CLE

ACI certifies that the activity has been approved for CLE credit by the New York State Continuing Legal Education Board. ACI certifies that this activity has been approved for CLE credit by the State Bar of California. You are required to bring your state bar number to complete the appropriate state forms during the conference. CLE credits are processed in 4-8 weeks after a conference is held. ACI has a dedicated team which processes requests for state approval. Please note that event accreditation varies by state and ACI will make every effort to process your request.   A Note About MCLE Credit The content on this page is for informational and educational purposes only. Each state has its own rules and regulations indicating what qualifies for CLE credit.  Certain programs, subjects, and formats may not receive credit in some states and there may be specific rules regarding who may earn credit or the maximum number of credit hours that may be earned with specific formats.  Please contact your state MCLE regulatory entity for specific questions about your MCLE rules.   CLE Categories Ethics and Professionalism may include, among other things, the following: the norms relating to lawyers’ professional obligations to clients (including the obligation to provide legal assistance to those in need, confidentiality, competence, conflicts of interest, the allocation of decision making, and zealous advocacy and its limits); the norms relating to lawyers’ professional relations with prospective clients, courts and other legal institutions, and third parties (including the lawyers’ fiduciary, accounting and record-keeping obligations when entrusted with law client and escrow monies, as well as the norms relating to civility); the sources of lawyers’ professional obligations (including disciplinary rules, judicial decisions, and relevant constitutional and statutory provisions); recognition and resolution of ethical dilemmas; the mechanisms for enforcing professional norms; substance abuse control; and professional values (including professional development, improving the profession, and the promotion of fairness, justice and morality).   Skills must relate to the practice of law and may include, among other things, problem solving, legal analysis and reasoning, legal research and writing, drafting documents, factual investigation (as taught in courses on areas of professional practice), communication, counseling, negotiation, mediation, arbitration, organization and trial advocacy.   Law Practice Management must relate to the practice of law and may encompass, among other things, office management, applications of technology, state and federal court procedures, stress management, management of legal work and avoiding malpractice and litigation.   Areas of Professional Practice may include, among other things, corporations, wills/trusts, elder law, estate planning/administration, real estate, commercial law, civil litigation, criminal litigation, family law, labor and employment law, administrative law, securities, tort/insurance practice, bankruptcy, taxation, compensation, intellectual property, municipal law, landlord/tenant, environmental law, entertainment law, international law, social security and other government benefits, and alternative dispute resolution procedures.   [collapsibles] [collapse title=”CLE State Information Guide“] Alabama (60min) Credit hours required: 12 hours per reporting period, 1 hour. of which shall be either ethics or professionalism. Compliance date: December 31 Reporting date: January 31 www.alabar.org/cle Alaska (60min) Credit hours required: 3 hours of MCLE ethics per reporting period. An additional 9 hours of general voluntary CLE (VCLE) Compliance date: December 31 Reporting date: February www.alaskabar.org Arizona (60min) Credit hours required: 15 credit hours per calendar year including 3 hours. ethics/professional responsibility. Compliance date: June 30 Reporting date: September 15 www.myazbar.org Arkansas (60min) Credit hours required: 12 credit hours per calendar year including 3 hours ethics Compliance date: June 30 Reporting date: August 31 http://courts.state.ar.us/opp/continue_legal.cfm British Columbia (60min) Credit hours required: 12 hours per reporting year including 2 hours of professional responsibility and ethics, client care and relations, or practice management Compliance date: December 31 Reporting date: December 31 www.lawsociety.bc.ca California (60min) Credit hours required: 25 hours over 3-year period including 4 hours of  legal ethics, 1 hour of substance abuse or mental illness that impairs professional competence; and 1 hour of elimination of bias in the profession Compliance date: January 31 Reporting date: February 1. http://mcle.calbar.ca.gov/ Colorado (60min) Credit hours required: 45 hours over 3-year period including 7 hours of  legal ethics. Compliance date: December 31 Reporting date: January 31 www.coloradosupremecourt.com Connecticut (60min) Connecticut does not have an MCLE requirement at this time. Delaware (60min) Credit hours required: 24 hours over a 2-year period including 4 hours enhanced ethics, Five-program series of courses on Fundamentals of Law for newly admitted attorneys within 4 years of admission Compliance date: December 31 Reporting date: March 31 www.courts.delaware.gov/cle Washington D.C. (60min) The District of Columbia does not have an MCLE requirement at this time. https://www.dcbar.org/cle/ Florida (50min) Credit hours required: 30 hours per 3-year period including 5 hours ethics, professionalism, substance abuse, or mental illness awareness. Compliance date: Assigned by Florida Reporting date: Assigned by Florida www.floridabar.org/cler Georgia (60min) Credit hours required: 12 hours per year including 1 hour of ethics & 1 hour of professionalism; 3 hours in trial practice for trial attorneys only Compliance date: December 31 Reporting date: March 31 www.gabar.org Hawaii (60min) Credit hours required: 3 hours per 3-year period including 1 hour in the area of ethics or professional responsibility education; the Rules of Professional Conduct; the professional obligations of the lawyer to the client, the judicial system, the public and other lawyers; substance abuse and its effects on lawyers and the practice of law; client trust administration; bias awareness and prevention; and access to justice. Compliance date: December 31 Reporting date: December 31 www.hsba.org Idaho (60min) Credit hours required: 30 hours per 3-year period including 2 hours ethics/professionalism. Attorneys who are certified as a specialist must obtain 30 Idaho approved MCLE credits in their specialty area during each reporting period. Within twelve months of admission to the Idaho State Bar, each lawyer, regardless of status, is required to complete a practical skills seminar. Compliance date: December 31 Reporting date: February 1 http://www.isb.idaho.gov/licensing/mcle/mcle_requirements.html Illinois (60min) Credit hours required: 30 hours every 2 years including 6 hours of training in professionalism, diversity, mental illness and addiction, civility, or legal ethics during each two-year period.” Compliance date: June 30 Reporting date: July 31 http://www.mcleboard.org/ Indiana (60min) Credit hours required: 36 hours per 3-year period with 6-hour minimum per year including 3 hours ethics. Compliance date: December 31 Reporting date: December 31 www.in.gov/judiciary/cle Iowa (60min) Credit hours required: 15 hours per calendar year including 3 hours of ethics every 2 years ending on the odd-numbered year. Iowa amended its rules in February 2012 to expand the definition of ethics to include instruction specifically designed for lawyers regarding substance abuse and mental health and increased the biennial ethics requirement from 2 to 3 hours. The 3-hour requirement is effective for the 2013 ethics reporting period, with attorneys reporting by March 1, 2014. Compliance date: December 31 Reporting date: March 31 www.iowacourts.gov/Professional_Regulation/Attorney_RegulationCommissions/CLE/ Kansas (50min) Credit hours required: 12 credit hours per year including 2 hours ethics Compliance date: June 30 Reporting date: August 31 www.kscle.org Kentucky (60min) Credit hours required: 12.5 hours per year including 2 hours. legal ethics, professional responsibility and professionalism Compliance date: June 30 Reporting date: August 10 www.kybar.org Louisiana (60min) Credit hours required: 12.5 hours per year including 1 hour legal ethics and 1 hour professionalism Compliance date: December 31 Reporting date: January 31 www.lascmcle.org Maine (60min) Credit hours required: 11 hours per year including 1 hour of ethics or professional responsibility Compliance date: August 31 Reporting date: August 31 www.mebaroverseers.org Maryland (60min) Maryland does not have an MCLE requirement at this time. Massachusetts (60min) Massachusetts does not have an MCLE requirement at this time. Michigan (60min) Michigan does not have an MCLE requirement at this time. Minnesota (60min) Credit hours required: 45 hours per 3-year period including 3 of ethics and 2 hours of elimination of bias Compliance date: June 30 Reporting date: August 31 www.mbcle.state.mn.us Mississippi (60min) Credit hours required: 12 hours per year including 1 hour of legal ethics, professional responsibility, professionalism, malpractice prevention, substance abuse or mental health Compliance date: July 31 Reporting date: August 15 www.mssc.state.ms.us/cle_bccr/cle_bccr.html Missouri (50min) Credit hours required: 15 hours per year including 2 hours of ethics, professionalism, or malpractice prevention Compliance date: June 30 Reporting date: July 31 www.mobar.org Montana (60min) Credit hours required: 15 hours per year including 5 hours of ethics, with 1 of those 5 hours on substance abuse/mental impairment (SAMI requirement) every 3 years. Compliance date: March 31 Reporting date: May 15 www.montanabar.org Nebraska (60min) Credit hours required: 10 hours per year including 2 hours of professional responsibility Compliance date: December 31 Reporting date: December 31 www.mcle.ne.gov Nevada (60min) Credit hours required: 12 hours. per year of which 2 hours ethics and 2 hours of professionalism Compliance date: December 31 Reporting date: March 1 www.nvbar.org/cle/cle.htm New Hampshire (60min) Credit hours required: 12 hours per year/at least 6 must come from out of the office live programs, including 2 hours legal ethics/professionalism, or substance abuse, prevention of malpractice, or attorney-client relations Compliance date: June 30 Reporting date: June 30 www.nhbar.org/NHMCLE New Jersey (50min) Credit hours required: 24 hours 2-year period including 4 hours in ethics and/or professionalism Compliance date: December 31 Reporting date: March 31 www.judiciary.state.nj.us/cle/ New Mexico (60min) Credit hours required: 12 hours per year including 2 hours of ethics or professionalism Compliance date: December 31 Reporting date: December 31 www.nmmcle.org New York (50min) Credit hours required: 24 hours per 2-year period including 4 hours of ethics/professionalism. Newly admitted attorneys are required to take 16 hours of transitional credit in each of the first two years (3 hours of ethics, 6 hours of skills, and 7 hours of law practice management or areas of professional practice each year). Compliance date: 30 days after birthday in alternate years. Reporting date: 30 days after birthday in alternate years. www.nycourts.gov/attorneys/cle North Carolina (60min) Credit hours required: 12 hours per year including 2 ethics and/or professionalism, with 1 additional hour on substance abuse awareness or debilitating mental conditions every 3 years Compliance date: December 31 Reporting date: February 28 www.nccle.org North Dakota (60min) Credit hours required: 45 hours per 3-year period including 3 hours of ethics. A maximum of 15 credit hours may be self study. Compliance date: June 30 Reporting date: July 1 www.sband.org Ohio (60min) Credit hours required: 24 hours per 2 years including 2.5 hours on professional conduct, consisting of 1 hour of legal ethics, 1 hour of professionalism, and .5 hours of substance abuse education Compliance date: December 31 Reporting date: January 31 www.supremecourt.ohio.gov Oklahoma (50min) Credit hours required: 12 hours per year including 1 hour of legal ethics Compliance date: December 31 Reporting date: February 15 www.okbar.org Oregon (60min) Credit hours required: 45 hours 3-year reporting period including 5 hours of ethics or professionalism and 1 hour on lawyers’ statutory duty to report child abuse.  In alternate reporting periods, at least 3 additional hours must be in programs accredited for access to justice (elimination of bias) under Rule 5.5(b). Compliance date: December 31 Reporting date: January 31 www.osbar.org/mcle Pennsylvania (60min) Credit hours required: 12 hours per year for including 1 hour ethics for 2014 compliance deadlines; 2 hours ethics beginning with 2015 compliance deadlines Compliance date:

• Group I – May 1 through April 30 every year
• Group II – September 1 through August 31 every year
• Group III – January 1 through December 31 every year

Reporting date: Varies by compliance group.  Attorneys have 30 days after compliance date to report credit.  Below are the reporting dates for the 3 compliance groups. www.pacle.org Rhode Island (50min) Credit hours required: 10 hours per year including 2 hours of ethics. Compliance date: June 30 Reporting date: June 30 http://www.courts.ri.gov/attorneyresources/mcle/default.aspx South Carolina (60min) Credit hours required: 14 hours per year including 2 hours of legal ethics or professional responsibility. At least once every 3 annual reporting periods, 1 of these 2 specialty hours must be devoted to instruction in substance abuse or mental health issues and the legal profession. Compliance date: February 28 Reporting date: March 1 www.commcle.org South Dakota(60min) South Dakota does not have an MCLE requirement at this time. Tennessee (60min) Credit hours required: 15 hours per year including 3 hours ethics and professionalism Compliance date: December 31 Reporting date: March 1 www.cletn.com/ Texas (60min) Credit hours required: 15 hours per year including 3 hours legal ethics or legal professional responsibility. 1 hour of the 3 hours. of legal ethics may be completed through self-study. 3 hours. of the total 15 hours may be completed through self-study. Compliance date: Last day of birth month. Reporting date: Last day of birth month. www.texasbar.com Utah (60min) Credit hours required: 24 hours every 2-years including 3 hours of legal ethics or professional responsibility, with 1 of the 3 hours in the area of professionalism and civility Compliance date: June 30 Reporting date: July 31 www.utahbar.org/mcle/ Vermont (60min) Credit hours required: 20 hours per 2-year period including 2 hours legal ethics and limited to 10 hours of self-study. Compliance date: June 30 Reporting date: July 1 www.vermontjudiciary.org Virginia (60min) Credit hours required: 12 hours per year including 2 hours of professionalism or legal ethics Compliance date: October 31 Reporting date: October 31 www.vsb.org Washington (60min) Credit hours required: 45 hours per 3-year period  including 6 hours of legal ethics, professionalism, or professional responsibility Compliance date: December 31 Reporting date: January 31 www.wsba.org West Virginia (50min) Credit hours required: 24 hours per 2-year period  including 3 hours of legal ethics, office management, substance abuse and/or elimination of bias in the legal profession. Compliance date: June 30 of even-numbered years Reporting date: July 31 of even-numbered years www.wvbar.org Wisconsin (50min) Credit hours required: 30 hours per 2-year period  including 3 hours ethics and professional responsibility Compliance date: December 31 Reporting date: February 1 www.wicourts.gov Wyoming (60min) Credit hours required: 15 hours per year including 1 hour of legal ethics Compliance date: December 31 Reporting date: January 30 www.wyomingbar.org [/collapse]

CLE Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is CLE? A: Continuing legal education (CLE), also known as MCLE (mandatory or minimum continuing legal education), is the professional education of lawyers that takes place after their initial admission to the bar. In many states in the United States, CLE participation is required of attorneys to maintain their license to practice law. CLE requirements exist in many other jurisdictions, such as in British Columbia and Canada. Some jurisdictions, such as the District of Columbia recommend but do not require lawyers to participate in CLE. Accreditation is given on a state by state basis and approval of a course is ultimately decided by the state bar. Each state has different requirements and go by a 60 of a 50 minute hour.   Q. I’ve attended a program but did not take a Certificate of Completion. How do I obtain one? A. Please submit your email request with the following information to [email protected]

• Name
• Title of Program
• Date of program
• State where Credit is to be applied
• Bar number

  Q: Can I receive MCLE credit for attending a program? A: 46 states require attorneys to continue their education to retain their license to practice law (MCLE). Each state has its own requirements. To see your state’s requirements click the CLE Help tab. To ensure accurate interpretation of the information provided, contact your state MCLE authority, shown on your state’s requirements page. Q: How does a CLE program become accredited? A. A CLE program may be accredited in one of four ways:

• A sponsor may apply for approval for the individual program.

• A sponsor may apply for sponsor accreditation or the sponsor may be designated as an accredited sponsor, making all of the programs sponsored presumptively accredited.

• An individual attorney may apply for approval of the program.

• A state may recognize and presumptively approve CLE programs accredited by, and held in, other MCLE states.

For specific questions about accreditation of American Conference institute programs, please e-mail [email protected]   Q: How does a sponsor or an individual apply for accreditation approval of a CLE program? A: An application for accreditation of a specific CLE program must be submitted on forms furnished by the appropriate state board or commission. Some states require the application be submitted some time before the program is to take place. Generally, the forms must be accompanied by an outline that describes the content, identifies the teachers, lists the time devoted to each topic, and shows the date and location of the program to be offered. Typically, this is a brochure mailed by the program provider that announces the program. The application form must include a detailed calculation of the total CLE hours and specialty credit hours. Finally, a fee usually must accompany the application.   Q. What does “Pending” mean? A. Some states allow programs to be submitted for approval after an attorney has attended the program. When a program is listed as “Pending” it means that the program is being reviewed by the state bar.   Q: What is the difference between Compliance Deadline and Reporting Deadline? A: Compliance Deadline is the date by which all CLE requirements must be completed. In other words, all programs must be viewed and completed by midnight on this date in order for the attorney to receive credit. Reporting Deadline is the date by which attorneys must inform the state which programs they took to fulfill their requirements. Most often, attorneys have 1-3 months from the end of the compliance period to finish their reporting. Please note that both Compliance Deadline and Reporting Deadline are listed on the state requirements pages for each state. Using Minnesota as an example: End of Compliance Period: June 30 Reporting Date: August 31   Q. Are self-study products available for CLE credit? A: Many states allow attorneys to earn CLE credit through distance-learning. Although there is wide variation in specific definitions and approval of specific formats among the states, self-study generally includes CLE programs recorded from a live event or produced on their own, and presented in such formats as audio CDs and DVDs, archived or on-demand online courses or webinars, and newer formats such as podcasts and MP3 downloads.