Practical Skills Training CPD Bundles for New Lawyers and Paralegals
Free up senior lawyer time with targeted, practical skills training for juniors.
Many firms struggle to fit junior supervision around client work. When capacity is stretched, training slips and avoidable mistakes start costing time and money – all while senior solicitors remain responsible for the work juniors produce.
Practical Skills Training Bundles give graduates and paralegals clear, step‑by‑step guidance for day‑to‑day tasks, so senior lawyers can put their supervision time to best use. Juniors learn faster, seniors stay productive, and firms benefit from improved workflow.
Developed by a Senior Practitioner for Practical Junior Training
Practical Skills CPD webinars provide hands-on training in key skills for new juniors in busy practices. With 40 years in practice, Accredited Specialist solicitor Susan Marie Hill – author of A New Lawyer’s Guide to Getting it Right the First Time (LexisNexis) and qualified coach – developed the training to supplement supervision without adding to senior lawyers’ workloads (it actually saves them time).
Practical Training Trusted by the Legal Profession
Lawcover recommends the New Lawyer Accelerator Program as a risk‑management resource. Now, firms have the flexibility of selecting 3- or 5-webinar Practical Skills Training Bundles from the program:
Key Skillsets: Meetings & Conferences; Court & Counsel; Client Communications; File Management; Professional Conduct; Managing Time, Billing & Workload.
Everyday Practice Essentials: Ideal for general practice, or for juniors needing coverage across a range of key practical skills. It’s available in both core and extended versions.
Onboarding: For firms with new starters, there’s a dedicated onboarding training bundle.
Further details for each Practical Skills Training Bundle are outlined below.
Benefits for Your Practice
Significant time-savings for senior lawyers.
More proficient, risk-aware juniors.
Improved firm productivity.
What firms gain
Reduced training demands free up senior lawyers to focus on higher value priorities.
More efficient, consistent junior performance across teams, work-from-home arrangements.
Fewer early-stage errors and write-offs, strengthening workflow and productivity.
How the training supports supervision
Helps reduce time spent on rework and correction.
Focuses entirely on core practical skills, not theory.
Flexible online, on‑demand format fits easily around busy schedules.
Assists juniors to recognise issues earlier, avoiding last-minute escalations.
Combines decades of legal experience with coaching techniques for clear, step‑by‑step guidance.
Pricing & CPD Information
Practical Skills Training Bundles are available as follows:
- 3‑ webinar bundles- $285 ($95 per webinar)
- Extended 5‑webinar bundles – $425 ($85 per webinar)
- Special 15% reduction on Everyday Practice Essentials: Core Bundle – $240; Extended Bundle – $360.
- All extended bundles are available as later add‑ons to related core bundle.
- Upgrades to the full program are available (T&Cs apply).
One CPD unit per one‑hour recorded webinar. Mandatory categories include Practice Management and Business Skills, and Professional Skills. Ethics is included where noted. Individual solicitors must self‑assess CPD claims in accordance with regulatory requirements and recorded‑webinar limits. Excludes WA.
Available Training Bundles
Your choice of these Practical Skills Training Bundles from the Lawcover‑recommended New Lawyer Accelerator Program. Select the bundle that best fits your juniors’ needs. Each bundle includes three one‑hour webinar modules (five in extended bundles), plus downloadable resources, Top Ten Tips and online quizzes:
A practical onboarding training bundle that helps new lawyers integrate smoothly into a law firm environment and settle in quickly. It clarifies how a law firm actually works by explaining the everyday systems, protocols, logistics, and expectations that sit around legal work. By preventing the administrative, logistical, and protocol‑related issues that can derail new starters early, the training supports new lawyers to operate professionally and confidently from day one.
Modules:
Setting Yourself Up for Success: Navigate firm protocols, logistics and workplace expectations effectively.
Law Firm Policies, Processes & Procedures: Covers core file management, communication standards & operational procedures.
Basics of Law Firm Business: Builds awareness of commercial practicalities underpinning legal practice.
An ‘all-rounder’ training bundle for new starters in general practice. Designed for firms where junior lawyers are expected to handle a wide range of everyday work, the training focuses on core skills for file management, client inquiries, and early court appearances – so matters are progressed competently, clients are dealt with professionally, and supervision demands stay more manageable.
Modules:
The Most Effective Ways to Handle Client Files: Organise and manage client files so matters progress efficiently.
Taking Care of Telephone Inquiries Professionally: Clear guidance for proficient handling of client first contact.
Accomplishing a Confident First Court Appearance: Takes new juniors through the end-to-end practicalities of court appearances.
An ‘all‑rounder’ training bundle for new starters in general practice who are expected to handle a broad mix of matters. In addition to core file work, client inquiries, and early court appearances, this training bundle extends to the commercial realities of legal practice and everyday ethical conflicts – supporting sound decision‑making, consistent standards, and more manageable supervision demands.
Modules:
The Most Effective Ways to Handle Client Files: Organise and manage client files so matters progress efficiently.
Taking Care of Telephone Inquiries Professionally: Clear guidance for proficient handling of client first contact.
Accomplishing a Confident First Court Appearance: Takes new juniors through the end-to-end practicalities of court appearances.
Basics of Law Firm Business: Builds awareness of commercial practicalities underpinning legal practice.
Everyday Ethics: Highlights how everyday actions can unintentionally create ethical risks.
This training bundle shows how to get the basics right, so client communications don’t create confusion, complaints, or downstream problems for your firm. It teaches practical standards for professional client interactions across instructions, emails, letters, calls, texts, and follow‑up. The emphasis on clarity, accuracy, and proper record‑keeping reduces client misunderstandings, protects firm standards, and minimises the risks created by informal or poorly controlled communication.
Modules:
Taking Care of Telephone Inquiries Professionally: Clear guidance for proficient handling of client first contact.
Core Competencies for Effective Client Communications: Ensures client communications are clear, professional, and properly recorded.
Top Tips for Taking Client Instructions: Avoid confusion with skills for taking accurate, structured instructions.
This training bundle focuses on the everyday actions that determine professional conduct in legal practice. It targets managing competing demands, exercising professional judgment in informal or pressured situations, and adjusting communications to fit context, so routine decisions don’t escalate into ethical missteps, misaligned priorities, or risky workflow breakdowns.
Modules:
Everyday Ethics: Highlights how everyday actions can unintentionally create ethical risks.
How to Communicate Like a Lawyer: Tailor communications to suit clients, colleagues, experts, and the court.
Smart Strategies for a Sustainable Legal Career: Strategies for managing workload alongside pressures of shifting priorities.
This training bundle teaches from the ground up, starting with organising meetings and conferences, progressing to preparation and participation alongside senior lawyers, and finishing with running client meetings independently. It focuses on practical actions that prevent disorganised starts, keep meetings structured, and ensure next steps are clearly captured and followed through.
Modules:
Your Essential Skills for Organising Meetings and Conferences: Straightforward systems keep everything running smoothly without disruptions.
Meetings & Conferences: Preparation & Participation: Up-to-date participants, accurate notes, & follow-through on agreed actions.
How to Effectively Manage Your Own Client Meetings: Set an organised agenda, guide the conversation, and keep discussions on track.
With little prior exposure to the commercial practicalities of legal practice, new lawyers often confine their focus to the legal work itself. This training bundle explains how time spent on matters translates directly into billable hours and fees, and why allowing enough time to do work properly matters just as much as doing it well. It develops practical skills for planning work realistically, recording time accurately, meeting fixed deadlines, and managing workload so hours are not lost to rushing, rework, or poor sequencing.
Modules:
Basics of Law Firm Business: Builds awareness of commercial practicalities underpinning legal practice.
How to Achieve Proficiency in Workload Management: Proactive systems for managing multiple matters, deadlines and competing demands.
Smart Strategies for a Sustainable Legal Career: Strategies for managing workload alongside pressures of shifting priorities.
This training bundle starts at the very beginning with the basics of clarifying what work needs to be done and keeping files under control. It then shows how to move matters forward in line with instructions and expectations, so new lawyers are clear about how matters actually progress in practice. The emphasis is on avoiding stalled files, missed steps, and last‑minute surprises, while maintaining momentum as responsibility starts to increase.
Modules:
The Most Effective Ways to Handle Client Files: Organise and manage client files so matters progress efficiently.
Five Practical Steps for Progressing Your Matters Efficiently: Techniques for moving matters forward without wasted effort or unnecessary rework.
Five Keys to Matter Management Mastery: Manage complex matters effectively with systematic organisation, coordination and follow up.
This extended training bundle builds on the fundamentals of file control and basic matter progression, taking lawyers beyond the basics into managing multiple matters, competing priorities, and increasing autonomy. It focuses on proactive workload management, sound judgment about how far to progress work independently, and the practical steps needed to keep matters moving without creating last‑minute issues or unnecessary supervision. The emphasis is on anticipating what needs to happen next, coordinating moving parts, and maintaining control as matters become more complex and responsibility increases.
Modules:
The Most Effective Ways to Handle Client Files: Organise and manage client files so matters progress efficiently.
Five Practical Steps for Progressing Your Matters Efficiently: Techniques for moving matters forward without wasted effort or unnecessary rework.
Five Keys to Matter Management Mastery: Manage complex matters effectively with systematic organisation, coordination and follow up.
How to Achieve Proficiency in Workload Management: Proactive systems for managing multiple matters, deadlines and competing demands.
Knowing How Far to Take Matters on Your Own: Practical steps for progressing matters independently without losing direction.
This training bundle covers the core litigation skills new lawyers need when appearing in court themselves on straightforward matters and when instructing counsel. It focuses on preparing clear, usable barrister’s briefs, understanding what counsel needs in court, and carrying out the role of instructing solicitor effectively. It also addresses the practicalities of junior court appearances, so avoidable problems are prevented through proper preparation and follow-up.
Modules:
How to Prepare an Impressive Barrister’s Brief: Step-by-step to preparing a clear, usable brief so counsel sees the issues at a glance.
Accomplishing a Confident First Court Appearance: Takes new juniors through the end-to-end practicalities of court appearances.
Useful Instructions for Instructing a Barrister in Court: Practical guidance for new lawyers instructing barristers in court proceedings.
In addition to covering the core litigation skills new lawyers need when appearing in court themselves on straightforward matters and when instructing counsel, this training bundle also focuses on the conference work that supports court proceedings. It includes preparing clear, usable barrister’s briefs, instructing counsel in court, and managing junior court appearances, as well as preparing for, organising, and participating in conferences with counsel.
Modules:
How to Prepare an Impressive Barrister’s Brief: Step-by-step to preparing a clear, usable brief so counsel sees the issues at a glance.
Accomplishing a Confident First Court Appearance: Takes new juniors through the end-to-end practicalities of court appearances.
Useful Instructions for Instructing a Barrister in Court: Practical guidance for new lawyers instructing barristers in court proceedings.
Your Essential Skills for Organising Meetings and Conferences: Straightforward systems keep everything running smoothly without disruptions.
Meetings & Conferences: Preparation & Participation: Up-to-date participants, accurate notes, & follow-through on agreed actions.
