Contributing to CLEBC Courses

Practice Point

Thank you for contributing your time, effort, and insight to CLEBC’s courses. We sincerely appreciate your commitment and we are happy to support you in any way we can.

Whether you are presenting at a course, writing a paper, chairing a conference, or hosting a CLE-TV course, we trust that you’ll find these resources helpful. If you have more questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at 604.669.3544 or clebcprograms@cle.bc.ca .

What course materials do presenters typically produce?

While appropriate materials will vary from course to course, three types of typical materials are:

Paper Your opportunity to address your topic in as much depth and breadth as you think appropriate.

PowerPoint Your PowerPoint supports your presentation by focusing on the key points that you will flesh out in your talk.

Handouts As appropriate, submit handouts such as:

  • flow charts, tables, or graphs
  • fact patterns
  • speaker’s notes
Preferred File Formats
PaperMS Word document; appendices in Word or PDF
PowerPoint.ppt/.pptx file (i.e. not PDF)
BioParagraph format, 120–150 words
PhotoJPEG or TIFF showing your smiling face
Deadlines

We need to have all materials three weeks prior to your course. This deadline is necessary to allow adequate time for preparation and distribution.

Top Tips for Preparing Your Paper

Please follow these style instructions when preparing your paper:

  • Include a title for your paper and, if applicable, the names of any co-authors.
  • Clearly denote headings and sub-headings.
  • Cite your case authority in the text, rather than in a footnote or endnote. When quoting a case, the citation and pinpoint reference precede the quote.
  • If you are attaching appendices, provide a title for each one and indicate the order in which they should appear. Also include source information so that the source can be appropriately cited and the appropriate reproduction permission can be requested as necessary.

CLEBC Style Guidelines

In addition to the instructions above, please follow the style guidelines below.

CLEBC Style Guide

When we receive your paper, it is converted to our house style. CLEBC staff will apply specific formatting to your paper (e.g. font, font size, and paragraph spacing). Please follow the guidelines below to ensure that your paper’s structure is appropriately interpreted:

  • Give your paper a clear and useful title that communicates both the practice area and your specific topic.
  • Clearly mark headings and subheadings to avoid confusion during publishing. CLEBC uses the following structure:
    I. MAJOR HEADING
    A. Major Heading #2
    1. Sub-heading
    (a) Subdivision Heading
    (i) Subdivision Heading
  • Indent block quotations on both margins. When quoting a case, the citation and pinpoint reference precede the quote.
  • Indent all bulleted or numbered lists. Clearly mark points and subpoints to avoid confusion during publishing.
  • Italicize statutes, case names, and non-English words.
  • Include the full name and citation for all statute excerpts. Number and indent statutory sections and subsections.
  • Place case citations directly in the text rather than in footnotes. Do not use parallel citations.
  • Use footnotes rather than endnotes.
CLEBC House Style

When we receive your paper, it is converted to our house style. Our staff will proofread, paginate, and insert a table of contents. If the images below are unclear, download the CLEBC House Style sample.

Content Guidelines for Your Paper

General guidelines concerning your written submission

Before you begin…

As you prepare your materials, please keep in mind:

  • Clear language—avoid (or explain) practice-specific jargon
  • Balance—consider all perspectives and the diversity of your BC-wide audience
  • Equality issues—from a legal perspective and from a writing perspective
  • Fact checking—please ensure that prior to submission you are satisfied with the accuracy of your materials. CLEBC will not be able to verify statute and case citations nor will we verify content.
General Content

Your course materials should consist of a formal paper covering and expanding upon the substance of your presentation, as well as one or more of the following (as appropriate):

  • precedents, forms, and checklists
  • a list of practice points and pitfalls
  • statutes and regulations
  • a list of relevant cases; emphasize recent decisions

Your paper will constitute one chapter (or section of a chapter) in the course materials and is therefore an important contribution to the course materials as a whole.

For some topics, you’ll find that your subject is well covered in a CLEBC practice manual. We encourage you to refer to the relevant publication as a starting point, but to also go beyond it. Consider your paper as an opportunity to discuss new approaches or comment on new developments in the law.

Copyright

CLEBC’s copyright policy: use of other works in your submission and CLEBC’s use of your work

Including Copyright-protected Materials in Your Work

As the author, it is your responsibility to ensure that CLEBC has permission to reprint any copyright-protected work that you reproduce. If you wish to include any copyright-protected material in your submissions, we must secure reprint permission prior to publishing.

CLEBC’s Use of Your Written Materials

As an author, you hold the copyright to your individual work, with the following exception: because your purpose in creating the work is to enable CLEBC to use the work to further the knowledge and skill of the legal community, you hereby grant to CLEBC the right to edit, reproduce, sell, lease, license to a third party, and distribute your work in any medium now in existence or which may be developed in the future including, without limitation, print, video, audio, e-mail, CD-ROM, and the Internet. If your work is a contribution to a compilation, CLEBC will own all rights in the compilation, and your rights of use will apply only to your own contribution.

CLEBC is a not-for-profit society created by and for the British Columbia legal profession. We support ourselves entirely on the sales of our products and services. We put significant effort into identifying excellent authors and determining relevant topics. For these reasons you agree not to assign your copyright, or grant an exclusive license to publish your work, to another publisher.

If you have any questions or concerns about this agreement, or wish us to make an exception to this policy, please contact Laura Selby, Director of Publications (lauras@cle.bc.ca).

Reuse of Your Paper

You are free to reprint your paper elsewhere since you hold the copyright on your own materials. Please acknowledge CLEBC as the initial publisher. As per the agreement above, please do not assign your copyright, or grant an exclusive license to publish your work, to another publisher.

A standard attribution line is, “These materials were originally produced for the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia publication, ‘name of course materials publication’ (Vancouver, BC: [month, year]).”

Top Tips for Preparing Your PowerPoint

Please follow these style instructions when preparing your PowerPoint:

  • Give each slide a clear and effective title. Slide titles are also used as index points for Courses on Demand.
  • Include only the most important highlights of your verbal presentation on-screen. Avoid lengthy text.
  • Use font size 24 and larger for maximum readability.

As a presenter, your role is to deliver high quality content in an engaging manner. An effective presentation includes:

  • Content that those attending want and need to learn
  • A logical structure, paced so that audience can understand the concepts being presented
  • A delivery that is dynamic and memorable

Tips for Designing PowerPoints

Tips on layout, graphic design, templates, and multimedia

Designing Content for Your Slides
  • Know your target audience—determine their experience level, then develop content that meets their needs.
  • Keep your slides simple—put only the bare bones of your presentation onto your slides and let your words flesh out your points.
  • Don’t overdo it—putting too much content into a slide can make it unreadable, ineffective, or distracting. Remember, PowerPoint slides are meant to support your presentation, not display it all.
  • Less is more—too much text on a PowerPoint is hard for the audience to read, and you face greater temptation to read out all the information instead of delivering your message.
  • Plan your finale—put your most important point(s) on your 3rd-to-last slide and skip to it if you run out of time. This ensures that you are able to share your most important information, and the audience is satisfied that you finished at the end of your slides.
Designing Content for Online Presentations

Here are some tips on designing online presentations from Steve Hughes of www.hityourstride.com:

  • In general, an online presentation requires more slides with less text on each slide as compared to a live presentation.
  • Try not to stay on a single static slide for more than 1-2 minutes. You have to keep things moving.
  • When conducting Q&A, give participants ample time to audibly respond or type their answers in the chat box. A little silence is okay.
  • Don’t wear busy colors or patterns, particularly stripes, when presenting over video.
Templates and Graphic Design

Please feel free to use your firm-branded template or any other template that suits your style. CLEBC can provide a generic template with CLEBC branding upon request.

Video and Links

If you plan to use video or hyperlinks in your presentation, please alert CLEBC so that we can test the multimedia on all our systems.

If you wish to include any copyright-protected material in your presentation, you must secure reuse permission prior to presentation.

Tips for Presenting PowerPoints

Improve your presentation skills for a dynamic performance

Here are some tips for delivering an engaging presentation:

  • Make your slides speaker-dependent. In other words, don’t just read your slides – expand upon them. Reading off slides is the number-one complaint from registrants.
  • Look at your audience, not at your slides. CLEBC provides a “comfort monitor” in front of the podium so you don’t have to turn around to see your slides.
  • Maintain a distance of 6″ from the microphone.
  • Whenever appropriate, your presentation should include the online audience:
    • Acknowledge and address the remote audience directly and be sure to solicit questions and comments from the online audience.
    • Take into account that the online audience can’t see the room; for example, if you ask for a show of hands, tell them how many were raised.
    • When you begin your Q&A session, encourage attendees to use the microphone when asking questions so that the online audience can hear the question before you reply.
  • End on time! When running short of time, skip sections or refer to your written materials instead of just talking faster.

Tips for Presenting at a Webinar

What to know if the course is offered as a webinar

Most CLEBC courses are simultaneously offered online. This means that in addition to the registrants in the room with you, your course has two other audiences of which you should be aware:

Webinar audience: the online learners who are watching a simultaneous webinar of your live presentation over the Internet

Webinar audience: the online learners who are watching a simultaneous webinar of your live presentation over the Internet

Courses on Demand audience: the future learners who can access the archived recording of your presentation

What do the online registrants see during my presentation?

The webinar audience sees a video of your presentation, a simultaneous display of your PowerPoint presentation, links to download your materials (e.g. paper and PowerPoint handout), and an interactive chat window.

webinarscreenshotPlease note that this course will also be added to CLEBC Courses on Demand.

By serving as a faculty member for a CLEBC Webinar, you agree to the reproduction, archiving, and online delivery of your presentation and you grant CLEBC the right to edit, reproduce, sell, lease, license to a third party, and distribute a reproduction of your presentation, including your photo, in any medium now in existence or which may be developed in the future.

Copyright

Using copyright-protected multimedia in your presentation

Including Copyright-protected Materials in Your Work

As the author, it is your responsibility to ensure that CLEBC has permission to reprint any copyright-protected work that you reproduce. You should always acknowledge all sources of copyrighted material.

CLEBC’s general practice is to remove all cartoons and copyright-protected images from the online version of PowerPoint presentations unless explicit reproduction permission is granted.

Audience Polling (“Clickers”)

Engage your audience with interactive elements

Introduction

Simple polls can be built right into your presentation and get immediate responses from the audience that are electronically tabulated right in the PowerPoint. Clickers can be particularly effective if you want to ask an ethics question or other sensitive question where your audience will want to answer anonymously.

If you are interested in using the Clickers, contact the Program Lawyer you are working with to find out how to make this work.

Any PowerPoint presentation that is using the Clickers technology must be submitted to us at least 3 weeks prior to the course. The slides with polls on them will require additional processing, so please give us time to work on them.

Creating a poll slide

Creating a poll slide is easy:

  1. Put your question in the title of the slide.
  2. Put your answers in the body of the slide.
  3. Clearly indicate which slides are polls and we’ll take care of the rest!
Design Tips
  • Be concise! On the poll slide, write a short question and abbreviated answer options. Putting too much content (e.g., long question, long answers, or too many answer options) on your slide leaves no room for the results chart.
  • If you have a complex scenario, consider spreading it over a few slides. Put the question and answers on a separate slide from the scenario.

For more information, download the Audience Response System guide, which includes a detailed walk-through of how the clickers work.

Further Reading

Links to more resources

Presentations

CLEBC offers a seminar entitled Effective Legal Presentations in PowerPoint at various times throughout the year. Please email clebcprograms@cle.bc.ca or phone 604.669.3544 for further information.

Moderating a Panel Discussion (at the course)

Your Role

When moderating a panel discussion, your role is to manage the flow of information so that the audience gets the most out of the discussion. You can do this by:

  • providing structure to the discussion at the outset
    • lay out the procedures the panel will follow
    • state any necessary ground rules so that everyone feels safe about expressing their views, even if unpopular
  • ensuring that all key points are covered
  • keeping the discussion on topic and on time
Preparing

Prepare the scope of the discussion before the course

Spend some time considering the topic and prepare:

  • the four to six main subtopics you think need to be discussed
  • a lead-in question for each subtopic
  • the key points you think should be covered for each subtopic
  • a few questions for each subtopic that you can fall back on if the discussion flags or goes off topic
Managing the Discussion

Help the audience get the most out of the discussion

To make sure the registrants get the most out of the discussion:

  • make a checklist for yourself of the main subtopics (and their allotted time) and the key points for each—use it during the discussion to help maintain focus
  • ensure that the ground rules and procedures you set out at the opening are adhered to throughout
  • ask clarifying questions or challenge the presenters’ assumptions where appropriate
  • raise any important aspects of the topic you think are being ignored
  • summarize what has been discussed before moving on to the next subtopic
Managing the Panel

Get the most out of your panelists

To get the most out of your panelists:

  • encourage contributions from all presenters on every topic to provide a balance of perspectives
  • if presenters are dominating, ask others to react to what they are hearing
  • if presenters are too quiet, ask questions aimed directly at them
  • watch the reactions of other presenters as a panelist is speaking, and if they react to a certain point, draw them out (“Jane, you looked like you wanted to add something when Bill mentioned…” or “Alex, do you have a question for Kelly on her point about…”)

Serving as an Online Moderator

Your Role

As the Online Moderator for a course, your primary goal is to engage our online audience and ensure they have an overall quality learning experience. This includes managing the flow of questions and comments coming in; ensuring that these questions and comments are addressed either by yourself or one of the other presenters at some point during the course; and just generally being attentive and responsive to their overall learning needs.

The idea is to engage the online audience and subject to your individual comfort level, please feel free to chat with them as much as you like.

General Tips

Here are some tips for serving as an Online Moderator:

  • Attend all faculty meetings and gain familiarity with the topics in advance of the course
  • Consider what type of mobile device you would prefer to use (laptop or tablet). CLEBC can provide
    either device for you to use while sitting at the head table for the day
  • Be aware that there is a slight delay between what’s happening in the ballroom and the chats
    being displayed
  • Generally, our online audience is quite passive, so don’t be too surprised if you don’t receive many
    comments throughout the day. That being said, there may be times when the questions and
    comments can come in fast and furious!
  • When you receive questions from the online audience, you can either ask them out loud to the
    presenters during the Q&A period or answer them yourself at any time. Either approach is fine
  • If the question is about technical assistance and not substantive content, then you can leave those
    types of questions alone. Our online team will address such questions
  • If you receive a number of questions all at once, you can provide the following responses
    to the online attendees:
    • “We’ll get to your question”
    • “Your question is in the queue”
    • “We’re not ignoring you”
    • “Thanks for your patience”
Further Reading

Links to more resources

How to Moderate a Panel Like a Pro – Harvard Business Review

Chairing a Course

Your Role

As course chair, you will work with a CLEBC Program Lawyer or Program Coordinator in designing, developing, and coordinating the program. This includes:

  • selecting topics
  • identifying and contacting prospective presenters
  • summarizing the topics for use in the brochure
  • enforcing course material deadlines
  • appearing on-site at the live presentations to introduce the program and speakers, moderating any discussion, and managing questions from live and online registrants
The Format of the Course

Be creative with the format of the course

Presentations need not be “talking head” lecture-only style. To enhance the presentation of topics, consider using:

  • panel discussions
  • demonstrations
  • role plays
  • mock trials
  • fact patterns
  • audience polls
At the Course

Read more about introducing the course, guiding the day’s events, and encouraging healthy interaction

Introduce the course

  • check in at the CLEBC registration desk upon arrival
  • start on time and set a positive tone for the course
  • discuss the goals and objectives of the program
  • get a sense of your audience by asking a few short questions, as appropriate, and asking for a show of hands
  • feel free to mingle with registrants before the course, during the breaks, and after the course

Guide the day’s events

  • introduce presenters appropriately and consistently
  • communicate administrative details periodically (break times, agenda changes, reminders, etc.)
  • keep the presenters, and yourself, on time!
  • bridge the transition from presenter to presenter and from topic to topic effectively by thanking the current presenter and introducing the next

Facilitate and encourage healthy interaction between presenters and registrants

  • encourage the registrants to ask questions and make comments
  • use the nine-second rule: after requesting questions, slowly count to nine before moving on
  • if you’re running short on time, limit the number of questions by saying something like “We’re only going to take one or two questions, and the rest will be handled during the break.”

Wrap up the program enthusiastically

  • sum up the day’s event and show how the course goals were met
  • remind registrants of the usefulness and importance of filling out evaluations
  • thank the presenters, registrants and anyone you felt had a big part to play in developing a successful program

Presenting a CLE-TV Course

Top Tips for Presenting a CLE-TV Course

Here are some tips to help you prepare for an online CLE-TV course:

  • Focus on the key points of your material, with any additional information provided in written form
  • Use an interview or conversational style; avoid the “talking head” presentation
  • Plan for 5–6 segments of 6–10 minutes each, with interaction with the audience every 10 minutes
  • Interact with the audience by asking them to answer at least 3 poll questions and by taking questions
Overview

What makes CLE-TV different from other courses?

  • interview/discussion format
  • short segments (and a tightly-timed agenda)
  • structured interaction with the audience using poll questions.
  • practical materials: checklists, lists of cases, approaches, rather than papers
  • webcast live from our studio
  • no simultaneous PowerPoint presentation
  • We strive for great production value
Our expectations of you

(With help from the course designer)

  • Identify what you want people to know or be able to do (Learning Objectives)
  • Within your topic, create 4 to 6 short subtopics: focus on just the key points
  • Create at least 3 poll questions
  • Work with your co-presenters to plan the interview/discussion format
  • Create a timed agenda
  • Provide practical materials (short paper, checklists, practice tips, samples, precedents and other references)
What you can expect as a CLE-TV presenter

Creating the format and content of a CLE-TV program

Planning

There will be one or two hour long planning meetings, probably over the telephone. You may also meet with your co-presenters to refine the content and materials.

Presentation

Course content should be structured as interview and discussion. Usually, one of the presenters will be asked to take the role of “host”, posing questions and moderating the discussion, to which they also contribute.

Short segments, punctuated by interaction with the audience

The course should be divided into short segments of 6 to 10 minutes, each one focused on a topic or subtopic. To get the most out of this format, the course should focus on just the key points or nuggets. As a guideline, ask yourself what are the 4 to 6 most important points that you want people to take away. Those should be your segment topics. To create interaction, we ask you to prepare at least 3 poll questions, and include time for Q & A. We will create a timed agenda that includes the topics, poll questions and Q & A, and we expect to stick to the timing as much as possible.

Sample CLE-TV Agenda

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Scenario-based presentation

(Note: research has shown that four to six minutes is the maximum amount of time that people pay attention online, when there is no interaction. We often use the CLE‑TV to create our Self-Paced eLearning courses, and well organized, titled segments lend themselves best to this, as do good poll questions.)

The use of practical, realistic scenarios can help the audience to understand and apply the information you present. Present the principles and concepts then discuss their application in the scenario. Invite participation by posing a poll question prior to your discussion.

The experience of presenting online

Presenting online with no audience can feel strange. The audience interaction is managed by the CLEBC host, who will read the questions to you. People ask questions or comment in a chat forum that is visible to all.

Let us know if you would like to see a recording of a CLE‑TV. The majority of people who have attended CLE‑TV so far have been experienced practitioners with over 11 years call, many with over 20 years. Please keep that in mind as you prepare.

Remember: since the time is short please focus on the key points you want to make, with any additional information provided in written form.

Thank you for being willing to try something new! We hope you will enjoy your experience as a presenter for CLE‑TV.

Materials

Collecting and creating reference materials

All materials should be submitted to CLEBC two weeks prior to the course.

Prepare materials that serve as a reminder of what you covered and provide practical reference materials after the course. Examples are practice tips, precedents, checklists, examples, and other resources. If you have more to say, provide that additional information in a paper.

We do not use PowerPoint slides. However, a PowerPoint presentation can form part of the course materials. We are able to display on screen, text (case names, legislation). Also, we encourage you to provide content that is helpful to show on screen, such as graphs and key points.

We also post a link to your bio on your firm website. Please advise us if you do not want that included.

Logistics on the day of the course

When to arrive, what to do, what to wear

Please arrive at the studio at CLEBC, 500-1155 West Pender Street, no later than 11:00 to allow us time to do sound checks and other preparation. We have a make-up person who can provide finishing powder and anti-shine products.

We recommend that you wear medium- to dark-coloured clothing with no checks or stripes. Patterns, especially those that are small, can affect the video picture. Our background is light blue, so medium to dark colours work well. We have recently purchased cool lights, making the studio a more comfortable temperature.

Copyright

CLEBC’s use of your work

By serving as a faculty member for CLE‑TV, you agree to the reproduction, archiving, and online delivery of your presentation and you grant CLEBC the right to edit, reproduce, sell, lease, license to a third party, and distribute a reproduction of your presentation, including your photo, in any medium now in existence or which may be developed in the future.

Creating Poll Questions

Top Tips for Creating Poll Questions
  • Use a mix of question types to enrich the learning experience
  • Ask about only one concept at a time
  • Make all answer options concise, parallel, and grammatically consistent
  • Presenters often ask for guidance in creating poll questions. We offer these examples and explanation to assist you. You can also ask CLEBC for assistance with creating your poll questions.
Why use poll questions?

Poll questions create a pause in the delivery of information, which helps to maintain attention online. Research suggests segments should be no longer than 6 minutes.

Poll questions allow for sharing of information and opinions, assessing knowledge or experience, and engaging the learner to reflect on or apply the content. Many people are watching alone, and a poll question gives them the opportunity to answer anonymously. That is particularly useful in discussing practice and ethical issues.

Quick poll questions can take about 1 minute, while more complicated questions take two to three minutes.

Example Poll Questions

Here are some examples of different types of poll questions, including explanations of the ideal uses of each type of question:

Use poll questions to assess knowledge/experience — three ways to use:

1. Knowledge level at the beginning of the course or before the course starts:

Use this poll question to get information about the current level of knowledge or experience. You might use this to adapt the focus of your presentation to your audience.

How comfortable are you now screening for family violence?

a. Not at all
b. Somewhat
c. Very

2. Knowledge level at the end of the course:

Ask the same question at the end of the program, to determine how much was learned.

How comfortable are you now screening for family violence?

a. Not at all
b. Somewhat
c. Very

3. Check understanding during the course:

To assess the level of understanding before you move on, and to replace the feedback you are accustomed to when you can see the learners.

Screening for family violence is important to you as a lawyer because:

a. You care about your clients’ emotional well being
b. You may need to adjust the way you manage the file
c. You can’t send such a client to mediation

Use poll questions to share information that is of interest to the audience:

Use these questions as a quick break. They can also give you information about your audience.

  • Have you used social media as evidence?
  • How many of your clients have objected to their bills?
  • Do you write a new retainer letter for each new matter?

Use poll questions to challenge learners on their understanding of the upcoming topic:

Use this type of poll question to set up the discussion of the topic. This kind of question requires thinking, which will aid learning.

If you know or believe the funds are the proceeds of crime, can you give them back to your client?

a. Yes
b. No

 

Do you believe you have an obligation to disclose a decision unfavorable to your client?

a. To the court?
b. To the unrepresented litigant?
c. To both?

Use poll questions to have the learner apply the information through a scenario:

This is the most interesting but also the most complicated. It helps to integrate and apply the knowledge. Each of the questions should be followed by a discussion.

Example #1:

Lawyer X is a lawyer practising exclusively on the plaintiff’s side in personal injury actions. He works almost exclusively on contingency fee retainers. He has a very experienced paralegal working with him. That paralegal is well known in the community and often refers clients to Lawyer X. Lawyer X has agreed to pay her $500 for each file she refers and a bonus on top of that for files where his fee exceeds $50,000.

His paralegal is not only capable but is also very entrepreneurial. His paralegal sets up a photocopy business to do the copying for all the professionals in the building. The paralegal charges lawyers $0.25 per page and agrees to rebate any lawyer $0.05 a page if the volume of their photocopying requirement exceeds 10,000 pages per month.

a. Is Lawyer X permitted to pay his paralegal for referring clients?
b. When billing the file what must Lawyer X do if he received a rebate?
Question (b) could include up to four short answers

Example #2:

You practice as a general practitioner in a smaller community — your firm has 8 lawyers. You act for a sub trade in a dispute with a general contractor known as Perez Contracting. You are also known as the go-to lawyer in the community for developing wineries. One day Helen Chow comes to you and asks you to represent the joint venture she has formed with an investor, in the development of a new winery. The investor is JP Holdings Inc. You open the file and start work — Helen is instructing you on the file. After about 3 months, Helen suggests that you meet with the investor, and Jamie Perez and Helen Chow come in for a meeting.

a. When you are introduced to Jamie Perez and start talking about Perez’s other business interests, you realize that he is the principal of Perez Contracting. What do you do? Up to four short answers could be included
b. Is there a conflict of interest acting for JP Holdings in a joint venture, and against Perez Contracting? What kind of conflict? Up to four short answers could be included
c. Does the situation change if the winery was not a joint venture, but instead was a company in which JP Holdings was a shareholder and Jamie Perez was a director?
d. Does the situation change if the winery was a company, and Perez Contracting was a shareholder but Jamie Perez was not a director of the winery company?

How to Calculate and Report Your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Hours

What CPD credit do you get for Contributing to CLEBC?

CLEBC course contributors may claim the following:

ActivityReporting Credit
Presenting1 hour = 3 hours reporting credit
Writing1 hour = 1 hour reporting credit (up to a maximum of 6 hours)
Attending*1 hour = 1 hour reporting credit
Chairing1 hour = 1 hour reporting credit

* Please note that you cannot simultaneously claim attendance and presentation credit. For example, if you present for one hour of a six-hour course and attend the rest of the course, you can claim a maximum of five hours of attendance time.

Sample CPD reporting credits for a typical course

If you were to present for one hour of a six-hour course, you attend the rest of the course, and you invest six hours in writing your paper, you could claim:

1 hour presenting = 3 hours CPD reporting credit
6 hours writing = 6 hours CPD reporting credit
5 hours attending = 5 hours CPD reporting credit
Total: 10 hours CPD reporting credit

Teaching and Writing Credit

How to report hours earned by preparing materials and presenting at a course

  1. Go to the Law Society of BC website and log in to your account.
  2. Click on the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) link.
  3. Choose the “Record/Request Credits” tab.
    If you are claiming teaching credit, click on the Request credit for teaching link in the “Teaching, writing and mentoring” section. Go to #4.
    If you are claiming writing credit, click on the Request credit for writing link in the “Teaching, writing and mentoring” section. Go to #5.
  4. To request teaching credit, fill in the form following the guidelines below or refer to the View Instructions link at the top of the form:
    1. Course Name & Provider Name:
      Enter the name of the course, followed by “CLEBC”
    2. Total Teaching and Prep Hours:
      You can claim 3 hours for every 1 hour of presentation time. This can be prorated. For example, if your presentation lasted 1 hour, you can claim 3 hours of teaching; if your presentation lasted 20 minutes, you can claim 1 hour of teaching time.
    3. Was this teaching activity part of your regular employment?
      Choose “No”.
    4. Did you teach substantially the same subject matter within the same reporting year?
      Please note that CPD credit is only available for the first time the teaching activity in this subject area is performed in the reporting year.
    5. Delivery Method:
      For regular courses, choose “In-person.” For CLE-TV, choose “Online.”
    6. Practice Area:
      Choose the area that applies to this course.
    7. Description of Teaching Activity:
      Enter a detailed description of your teaching activity.
      For example: “I presented at the CLEBC course [name of course]. My topic was [x] and I discussed the following: [brief description of presentation].”
      You must also indicate that this is a previously approved CLEBC course.
    8. Course Link:
      Optional. You can paste in the URL of the course from the CLEBC web page. You may contact the Program Lawyer or the Publications Assistant if you would like to provide this information.
    9. Primary Target Audience:
      Most CLEBC courses are targeted to lawyers. CLEBC courses that list Legal Support Staff in the course name are targeted to Paralegals.

    When finished, continue to #6.

  5. To request writing credit, fill in the form following the guidelines below or refer to the View Instructions link at the top of the form:
    1. Name of Writing Project:
      Enter the name of the CLEBC publication as indicated on the title page of the course materials.
    2. Total Writing Hours:
      Enter the total number of hours that you spent to prepare and write your paper.
    3. Total Writing Credits:
      Enter the number of hours that you wish to claim to a maximum of 6 hours. Hours can be accredited based on the actual time to produce the final product.
    4. Detailed Description of Writing Project:
      Enter a detailed description of the writing project. You should include the following information: the title of the CLEBC course materials (found on the cover page of your binder), the title of your paper, and what areas of law it covered. For example: “I wrote a paper for the CLEBC publication [title of course materials compilation]. My topic was [x] and I discussed the following: [brief description of paper].”
    5. Writing Project Link:
      Optional. You can paste in the URL of the CLEBC course materials web store page. You may contact the Program Lawyer or Publications Assistant if you would like to provide this information.
    6. Primary Target Audience:
      Most CLEBC course materials are targeted to lawyers. CLEBC course materials that list Legal Support Staff in the course name are targeted to Paralegals.
    7. Is it published?
      Choose “Yes” and enter “CLEBC; Vancouver, BC” in the next box to indicate where it was published.
  6. When finished, click on the “Submit Your Request” button. You will receive a message advising you if your form was submitted properly. Staff at the Law Society of BC will review your request. If approved, LSBC staff will update your CPD hours for you and send you a confirmation email from Member Services. Please note that it usually takes at least two weeks for the form to be reviewed and the credits to be added to the account.

Support from CLEBC

Research

We are happy to provide you with temporary access to our online resources to assist you in researching your paper or presentation. Our online resources include:

  • Online Course Materials
  • Courses on Demand
  • Online Practice Manuals
  • Case Digest Connection

Just contact the CLEBC Program Lawyer or Program Coordinator you are working with to arrange access.

Course Materials and PowerPoint

At least 3 days before the course, you will receive an email with a link to the electronic version of the course materials. Please take this opportunity to review the materials as a whole, but specifically your own materials. If there are any errors or problems with your materials, please let us know immediately so that we can try to correct them by course day.

If you need assistance with creating your PowerPoint slides, please contact your CLEBC Program Lawyer or Program Coordinator at your earliest convenience.

CLEBC Workshops

CLEBC holds an Effective Presentation Skills workshop by request. Please email clebcprograms@cle.bc.ca or phone 604-669-3544 for further information.

Effective Presentation Skills

At this free one-hour private session, you will present a topic of your own choice. You will then receive feedback on your delivery and presentation style from the instructor. You will learn what really works—and what really doesn’t work—in creating effective, memorable presentations.

Prior to attending, you will need to prepare a brief presentation for delivery during this workshop. It should be approximately five minutes long, with a maximum of two pages of text.

Your Instructor: KATRINA DUNN is the Course Director for Touchstone Training and the Artistic Director of Touchstone Theatre, one of Vancouver’s most cherished cultural organizations. An award-winning professional director, she studied acting at Simon Fraser University and directing at the National Theatre School of Canada. In addition to her work at Touchstone, she is a freelance director whose credits include productions for Bard on the Beach and the Arts Club Theatre. Katrina has been working with lawyers on the annual Lawyer Show fundraiser for over ten years, and has been teaching performance skills workshops for lawyers through Touchstone Training for more than five years.

Course Materials

General

What is my materials deadline?

The materials deadline is 3 weeks in advance of the course, as indicated by the Details and Deadlines sheet that you received from your CLEBC Program Lawyer or Program Coordinator.

How do I submit my materials?

Please submit your materials by email to CLEBC Programs.
I can’t meet my deadline. Do you have any flexibility with the materials deadline?
Contact the Publications Assistant or contact the Program Lawyer to discuss alternative arrangements. With advance notice, we can accommodate your busy schedule. The more notice we have, the better the flexibility we can offer to you.

Why can’t I just bring my paper and PowerPoint presentation to the course on the day of?

Nearly all CLEBC courses are recorded live on the day of the course for the Courses on Demand. We need time to load all your materials into the recording interface so that your materials are included in the recording.

Do I retain copyright on the materials I prepare for CLEBC?

As an author, you hold the copyright to your individual work, with the following exception: because your purpose in creating the work is to enable CLEBC to use the work to further the knowledge and skill of the legal community, you hereby grant to CLEBC the right to edit, reproduce, sell, lease, license to a third party, and distribute your work in any medium now in existence or which may be developed in the future including, without limitation, print, video, audio, e-mail, CD-ROM, and the Internet. If your work is a contribution to a compilation, CLEBC will own all rights in the compilation, and your rights of use will apply only to your own contribution.

CLEBC is a not-for-profit society created by and for the British Columbia legal profession. We support ourselves entirely on the sales of our products and services. We put significant effort into identifying excellent authors and determining relevant topics. For these reasons you agree not to assign your copyright, or grant an exclusive license to publish your work, to another publisher.

If you have any questions or concerns about this agreement, or wish us to make an exception to this policy, please contact Susan Munro, Director of Publications (smunro@cle.bc.ca).

I need to include content on professional responsibility and ethics. Do you have any suggestions?

CLEBC has compiled a handout of potential issues for discussion regarding professional responsibility and ethics, client care and relations, and/or practice management. Download our guide here.

Papers and Written Materials

How do I format my paper?

CLEBC staff apply specific formatting to your paper (e.g. font, font size, and paragraph spacing), so you need not be overly concerned about the format of your paper. However, we request that you follow CLEBC’s style instructions, which are found on the “Preparing a Paper” page

Can I submit a paper I’ve published elsewhere?

Although we greatly appreciate having original papers, yes, you can submit a paper you’ve published previously. Please ensure that the original publisher allows you to grant permission to CLEBC to reproduce your paper. Also, please indicate any acknowledgements that CLEBC should include.

PowerPoint Presentations

Why do I have to make a PowerPoint presentation?

The majority of our courses are also Webinars and are included in our Courses on Demand. In an effort to help our viewers keep focused for a full day in front of their computers, we use PowerPoint slides to help maintain visual interest

The title on each slide also forms an index point for the Courses on Demand recording, allowing Courses on Demand users to easily navigate to specific parts of your presentation.

If I don’t have the time or ability to make a PowerPoint presentation, will CLEBC do it for me?

Given advance notice, CLEBC can assist you in creating a very basic PowerPoint presentation. Please contact CLEBC Programs at least three weeks in advance of the course if you will need help creating a PowerPoint.

Does CLEBC have a generic PowerPoint template they would like us to use?

CLEBC does not have a standard PowerPoint template. Please feel free to use your firm-branded template or any other template that suits your style and your presentation.

Can I use a different file type (e.g. OpenOffice, Keynote, or Prezi)?

We strongly prefer that you submit a PowerPoint presentation as our webinar software works best with Microsoft PowerPoint. However, with advance notice, we may be able to use your existing presentation by converting it into a PowerPoint-compatible format. If you are thinking about using a different file format, please contact CLEBC Programs at least 2 weeks in advance of the course.

Expenses and Travel

What expenses can I claim?

Travel:

Applicable items include (original receipts are required):

  • Airfare (not to exceed lowest available advance purchase economy airfare). Advance purchase airfare is required.
  • Travel by car is reimbursable at a rate of 54¢ per kilometer for out-of-town travel only. Mileage is not to exceed the cost of advance purchase airfare.
  • Ground transportation, ferry, and parking costs.
  • Hotel expenses for for one night, if necessary (it may be possible to fly in and out on the day of the course if you are travelling within British Columbia). Please contact CLEBC to make hotel arrangements so that we may secure the best corporate rate.
  • All reasonable meal expenses incurred in conjunction with the CLEBC course.

CLEBC will NOT reimburse the following without pre-approval:

  • Computerized legal research
  • Airfare above the lowest available fare
  • Hotel for more than one night

Please contact your Program Lawyer or email CLEBC Programs to pre-approve these expenses.

Photocopying: Photocopying may be claimed at 5¢ per copy. This does not include late course materials.
Word Processing: We do not pay word processings costs.

How do I claim my expenses?

Fill out the Expense Claim Form emailed to you by CLEBC Programs, then return the form and all original receipts to CLEBC’s Accounting Department by mail.

If you can’t find your course-specific Expense Claim Form, you can download a blank Expense Claim Form.

Should I arrange my own travel?

Please contact CLEBC before making travel or hotel arrangements as we may have access to CLEBC’s corporate rate. In most cases we will be happy to arrange your travel for you; however, if you and CLEBC decide in advance that it is more convenient for you to make your own arrangements, you may do so.

Bio and Photo

What should I include in my bio?

We would like to have a 120-150-word narrative-form biography that describes your area of practice, areas of interest, notable cases or publications, and any other details that you would like to share. Please write your biography in paragraph form (i.e. no bullet points).

Here is a sample biography:

John M. Smith is a partner and leader of the litigation group of Jones Brown & Smith LLP, Vancouver. He practices in the area of civil and commercial litigation with a focus on shareholder disputes, intellectual property disputes, commercial arbitration and administrative law.

He has appeared before all levels of court in Canada, including the Supreme Court of Canada. He has acted in a wide range of arbitrations and regularly appears before administrative tribunals.

John attended the University of Toronto where he completed a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and a Masters in Business Administration before obtaining his law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School, York University. John was called to the Ontario bar in 1985, and the BC Bar in 2003.

Please submit your biography to CLEBC Programs.

Why do I have to send a bio?

We give all faculty biographies to the course chairs to aid their introductions. For certain courses, or at the request of the course organizers, we may also distribute a copy of the written biographies to all attendees.
Please submit your paragraph-form biography to CLEBC Programs.

What kind of a photo do I need to send?

Please send a JPEG or TIFF file that clearly shows your face. You can send a professionally-shot photo or a personal photo. We may crop the photo to show just your head and shoulders.
Please submit your photo to CLEBC Programs.

Why do I have to send a photo?

We use photos to help indicate to the online audience who is speaking during a panel discussion. Your photo also serves as a backup visual aid in the rare event that the live video stream is lost for the online webinar.
Please submit your photo to CLEBC Programs.

Webinars

What is a Webinar?

A Webinar is an online simulcast of our in-person courses.

What do Webinar attendees see during my presentation?

The webinar audience sees a video of your presentation, a simultaneous display of your PowerPoint presentation, links to download your materials (e.g. paper and PowerPoint handout), and an interactive chat window.

Screenshot of the webinar interface

Screenshot of the webinar interface

Do I have to do anything differently because the course is online?

Whenever appropriate, your presentation should include the online audience:

  • Acknowledge the online audience whenever appropriate, and be sure to solicit questions and comments from the online audience.
  • Take into account that the online audience can’t see the room. For example, if you ask for a show of hands, tell them how many were raised.
  • Repeat all questions from the floor so that the online audience can hear the question before you reply.

Here are some tips from Steve Hughes of www.hityourstride.com:

  • In general, an online presentation requires more slides with less text on each slide as compared to a live presentation.
  • Try not to stay on a single static slide for more than 1-2 minutes. You have to keep things moving.
  • When conducting Q&A, give participants ample time to audibly respond or type their answers in the chat box. A little silence is okay.
  • Don’t wear busy colors or patterns, particularly stripes, when presenting over video.

CLE-TV

What is CLE-TV?

CLE-TV courses are one- to two-hour online courses with live video streaming. Offered primarily at lunch time, these programs are delivered live from our CLE-TV studio. Most have an interview format, with plenty of opportunities to ask questions of the presenters through text chat.

What is the format of a typical CLE-TV course?

A typical CLE-TV course includes five or six segments of approximately 6–10 minutes each. Each segment includes a brief presentation of the principles and concepts, followed by a discussion of their application along with Q & A or poll questions. The discussion is best presented as an interview or a conversation between the presenters.

What should I wear?

We recommend that you wear medium- to dark-coloured clothing with no checks or stripes. For more detailed information, check out the “Logistics on the Day of the Course” section of the CLE-TV page.

CLEBC Contact Information

Questions, Materials Submissions, Expenses, etc.
clebcprograms@cle.bc.ca
604.669.3544

Download the contributor handbook