Monash duo launch new legal training tool

March 2008

Left to right: Natalie Wieland and Samantha Lawry

Natalie Wieland (BA 1993, LLB 1994) and Samantha Lawry (BA 1995, LLB(Hons) 1995) have combined their skills to launch an online professional development program for lawyers.

In 2007, the Victorian rules changed to allow web-based legal training. Ms Wieland and Ms Lawry saw an opportunity to provide lawyers with a simple way to complete their Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements. They formed a company - CPD Interactive - in May 2007 and launched the website last month.

“CPD Interactive took on a life of its own. The more people we spoke to, the more it seemed to be the perfect time and the perfect vehicle for us to utilise the skills we’d developed over the years,” said Ms Wieland.

Victorian lawyers must undertake ten points of CPD activity each year to retain their practising certificate. Traditionally, lawyers have attended seminars or prepared papers to gain these points.

“We experienced the difficulties in attending seminars to get points, and knew from the market that this was a common theme – busy lawyers, juggling different constraints trying to meet additional CPD requirements,” said Ms Lawry.

After graduating from Monash, Ms Wieland and Ms Lawry practised law and then began to specialise. Ms Wieland pursued legal training while Ms Lawry worked in legal publishing and communications.

Ms Lawry found that a combination Arts/Law degree gave her a wide range of skills.

“Arts gave me the chance to explore my interests in language while Law gave me the technical skills as well as an understanding of how our rights operate in practice,” she said.

Ms Wieland also values the friendships she formed while at Monash.

“Samantha and I, together with nine other women that studied law with us, continue to meet on the first Wednesday of every month, at the same time and same place and have done so for 15 years!” she said.

Link:

CPD Interactive website