January 15, 2026

CPLED – PREP Lawyer Recruitment

The Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education (CPLED) is recruiting lawyer contractors for roles within the Practice Readiness Education Program (PREP).

PREP is a bar admission program that was developed to help future lawyers gain practical legal knowledge and competencies in lawyer skills, practice management, professional ethics, and the attributes needed to successfully practice law in Canada.

Roles Available:

• Virtual Law Firm Assessor / Capstone Evaluator – Review candidate assignments, provide constructive feedback, and evaluate competencies. Assessments include written tasks (30–45 minutes) and oral assignments (approximately 45–60 minutes).

• Practice Manager – Mentor candidates through simulated practice activities. Practice Managers meet with candidates for 30–45 minutes to provide guidance on client management, ethics, and practice skills.
  
• Foundation Workshops Facilitator – Lead/facilitate interactive sessions on ethics, client relationship management, interviewing, negotiation, advocacy, legal drafting and legal writing.



AREA Standard Forms Update – Effective Jan. 5, 2026

On Jan. 5, 2026, AREA published approved updates to select standard form purchase contracts to improve clarity and alignment with current legal and conveyancing practices.


These changes were developed in collaboration with AREA’s Forms and Practice Committee, including REALTORS®, legal representatives from both Canadian Bar Association (CBA) Real Estate Sections, Real Estate Insurance Exchange (REIX) and their legal counsel, and AREA staff. AREA also acknowledges the valuable input of legal stakeholders in ensuring the revisions reflect legislation, protect consumers and support day-to-day practice.

Highlights at a Glance

Residential, Condominium & Country Residential Purchase Contracts

• Closing Process Clarified – Updated language aligns the closing process with common legal practice and Land Titles Office timelines. A default process has been added for transactions where Western conveyancing protocol is not appropriate or where an alternate method is used to address the registration time gap. View an example of these pages here.

Commercial & Agricultural Purchase Contract

• Applicable GST Clarified – The addition of the word “applicable” clarifies that GST may not be payable on the full property value in all circumstances and may apply only to a portion of the property.

The updated forms are available in the AREA Forms Catalogue as of Jan. 5, 2026.

For questions or feedback, please contact Bryan Statt, Managing Director – Practice and Learning, at bryan.statt@albertarealtor.ca.

Court of King's Bench Announcements

Family Focused Protocol – Revised Notices to Profession and FFP Webpage

In connection with the Court of King’s Bench Family Focused Protocol (FFP), which came into effect Jan. 2, 2026, the Court has revised its Notices to Profession and Public regarding (a) the Family Justice Protocol Mandatory Requirements and (b) Family Streamlined Trials. NPP 2023-01, NPP 2025-01 and NPP 2023-03 have been replaced with revised Notices to the Profession and Public.

View the full announcement.



King's Bench Filing Digital Service – Family and Divorce (FFDS) Now Available to Lawyers When a Fee Exemption Applies

We are pleased to announce the expansion of the King’s Bench Filing Digital Service – Family and Divorce (FFDS) to include many lawyers whose filings are exempt from filing fees.

Effective Jan. 13, 2026, qualifying lawyers with a Law Society of Alberta Bar ID will be able to submit filings through FFDS for all King’s Bench locations within the Province of Alberta.

View the full announcement.

STAY CONNECTED