CPD Training (UK) Limited is a UK-based legal training business whose teachers have presented courses in many different countries. The business was set up by Peter Lyons in 2005. Peter is a highly experienced legal skills teacher who has held senior positions at Nottingham Law School and the College of Law, where he was the Professor of Professional Development. CPD Training's courses cover a wide range of subjects including all areas of dispute resolution, advocacy and presentation skills; negotiation skills, professional conduct and client care and law firm management.

We are authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to:

• Provide CPD-accredited training for English solicitors;
• Deliver the Professional Skills Course for trainee solicitors in the core subject of Advocacy & Communication Skills and in elective dispute resolution subjects; and
• Conduct assessments for the Higher Courts (Civil Advocacy) qualification.

We are authorised by IPReg to:

• Deliver the Basic Litigation Skills Course and Assessment for patent attorneys and trade mark attorneys, leading to the award of the Intellectual Property Litigation Certificate.

Our approach

For too many lawyers, annual training is a chore. What should be valuable has been reduced to an exercise in ticking boxes. How many times do you feel that training is just a matter of turning up, switching off then taking the notes back to the office to watch them fade on the windowsill? Ours is a simple educational philosophy: courses should concentrate on the participant and not on the teacher. Learning should be memorable for the right reasons. Our CPD training is practical, challenging and fun. All of CPD Training's competitively priced courses adhere to a similar theme. Each course, in controlled conditions, allows delegates to come to their own conclusions. They are then able to consider how to apply the skills they have gained to everyday practice. Our learning environment is comfortable and secure. Delegates are encouraged to think laterally and to try new ideas.  Our aim is to produce skilful, confident and reflective professionals.  

Who we work with

We have been hired by national, international and City firms in the UK to deliver bespoke structured litigation training. This training, which is usually delivered to solicitors with fewer than five years PQE, is an effective way of developing the skills of a firm's Dispute Resolution department. The added value is that the firm's methods and approach to dispute resolution can be built into the courses. The Director of Litigation Services at Dentons, Tracey Petter says "...the planning process with [CPD Training] is very much a collaborative one. Peter Lyons is always anxious to understand our training needs from the outset, and then creates a programme that genuinely reflects those requirements. So even where the course in question has been delivered previously, the final product will be bespoke. As a result of all this, the feedback from our lawyers on [these] courses is extremely positive.” CPD Training has close links to the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), the leading advocacy training organisation in the United States. Our trainers have significant experience in providing training in advocacy skills to US and international law firms at locations across Europe and North America.

Our client list

Law firms Bär & Karrer, Baker Botts, Bird & Bird, Burges Salmon, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, CMS Hasche Siegle, Covington and Burling, Debevoise & Plimpton, Dechert, Dentons, DLA Piper, Eversheds Sutherland, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Goodman Derrick, Herbert Smith Freehills, Hill Dickinson, K&L Gates, Kirkland & Ellis, Linklaters, Maples & Calder, Mayer Brown, O'Melveny and Myers, Schoenherr, Shearman & Sterling, Skadden Arps, Vinson & Elkins, Ward Hadaway, Watson Farley & Williams, Weil Gotshal and Manges, White & Case, Womble Bond Dickinson