By Jason Castillo, Director of Legal Education Not long ago our Supreme Court decided that corporations donating money to political campaigns was considered protected free speech under the First Amendment. The case is known as Citizens United and the decision left quite a few people scratching their heads … because the court first had to decide that corporations are essentially people in…
Washington has one unique rule that I did not find in any other state – a limit to the amount of CLE courses an attorney can complete in one day. In 2009, the Washington MCLE Board made significant amendments to the MCLE rules and regulations. The amendments include: A member may earn no more than 8 CLE credits per day The number of…
Most states fall into two categories when it comes to compliance and reporting deadlines. First, states like Illinois and California have one set deadline each year. The California compliance deadline is February 1, while Illinois attorneys must complete their MCLE by June 30. Second, states like Texas and New York are “birthday” compliance states. For example, In Texas the compliance period begins…
Pennsylvania is another state that limits the amount of online CLE courses an attorney may complete in a compliance period. Although Pennsylvania attorneys must complete 12 credit hours each year, only 4 credit hours of computer based programs can be used towards compliance.[1] Pennsylvania also has a number of other rules regarding “distance learning.” Over the past several years, technical advances in…
Many states have a specialty credit requirement in addition to the general MCLE units that must be completed.[1] Attorneys in Oregon have three major specialty credit requirements that they must be aware of. First, Oregon attorneys must complete at least 3 credit hours in programs accredited for Access to Justice credit in alternate reporting periods. In order to be accredited as an activity…
According to the ABA there are over 160,000 attorneys active in New York. That’s quite a few attorneys who need to complete their 24 unit biennial MCLE requirement. To put that in perspective, there are about as many active lawyers practicing in New York as there is in Florida, Illinois and New Jersey – combined. Luckily, attorneys in New York can fulfill all…
Illinois attorneys recently had their MCLE requirement increased from 24 credit hours to 30 credit hours every two years. The Professional Responsibility requirement was also increased from four credit hours to six. Luckily, the next compliance group doesn’t have to report until June 30, 2013. Beginning with the July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2012 two-year reporting period for attorneys with last names beginning…
Nevada is one of the few states that allows attorneys to file an extension if they don’t think they will get their MCLE credits completed by the December 31 compliance deadline. Attorneys are essentially given until the March 1 reporting deadline to complete their CLE and must pay a $50 extension fee if their request is granted. However, if the attorney has…
States around the country have varying rules when it comes to continuing legal education – different compliance dates, reporting cycles, credit hour requirements … the list is exhaustive. There are some states such as Delaware and Pennsylvania that even limit the amount of online units an attorney can complete. Attorneys in Florida have no such limit when it comes to online education…
Only recently did CLE compliance become mandatory in New Jersey.[1] In New Jeresey, the Board on Continuing Legal Education was created and assigned the task of administering the Supreme Court’s requirement.[2] New Jersey attorneys must be aware that only 12 of the required 24 units can be completed with online courses. However, there are two main exceptions that would allow New Jersey attorneys…