Change is on the horizon

February 11, 2020

The Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education (CPLED) will be launching the new Bar admission program, PREP in June 2020 to articling students in Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan. The Practice Readiness Education Program or PREP is an innovative program that provides the lawyers of tomorrow with the skills to thrive in a professional legal environment.

To better accommodate students and firms, CPLED will be offering two intakes each year to the program, students can begin in either June or December.

Registration

Registration for PREP will open on Monday, March 2 on CPLED’s website. This may be a change for some jurisdictions as students will need to register with CPLED directly for their Bar admission program and with their law society for student membership.

June 2020 Schedule

To offer students and firms greater flexibility the Practice Readiness Education Program (PREP) will open in June 2020. Students do not need to begin PREP right away however if they delay they will have to adhere to a more stringent schedule during phase one, Foundation Modules. In order to ensure completion of the program, students will need to begin no later than Monday, July 20, 2020.

At registration, students will select from three available schedules for the face-to-face phases of PREP. When selecting a schedule for phase two, Foundation Workshops, students will automatically be selecting the corresponding schedule for phase four, Capstone. Please note, these schedules are subject to availability and change.

The June 2020 schedule.

Admission Requirements

Students will need to provide proof of a Canadian common law degree or certificate of qualification (CQ) from the National Committee on Accreditation of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada.

PREP is intended to be completed while students are articling, however, students can enroll and begin the online Foundation Modules, phase one, prior to securing an articling position.

All PREP students must, however, secure and start their articling position as well as register with a CPLED participating law society before the end of phase one, Foundation Modules. In Saskatchewan, students are strongly encouraged to apply for student-at-law status prior to registering for PREP. Students in Saskatchewan are not required to have an articling position to obtain student-at-law status.

For more information on admission requirements and starting PREP prior to securing an articling position, visit CPLED’s website.

Program Cost

The total program cost for PREP is $6,100. What you may not know is this cost is subsidized by CPLED’s participating law societies.

For student members of Alberta, Manitoba or Sasktachewan, your law society for 2020/2021 is offering a subsidy of $2,600 towards PREP tuition. The remaining tuition fees students will be responsible for is $3,500. Payment plan options are available.

For clerking members of Nova Scotia, your law society for 2020/2021 is offering a subsidy of $2,350 towards PREP tuition. The remaining tuition fees students will be responsible for is $3,750. Payment plan options are available.

For more information on the cost structure of PREP tuition fees, visit CPLED’s website.

Looking for more information on PREP, admission requirements, program costs and registration? Watch this video, hosted Dr. Kara Mitchelmore, CEO of CPLED.