Flexibility in Articling Requirements and PREP
May 8, 2020In light of COVID-19, the following changes and informational items will allow flexibility to students and firms:
Changes to duration of articling term for current and incoming students
The Law Society of Saskatchewan has temporarily reduced the minimum length of articles from twelve months to eight months for students completing or commencing their articles in 2020. For more information, please click here.
Changes to PREP admission requirements for 2020/2021 year
The Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education (CPLED) has changed the admission requirements for the Practice Readiness Education Program (PREP) for the 2020/2021 year. Students with a Canadian common law degree or Certificate of Qualification from the Federation of Law Societies of Canada may register and complete PREP without secured articles. For more information, please click here.
Phase One of PREP allows flexibility in structuring articles
As Phase One of PREP (Foundation Modules) consists of self-directed study (estimated to take 100 to 110 hours), firms have the option of their student dedicating uninterrupted time to PREP at the outset of their articles to complete these online modules (students need to begin PREP no later than June 30, 2020). Firms that proceed in this way will benefit from their student’s time being focused on PREP at the outset of articles (when most firms are working remotely, making assigning/supervising articling work more challenging), with the hope that when firms transition back to working in the office, their student can be dedicated full time to articling until Phase Two of PREP (Foundations Workshops) commences on October 19, 2020. For more information, please review the June 2020 PREP schedule here.
PREP will offer a second intake in December
To offer students and firms greater flexibility, CPLED will offer a second intake of PREP from December 2020 to September 2021. In the event that Saskatchewan student registration numbers do not support the two in-person weeks of the second intake (Foundation Workshops and Capstone) to be held in Regina or Saskatoon, students will be required to travel to another PREP jurisdiction (Manitoba, Alberta, or Nova Scotia) to attend. For more information, please review the sample December 2020 PREP schedule here.
The Law Society welcomes any feedback that firms wish to provide related to articling and/or PREP, particularly in light of the COVID-19 situation. To provide feedback, please email us at [email protected].