Change is constant in the legal profession. Even during an unprecedented pandemic, lawyers are expected to keep up with an evolving legal landscape as they deepen their practice, define their career goals, and deliver for clients. That’s where Practising Law Institute (PLI) comes in. For over eighty years, PLI has provided training and resources for lawyers at all stages of their careers. Craig Miller, PLI’s Interim President, provides an inside look at how the organization that practically invented CLE is responding to unprecedented times.
How did PLI come to be?
Imagine yourself a young lawyer in 1933. It’s the height of the Great Depression. FDR has just been sworn in as President and the first one hundred days of New Deal legislation occurs. Massive changes to the legal and regulatory landscape are underway, impacting banking, securities, agriculture, energy, and so much more. Court challenges will ensue. Overseas, Germany’s newly appointed Chancellor is Adolf Hitler.
That’s a blistering rate of change for lawyers to keep up with. Our founder, Harold P. Seligson, saw the need for those in the profession to keep learning long after they earned their JDs. And that’s a need we continue to meet to this day.
We do this by offering over 10,000 hours of accredited continuing legal and other education programs in a variety of formats; by publishing over 100 titles each year through our PLI Press publishing division; and through other initiatives such as our online One-Hour Briefings and our podcasts on pro bono and securities law.
How has PLI adapted to serve customers during the COVID-19 pandemic?
For an octogenarian organization, PLI has always been quite progressive when it comes to serving our customers. Well before the pandemic, we saw that people needed more flexibility to attend our programs online and on their own schedules, so we have been producing live webcasts and online on-demand programming for years now. These capabilities have kept our CLE programs going seamlessly while everyone is remote. On the publishing side, because we knew that customers were unable to access books at their offices, we extended access to PLI PLUS so they could use these publications online.
Getting timely information to our customers – and the legal market as a whole – is always central to our mission. As soon as the pandemic materialized, our team worked relentlessly to provide essential COVID-19-related content and make it easily discoverable on our website. I am also proud to note that PLI published the first in-depth book on the pandemic’s legal issues.
These days, lawyers who simply need to earn CLE credits have many options. What makes PLI different?
We’re a nonprofit, membership-based organization, so our business model is unique. Because we have such a strong reputation, we’re fortunate to attract a stellar volunteer faculty from preeminent law firms, corporate legal departments, law schools, the bench, the government, and more. They share our goal of strengthening the profession and the rule of law.
Pro bono is at the heart of our mission and we strongly believe in supporting practitioners who work to ensure access to justice. Our Members not only benefit from the wide array of programs we offer, but also help support the training that other lawyers and nonprofit groups use to advocate effectively for pro bono clients like disabled veterans, victims of natural disasters, and the indigent.
Our Members are a community – they come to us for more than just CLE credits, and we take our responsibility to them very seriously.
How can smaller law firms and individual practitioners take advantage of your offerings?
Our membership model is designed for firms of any size, location or practice area. Privileged Members get unlimited access to our CLE programs and learning resources for an annual fee. Our team handles all credit and compliance matters upfront and helps you monitor CLE credits and deadlines through our popular My Credit Tracker tool. For solo practitioners, we also offer Individual Memberships, which afford all of the above for a reasonable flat annual fee.
Many firms of all sizes also take advantage of our PLI PLUS online research database, which provides unlimited access to our full collection of treatises, course handbooks, legal forms, program transcripts, journals and answer books.
In addition, 501(c)(3) organizations that meet criteria can gain Pro Bono Privileged Memberships, and scholarship applications are available to others seeking training.
Finally – what’s with the funny spelling of “practising”?
It’s not the style now, but the spelling was much more common in the ‘30s! I see it as a nod to the long and proud history of our organization – we always strive to innovate and grow, but we stay true to our roots and to our mission.
Practising Law Institute is a nonprofit learning organization dedicated to keeping attorneys and other professionals at the forefront of knowledge and expertise. PLI is chartered by the Regents of the University of the State of New York and was founded in 1933 by Harold P. Seligson. The organization provides the highest quality, accredited, continuing legal and professional education programs in a variety of formats which are delivered by more than 4,000 volunteer faculty including prominent lawyers, judges, investment bankers, accountants, corporate counsel, and U.S. and international government regulators. PLI publishes a comprehensive library of Treatises, Course Handbooks, Answer Books and Journals also available through the PLI PLUS online platform. The essence of PLI’s mission is its commitment to the pro bono community. View PLI’s upcoming live webcasts here.