Continuing legal education

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Continuing legal education (CLE), also known as mandatory or minimum continuing legal education (MCLE) or, in some jurisdictions outside the

District of Columbia and Israel
, recommend, but do not require, that attorneys complete CLE.

Australia

United States

Legal education in the United States
Stages
Exams and licensure
Organizations

No nationwide rules exist within the United States for CLE requirements or accreditation. Instead, each individual jurisdiction (i.e., each state, the District of Columbia, and each territory) exercises discretion on how to regulate U.S. attorneys, which includes establishing rules for CLE requirements and accreditation. This authority is typically vested in each jurisdiction's supreme court and delegated to special CLE commissions or boards.[2]

Nonetheless, various efforts have been made to promote uniformity of CLE programs across U.S. jurisdictions. For example, the American Bar Association (ABA) promulgated a model CLE rule for individual jurisdictions to adopt.[3] Similarly, the Continuing Legal Education Regulators Association (CLEreg) created a uniform CLE application, a uniform CLE attendance certification, and a CLE distance learning glossary.[4] CLEreg also created a CLE guide to assist its members in managing CLE programs.[5]

In U.S. jurisdictions with mandatory CLE requirements, attorneys must typically earn a minimum number of CLE credits (measured in hours) over a set period of years. Also, some of these jurisdictions require a minimum number of CLE credits for specific topics (e.g., ethics, diversity training, elimination of bias, professional responsibility, basic skills, substance abuse, prevention of malpractice, and attorney-client disputes).

U.S. attorneys typically earn CLE credits by completing legal training presented by experienced attorneys. The training may cover both

on-line
or by listening to audio downloads.

Alternatively, experienced attorneys in some jurisdictions, such as New York, may also earn CLE credits for speaking or teaching at accredited CLE programs; for moderating or participating in panel presentations at accredited CLE activities; for teaching law courses at ABA-accredited law schools; for preparing students for and judging law competitions, mock trials and moot court arguments, including those at the high school or college level; for published legal research-based writing; and for providing pro bono legal services.[6]

Legal training or other activities often meet the rules for CLE requirements and accreditation in multiple jurisdictions. In these instances, nothing prohibits attorneys licensed in one or more of these jurisdictions from counting the training or other activities towards fulfillment of their CLE credit requirements for each of these jurisdictions.

Opportunities for CLE are offered throughout the year by

The Center for American and International Law
(CAIL), and The Institute of American & Talmudic Law (IAT Law), as well as other private, for-profit enterprises. Activities are usually open to all lawyers (and sometimes non-lawyers), but organizations often offer discounts to their own members. A recent trend is toward the provision and promotion of free CLE programs.

Uniquely, Kentucky allows all licensed attorneys in the state to complete their annual CLE requirement without a registration fee through a two-day program known as Kentucky Law Update, offered annually in at least seven locations throughout the state.[7]

Some attorneys, particularly those who have spent many years in active practice, have resisted CLE requirements as unconstitutional. However, in 1999, the Supreme Court of California upheld that state's CLE program against an Equal Protection Clause constitutional challenge.[8]

Canada

In

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program, requiring preparation of annual CPD plans.[9] Lawyers develop their plans and declare to the Law Society of Alberta on an annual basis that these are complete. The Legal Education Society of Alberta[10]
provides tools to facilitate compliance with these requirements.

In

Law Society of Upper Canada,[11]
beginning in 2010, instituted mandatory CPD hours for all lawyers in the province.

In British Columbia, CPD is mandatory[12] and lawyers are required to annually report their continuing legal education activities to the Law Society of British Columbia. The Continuing Legal Education Society of BC[13] provides tools to facilitate compliance with these requirements. Practicing lawyers must complete a minimum of 12 hours of coursework and 50 hours of self study annually.

The Canadian Defence Lawyers association provides defence-oriented CLE.[14]

The Philippines

Main article: Continuing legal education in the Philippines

Continuing legal education required of members of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) to ensure that throughout their career, they keep abreast with law and jurisprudence, maintain the ethics of the profession and enhance the standards of the practice of law (Rule 1, Bar Matter No. 850 – Supreme Court of the Philippines)

See also

References

  1. ^ "La". Law Society of New South Wales. Law Society of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  2. ^ ABA Mandatory CLE Information.
  3. ^ ABA Model Rule for Continuing Legal Education Archived 2016-07-06 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ^ CLEreg Standardized CLE Forms.
  5. ^ CLEreg CLE Guide.
  6. ^ New York State's Continuing Legal Education: FAQs for Experienced Attorneys.
  7. ^ "Kentucky Law Update". Kentucky Bar Association. Archived from the original on March 9, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2013. Click on the "About KLU" link in the menu on the left side of the page.
  8. ^ Warden v. State Bar, 21 Cal. 4th 628 (1999).
  9. ^ "CPD Alberta". Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
  10. ^ "Home". Legal Education Society of Alberta.
  11. ^ "Law Society of Ontario Home | Law Society of Ontario". lso.ca.
  12. ^ "Continuing Professional Development | The Law Society of British Columbia". www.lawsociety.bc.ca. Archived from the original on 2014-12-19.
  13. ^ "The Continuing Legal Education Society of BC".
  14. ^ "CLE Committee". Canadian Defence Lawyers. 20 December 2022.

External links

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