Practice Management Course Guidelines

Transcription

1 Practice Management Course Guidelines General Information The Practice Management Course (PMC) Guidelines provide all PMC participants with an overview of the PMC, and its rules of administration. All participants should thoroughly familiarise themselves with these guidelines before undertaking the Practice Management Course. Contents 1. Introduction 2. Course Information 3. Administration of the PMC 4. Successful Completion of the PMC 5. Feasibility Study 6. Assessment 7. Extensions 8. Academic Misconduct 9. Logistics 10. Further information and queries PMC: Course Guidelines Page 1 of 9

2 1. Introduction 1.1 The aim of the Queensland Law Society s (QLS) Practice Management Course (PMC) is to provide all PMC graduates with fundamental management skills and knowledge that will greatly assist them in running a professional, efficient and effective legal practice. 1.2 The origins of the PMC stem from the 1988 CLE Rules passed by the Queensland Law Society s Council. These rules recognised that many of the problems solicitors encountered in the running of their practices stemmed from the practitioner s lack of management training. 1.3 The current PMC is governed by the Queensland Law Society Administration Rule Rule 9(2) of the Queensland Law Society Administration Rule 2005 states that a legal practitioner who was admitted as a solicitor in this jurisdiction before 17 December 1988 is eligible to be issued a principal practicing certificate for the purposes of subrule (1) without holding a current PMC statement. 1.5 The PMC Guidelines are to be read in conjunction with the QLS Administration Rule. 2. Course Information 2.1 The PMC learning prior to the tutorial day is delivered in a range of formats primarily in the form of reading materials available on a supplied USB stick, but also involving the viewing of DVDs and occasional other activities 2.2 In order to successfully complete the PMC and obtain a Practice Management Statement, PMC participants are required to:- Complete four (4) learning modules (Professional Standards, Management, Risk Management and Trust Accounts). Complete a Trust Accounting Workbook which is to be submitted at participant s nominated PMC tutorial day (this is not an assessable item, but completion is a requirement). Attend and actively participate in all components of a one day, face-to-face PMC tutorial. Successfully undertake (i.e. to a standard of 70% or above) a closed-book, trust accounts exam. Such exam is to be undertaken at the participant s nominated PMC tutorial day. 2.3 Completion of all modules is required prior to attendance at the face-to-face tutorial. 2.4 Upon attendance at their nominated tutorial, all participants will be required to sign a Declaration of Completion stating that they have personally completed all required components of the PMC. 2.5 The submission of a false Declaration of Completion, as referred to in Clause 2.4, will amount to Academic Misconduct and may be subject to any of the penalties as outlined under Section 8.2 of these guidelines. PMC: Course Guidelines Page 2 of 9

3 3. Administration of the PMC 3.1 Eligibility The PMC is open to application from any individual who is currently enrolled as a lawyer in any jurisdiction in Australia. 3.2 Enrolment A participant is considered to be enrolled for the PMC only upon confirmation of the participant s application by QLS, and upon receipt of the full monies required for that course (i.e. $2, for full course, $ for partial course) A participant s enrolment will be confirmed via letter and by the forwarding of all appropriate course materials Each PMC participant will be advised of the respective course code of their PMC upon confirmation of the date of their tutorial attendance. The appropriate course code for each participant will be based on the date of the face-to-face tutorial. 3.3 Learning Materials To illustrate:- Participant A nominates to attend the February 2012 tutorial which is the first tutorial available in The course code for this participant is PMC There is no single prescribed text for the PMC. For all modules, a number of texts and readings will be provided. 3.4 Cancellation and Refund Policy As is the case with practising certificate fees, the benefit of enrolment attaches to the enrolled participant rather than any firm, regardless of who pays the fees. Refunds will be payable to the participant only. The amount of any refund will be determined as follows:- If a participant withdraws from the PMC within four (4) weeks from the date of confirmation of enrolment and prior to attendance at their tutorial: 90% refund If a participant withdraws from the PMC after four (4) weeks but before ten (10) weeks from the date of confirmation of enrolment and prior to attendance at their tutorial: 70% refund If a participant withdraws from the PMC any time after ten (10) weeks from the date of confirmation of enrolment: 0% refund Upon complete withdrawal from a current course, no course credit will be allocated towards any future PMC courses. PMC: Course Guidelines Page 3 of 9

4 3.5 Deferral/Transferal of Credit Policy No deferrals or transfers of credit will be granted for the PMC. 3.6 Time Limitation PMC participants must complete all requirements of the PMC within twelve (12) months of the commencement of their enrolment as per Rule 35(1) of the Queensland Law Society Administration Rule Any requests for extensions of this time limit will only be considered in exceptional circumstances, and will be at the discretion of QLS Requests for an extension will only be considered by QLS if forwarded at least one week prior to the lapse of the twelve (12) month period since enrolment All requests for an extension are to be forwarded in writing with accompanying documentation (e.g. medical certificate, statements) enclosed As a guide, a heavy workload or unexpected case will rarely form the basis of an exceptional circumstance for the purpose of granting an extension to this time limitation All requests for extensions should be forwarded in the first instance to:- 3.7 Confidentiality Manager, Practice Support Queensland Law Society GPO Box 1785 Brisbane Qld All content and performance issues relating to participants undertaking the PMC remain confidential between the relevant QLS staff, Committees and Council, QLS PMC Contractors and the respective PMC student It is the responsibility of the individual participant to notify the QLS Practice Management staff (pmc@qls.com.au) of any special requirements that the participant may have in relation to the PMC. PMC: Course Guidelines Page 4 of 9

5 4. Successful Completion of the Practice Management Course 4.1 As previously outlined in Section 2.2, in order to successfully complete the PMC and obtain a Practice Management Statement, PMC participants are required to:- Complete four (4) learning modules (Professional Standards, Management, Risk Management and Trust Accounts). Complete a Trust Accounting Workbook which is to be submitted at participant s nominated PMC tutorial day (this is not an assessable item, but completion is a requirement). Attend and actively participate in all components of a one day, face-to-face PMC tutorial. Successfully undertake (i.e. to a standard of 70% or above) a closed-book, trust accounts exam. Such exam is to be undertaken at the participant s nominated PMC tutorial day In the event that a PMC participant fails to complete any of the criteria as outlined in Section 4.1, the participant may be deemed by QLS to have failed the PMC and a Practice Management Statement will not be issued. 4.2 Learning Modules It is a condition that prior to a participant s attendance at the PMC tutorial all components of the learning modules must be complete. Participants will also be required to complete and submit their Trust Accounting Workbook on or before their nominated tutorial day A participant s failure to complete all learning modules of the PMC prior to their attendance at their tutorial will amount to Academic Misconduct. Section 8.2 of these guidelines outlines the academic penalties that may apply to participants who attend their PMC tutorial having failed to complete all components of the modules In the event that a PMC participant has registered to attend a tutorial but has not completed all relevant learning modules of the PMC or has not completed the Trust Accounting Workbook, it is the responsibility of the PMC participant to withdraw from their nominated tutorial at least one (1) week prior to the tutorial by advising the QLS Practice Management staff in writing of his/her withdrawal (pmc@qls.com.au). At this time, the PMC participant is to re-nominate a new prospective tutorial date In the event of a PMC participant failing to notify the QLS Practice Management staff in writing of his/her withdrawal from a nominated tutorial as per Section above, QLS may impose a range of sanctions including:- Attendance sanction A PMC participant may be barred from attending another PMC tutorial for a period of up to six (6) months. QLS may also recommend the withdrawal of any applicable waivers for this period. Administrative Fee A PMC participant will be required to pay an administrative fee of $220 (inc gst) in order to re-enrol in a future PMC tutorial. PMC: Course Guidelines Page 5 of 9

6 Participants are urged to allow approximately 80 hours for completion of all coursework before attendance at their nominated tutorial day. Only one (1) transfer of a participant s tutorial will be accepted. Any further requests to defer will incur an administrative fee of $ Tutorial Attendance Attendance and active participation in all sessions of the PMC face-to-face tutorial is compulsory to the successful completion of the PMC Participants who do not attend all or part of their scheduled PMC tutorial due to any circumstance (e.g. unforseen emergency, arriving late, leaving early, receiving extended telephone calls during class time etc) may be required to re-attend the full tutorial day or complete any other remedial action as considered appropriate QLS In the event that a PMC participant is required by QLS to re-attend all, or part, of another PMC tutorial day, an administrative fee of $ (inc gst) will be charged. 4.4 Trust Accounts Exam In the event of a PMC participant failing to achieve the passing grade of 70% or higher in the closed-book trust accounts exam, the participant will be deemed to have failed the Trust Accounts Module of the PMC. In order for the PMC participant to obtain a Practice Management Statement, the PMC participant will be required to re-complete the Trust Accounts Module by re-enrolling in a future PMC and PMC tutorial day. Such re-enrolment will incur full fees for a single subject enrolment (i.e. $785.00). 5. Feasibility Study PMC participants should review and familiarise themselves with the feasibility study prior to attending their nominated tutorial day, as this will assist participants in benefiting from tutorial activities based on these materials As an optional exercise, PMC participants may also choose to complete a full feasibility study and submit it for comment and feedback within one calendar month from the date of their attendance at their nominated PMC tutorial day. Feasibility studies received from PMC participants after this time has lapsed will not be reviewed The submitting of a feasibility study is an OPTIONAL and VOLUNTARY activity for PMC participants, and provides all participants with the opportunity to gain constructive professional advice. The feasibility study will not be graded, nor will it contribute to a PMC participant s completion of the course. PMC: Course Guidelines Page 6 of 9

7 6. Assessment 6.1 Grading The PMC is graded on the basis of pass/fail and a PMC Statement will be issued on the basis of a PMC participant obtaining a grade of pass. 7. Extensions 7.1 Trust Accounting Exam Extensions Under no circumstances will an extension be granted to undertake the Trust Accounting Exam. This exam will be undertaken by all PMC participants in the first part of his/her nominated PMC tutorial day In the event that a participant is not able for any reason to undertake the Trust Accounting exam on the day of his/her nominated tutorial, it is the responsibility of the PMC participant to withdraw from the nominated tutorial at least one (1) week prior to the tutorial by advising the QLS Practice Management staff in writing of his/her withdrawal (pmc@qls.com.au). At this time the PMC participant is to re-nominate a new prospective tutorial date In the event of a PMC participant needing to submit a late withdrawal (e.g. within 48 hours of the nominated tutorial commencement time) that occurs due to illness or other unforseen emergency, notification of withdrawal may be accepted without academic penalty up until the day of the nominated tutorial, but will require appropriate documentary evidence to support such withdrawal (e.g. medical certificate, signed statement attesting to extenuating personal/professional circumstances etc) In the event of a PMC participant failing to notify the QLS Practice Management staff in writing of their withdrawal from a nominated tutorial as per Sections to above, QLS may impose a range of sanctions including:- Attendance sanction A PMC participant may be barred from attending another PMC tutorial for a period of up to six (6) months. QLS may also recommend the withdrawal of any applicable waivers for this period. Administrative Fee A PMC participant will be required to pay an administrative fee of $220 (inc gst) in order to re-enrol in a future PMC tutorial Only one (1) transfer of a participant s tutorial will be accepted. Any further requests to defer will incur an administrative fee of $ PMC: Course Guidelines Page 7 of 9

8 8. Academic Misconduct 8.1 Academic Behaviour PMC participants must conduct their PMC studies honestly, ethically and in accordance with accepted standards of academic conduct Whilst PMC participants may participate in group study situations, any final assessment item undertaken must be, in its entirety, the participant s own work The following are examples of behaviours that will amount to academic misconduct:- The attendance at a face-to-face tutorial by a PMC participant who has failed to personally undertake all required modules of the PMC prior to attendance. Any form of collaboration or assistance during the trust accounts exam. 8.2 Penalty for Academic Misconduct The Queensland Law Society considers any degree of academic misconduct to be a serious matter The penalty for academic misconduct will be considered at the discretion of QLS and may include (but is not limited to): Failure of the Practice Management Course. Referral of the matter to the Professional Standards Committee and/or Legal Services Commission. Revocation of any PMC waivers currently in existence. Disqualification for a period of time from undertaking the PMC. Any other penalty QLS considers appropriate in the circumstance. 9. Logistics 9.1 Tutorials The most current tutorial dates for the year are listed on the QLS website ( 9.2 Trust Accounts Exam The Trust Accounts exam will be undertaken by all PMC participants on their relevant tutorial day. PMC: Course Guidelines Page 8 of 9

9 9.3 Optional Feasibility Study Exercise In the event that a PMC participant chooses to undertake the optional feasibility study, the feasibility study and cover sheet are to forwarded to the QLS Practice Management staff by 5.00pm of the relevant due date (i.e. one calendar month from date of tutorial). Submissions can be hand delivered to the Society, ed to pmc@qls.com.au or posted to:- Manager, Practice Support Queensland Law Society GPO Box 1785 Brisbane Qld Receipt of the feasibility study will be acknowledged by confirmation PMC participants are to ensure that the assignment has a cover sheet outlining participant name, username, tutorial course code, date submitted and word length All pages of the feasibility study are to be footnoted with participant name, tutorial course code and page number. 10. Further Information and Queries 10.1 For further information or assistance in relation to any aspect of the PMC, please contact:- QLS Practice Management Team Queensland Law Society GPO Box 1785 Brisbane QLD 4001 P: (07) F: (07) E: pmc@qls.com.au 11. Disclaimers 11.1 The Practice Management Course is an educational program. The instruction given in the written materials and orally in the tutorials is in principle instruction, and is not given in the context of any specific set of facts pertinent to individual practitioners. The instruction is not legal advice and should not be construed as such QLS has the authority, without notice, to revoke, amend and discharge any section outlined under these guidelines when, to do so, would be in the interest of natural justice and educational equity. PMC: Course Guidelines Page 9 of 9