Ask The Professor: Do You Know Your CLE Requirements?

So you passed the bar, what now?

So you passed the bar, what now?

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.” – Albert Einstein

Congratulations! You have made it through law school and the dreaded bar exam is now behind you. However, as stated in Mr. Einstein’s quote above, learning is a lifelong activity, especially for a lawyer. In order to keep your legal mind in peak shape, the majority of states have mandatory continuing legal education requirements (CLE). CLE classes are designed to provide lawyers with additional legal education in order to maintain their license to practice law. While CLE classes are helpful, satisfying the specific requirements can be very confusing. Do you know your CLE requirements?

New York
In New York, newly admitted attorneys need to complete 16 live credits in each of their first two years by the anniversary of the date they were admitted for a total of 32 credits. These credits must be completed in the following areas each year:

7 – Credits in Professional Practice
6 – Credits in Skills
3 – Credits in Ethics

Once you have been admitted for two years, you are considered a veteran attorney, now requiring 24 credits (online or live) every 2 years by your birthday. Out of the 24 credits, at least 4 credits must be in ethics.

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New Jersey
Attorneys are split into two groups based on the month they were born. Group 1 ranges from birthdays in January through June, and are due to complete 24 credits (with a minimum of 12 live credits) by December 31st every odd year. Group 2, with birthdays from July through December, need to fulfill those 24 credits by December 31st (with a minimum of 12 live credits) on even years.

However, included within the general 24 credit CLE requirement, newly admitted attorneys must obtain 15 credits in 5 out of 9 New Jersey specific subject areas. These areas are estate administration, estate planning, civil or criminal trial preparation, family law practice, real estate closing procedures, trust and business accounting, landlord/tenant practice, municipal court practice, and law office management. Four credits out of the 24 have to be in ethics.

Experienced attorneys, after fulfilling the initial 2-year newly admitted requirement, need to complete 24 credits, 4 of which need to be in ethics. Experienced attorneys still need to fulfill the 12 credit live requirement.

Pennsylvania
All attorneys are placed into 3 compliance groups by random selection:

Compliance Group 1 must complete the annual CLE requirement by April 30 of each year.
Compliance Group 2 must complete the annual CLE requirement by August 31 of each year.
Compliance Group 3 must complete the annual CLE requirement by December 31 of each year.

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All attorneys have to complete 12 credits, with a minimum of 1 hour (2 hours starting in 2015) of ethics, professionalism, or substance abuse and 11 hours of general credits every year. 8 credits need to be taken live (with only be 6 live credit hours required beginning in 2015).

California
Depending on the first letter of an attorney’s last name, they will be placed into three groups: A-G, H-M, and N-Z. Each compliance period for each group consists of 36 months.

Within those 3 years, you have to complete 25 credits of CLE, with no more than 12.5 credits as self study credits. Out of the 25 credits, 4 ethics credits are needed as well as at least one credit in elimination of bias and one in substance abuse/mental physical issues.

Texas
Each member of the State Bar of Texas that has been licensed for 2 or more years must complete 15 hours annually, 3 hours of which must be in the area of legal ethics or professionalism, by the last day of the month before the attorney’s birth month.

There are many states that have minimum continuing legal education requirements. For more information on any of these states, please reach us at (212) 249-3779 or email us at info@marinolegal.com.


Professor Joseph Marino has been a fixture in the world of legal education for the past 40 years. Whether you’re just starting law school, about to take the bar, or an attorney in need of CLE, he and Marino Legal Academy are here to help. He is the Director of Marino Bar Review and the Marino Institute for Continuing Legal Education. He writes a bimonthly column, Ask the Professor. Visit the Marino CLE page on ATL, connect with him on LinkedIn and Facebook, or email him via info@marinolegal.com.