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Leveraging Technology in Your Immigration and Legal Practice 2022

  • When

Live webinar

  • Instructor

Samuel Plett

  • Duration

4 hours

This course is no longer for sale.

This course ran in April 2022 and the recording is no longer available. A current course covers the same ground.

Legal Technology in Immigration Practice 2025
Browse current immigration courses

Summary

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the legal profession has accelerated its shift to digital materials and video hearings out of necessity. However, it is likely that these digital processes will endure alongside in-person and paper-based proceedings even beyond the pandemic. This session aims to be interactive, with the practical examples (and even the topics) directed by attendees and their specific interests and needs. Our instructor will be able to answer questions (and provide demonstrations) on both the Windows and Mac platforms. The discussion will also address key ethical issues arising from digitizing your law practice.

Course outline

  • The Case for Digitizing your Practice
    • The ‘new normal’ post-COVID-19?
    • The business case
    • The access to justice case
  • Ethical Considerations in Digitizing: Privacy and Data Security
    • Privacy and the end of ‘practical obscurity’ for court proceedings?
    • Data security in a digital practice
  • What Does a Digital Practice Look like? A Step-by-Step Guide to Digitizing your Practice
    • Servers and file storage
    • Office infrastructure
    • Hardware and mobile
    • Practice management software
  • Top 20 Microsoft Word and .pdf ‘tips and tricks’
    • Microsoft Styles and Headings
    • Converting various file types into .pdf format
    • Compiling pdf files
    • Working with bookmarks and hyperlinks
    • Paginating and revising your materials
  • Practical Tips for video (Zoom and MS Teams) Hearings
    • Zoom demonstration and tips
    • MS Teams demonstration and tips
    • Tips for preparing and organizing your materials
    • Tips for making the best use of video hearings
    • Oral advocacy tips over video

CPD credits as accredited in 2022

For Lawyers and Paralegals

Law Society of Ontario

  • Substantive Hours: This program is eligible for up to 4 hours

Law Society of British Columbia

  • Approved for 3 CPD credits

Law Societies of Alberta, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia

  • For members of these Law Societies, consider including this course as a CPD learning activity in your mandatory annual requirements

Awaiting Further Accreditation

Your Instructor

Samuel Plett

Barrister & Solicitor

Litigation Consultant and Principal at Plett Law P.C.

Sam is a graduate of the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto. Prior to law school, Sam studied Peace and Conflict Studies at the Trudeau Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Toronto. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, the Refugee Lawyers Association, and the Canadian Bar Association. Sam has experience in a wide variety of immigration matters, including applications involving inadmissibility matters, humanitarian and compassionate applications, pre-removal risk assessments, family sponsorship applications, temporary resident permits, and applications for work and study permits. Sam has extensive experience with applications for Judicial Review before the Federal Court of Canada, including applications involving constitutional challenges and motions for stays of removal; and has appeared before the Federal Court of Appeal. Sam has appeared before all three Divisions of the Immigration and Refugee Board in various matters including refugee hearings, appeals before the Immigration Appeal Division, and detention reviews. Prior to his work at Plett Law Professional Corporation, Sam was a Partner and Head of Litigation at Desloges Law Group. In 2015, Sam received the Canadian Bar Association Immigration Law Section Founders’ Award, given to a young lawyer “for achieving professional excellence, providing leadership, and making a significant contribution to the Canadian citizenship & immigration community”. As a law student, Sam was awarded the Ting Sum Tang Memorial Prize (awarded to the student taking the highest place in Immigration Law) and the John Yaremko Award in Human Rights.