focus for in-house lawyers. The courses provide insight and training on the latest legal developments and deliver real value to the organisation by equipping participants with practical tools to gain a competitive advantage. The new blended learning solution is sector-focused and designed to give all participants the opportunity to learn, develop and network in formats that are relevant to them. There are training and events to cover: Industry sectors – such as construction, energy, financial services, life sciences and retail; Practice areas – commercial, company, employment, dispute resolution, intellectual property, personal injury and property; Job function – including a GC leadership series, law firm leadership, company secretaries and knowledge managers, as well as business and practice management skills.

Practical Lawyer is a magazine from Legalease consisting of a digest of many legal sources and which also provides CPD. You have to subscribe to the journal and pay an extra fee, but then users can CPD points. The scheme currently has well over 1000 users and has been in operation for over 17 years.

Professional Solutions is a training and consultancy company in areas of professional development, HR training, professional solutions, and consultancy. Bringing together leading barristers chambers and expert speakers from the wider legal field, training events provide maximum benefit from a continuous professional development legal training programme suitable for lawyers, solicitors and barristers.

Sheffield & District Law Society run a training programme on a wide variety of topics, available to both members & non-members.

The Society for Computers and Law (SCL) offers a range of courses on IT law, e-commerce, data protection and allied topics. The SCL Web site offers news and articles and access to recordings of meetings and seminars. SCL is an educational charity and its seminars, group meetings and conferences provide cost-effective training for those able to attend in person; all qualify for CPD. Discounted rates for attendance apply to SCL members. Members get free access to online courses based on podcasts of meetings and the SCL magazine content.

Socrates Training provides online training for all compliance needs: anti-money laundering; SRA Code of Conduct; anti-bribery; equality and diversity; SRA accounts rules. There are PSC electives on nine subjects including commercial property, corporate, litigation, employment and contract. COLP & COFA service provides compliance partners with what they need to meet their obligations. CPD accredited. Socrates has over 1000 loyal subscribers from large City of London firms, to sole practitioners.

Standing Conference of Mediation Advocates (SCMA), based in Chancery Lane, is a not-for-profit cross professional member association of mediation practitioners that delivers training and CPD in representing parties at mediation. They also offer full mediator training.

Stubb Legal is an accredited distance learning course provider, supplying downloaded audio lessons which recount all the latest legal developments. Areas covered include Civil Litigation, Commercial, Family, Property/Probate, Criminal and General Practice. Each audio recording is approximately 1 hour long, and therefore worth 1 CPD point. A free sample download can be obtained on request.

the SOLICITORS group is a major player in the area of CPD for Solicitors. With over 20,000 regular lawyer customers and a membership of over 1,250 law firms, they offer a choice of 17 events across the UK, including Scotland and Northern Ireland. Each 2 or 3 day event offers a range of 6 hour conferences covering all of the major legal practice areas. The SOLICITORS group’s flagship conference and exhibition, held at Olympia in London in the Autumn, attracts over 3000 solicitors each year. As well face-to-face CPD, they offer a range of recorded and online CPD, as well as bespoke in-house training.

University of Law (previously the College of Law) offer CPD courses and in particular the very popular Legal Network Television (LNTV) which has provided high quality professional video training for tens of thousands of solicitors throughout the UK.

Virtual College provides accredited CPD training courses for the legal sector, including a one-hour AML training course, and training for GDPR and data protection compliance, perfect for newly qualified solicitors. The anti-money laundering course provides a general overview of the risk and the implications of money laundering and the impact it has on a business. It is suitable for anyone who works in the financial, credit, legal, or estate agency sectors and generally anyone working in a role that involves payments or money.

Web4law provides a range of in-house training courses and webinars on compliance topics, including: Money laundering, terrorist financing and mortgage fraud; Equality and diversity; The Legal Services Act and the SRA Handbook; Client care and complaints handling; Data protection. The company provides a subscription based compliance updating service which incorporates advice on Lexcel applications and SRA compliance programmes. All training is CPD accredited by the SRA.

Wilberforce Chambers delivers a full range of quality interactive seminars, in-house training and networking events throughout the year, designed to keep you up to date on the latest legal and commercial issues.

Xpl Professional Skills Training provides bespoke in-house advocacy, procedural and professional and management skills training for lawyers. It specialises in written advocacy, effective persuasion and negotiation, mediation and other ADR, appellate and tribunal advocacy, time-management, client relations, delegation and appraisal. Clients include Herbert Smith, Norton Rose, Lovells and Burges Salmon; and through Mitchell LC, Allen & Overy.

Free webinars and podcasts

1 Chancery Lane offer free weekly webinars. These cover a whole range of current topics. Each week the speakers answer any questions from users. These can be submitted when registering for the event, or simply asked during the webinar.

Littleton Chambers offer a range of free webinars and podcasts across practice areas.

Nine St John Street Chambers publish free webinars across their practice areas.

A number of chambers publish their webinars via YouTube channels:

2 Temple Gardens on a range of topics.

9 Gough Chambers on personal injury.

St. John’s Chambers on a range of topics.

No5 Barristers’ Chambers has several channels: Planning, Court of Protection, Crime, Business and property and Personal Injury.

3PB Barristers on a range of topics.

In many cases, You Tube offers a transcript of videos.  Click on the three dots below the video to the right of Save, then on “Open transcript” (if available) in the box that drops down.

Thanks to Nigel Parker of Crosse & Crosse Solicitors who sourced these links. Let us know if you offer free webinars or podcasts on legal topics and we will list them here.