Tracking CLE Trends Post-Pandemic: 2022 And Beyond
Practising Law Institute keeps track of evolving CLE requirements, so you can focus on your practice.
As the legal industry gets back on course following COVID’s unprecedented changes, CLE requirements have continued to evolve. Practising Law Institute stays in close contact with regulators in all MCLE states, publishing rule updates and changes on a comprehensive webpage to keep its Members and the legal community informed.
We spoke with Andrew Ottiger, PLI’s Senior Director, MCLE Accreditation & Compliance, about the developments his team has been tracking, including changes for 2023.
The pandemic helped to familiarize us all with the concept of “social distancing,” and this practice extended to CLE, ushering in a new era of more relaxed regulations around distance/online learning. For example, in its latest change, the Tennessee Supreme Court amended its MCLE rule that had limited the number of credits that could be earned via distance learning each annual compliance period. “The amended rule lifts the cap entirely, so that Tennessee-licensed attorneys may permanently meet their complete annual 15-credit requirement through PLI’s Tennessee CLE Commission-approved distance learning programs, which include live webcasts and on-demand programs,” Ottiger explains.
Other states, including Ohio and Indiana, also have permanently lifted caps on credits that can be earned outside a live, in-person setting — and it’s possible we’ll see more in the coming year. “These types of changes make a big difference for attorneys, giving them greater flexibility in how and where they learn,” Ottiger says. “While live, in-person CLE programs offer a valuable way to network and exchange knowledge, an online experience has its own advantages, especially with interactive technologies such as polling and Q&A features helping to engage learners.”
States are also evolving their credit requirements, responding to the legal community’s increasing emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); attorney mental health and substance abuse awareness; cybersecurity; competence with technology; and other topics, Ottiger notes.
Attention to cybersecurity has grown in recent years as organizations recognize the critical role their attorneys play in protecting critical information — both their own and their clients’. At the same time, the widespread adoption of remote work, both from home offices and on the go, via mobile devices, has created additional vulnerabilities. With technology continually evolving — and bad actors continuing to seek vulnerabilities — states are recognizing the need for up-to-date training on data protection.
Beginning January 1, 2023, New York will require a new credit type and one-hour CLE requirement for Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Protection. This order creates two categories of the new Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Protection credit type: Ethics and General. Compliance dates vary for experienced and newly admitted attorneys; see details here and a list of FAQs here.
With a greater attention on DEI, states continue to revisit — and increase — their CLE requirements in this area. January 2023 marks the first compliance deadline for California’s new Implicit Bias requirement, announced earlier this year. The state also increased its overall Elimination of Bias requirement from one hour to two, requiring that one of those hours be devoted to “implicit bias and the promotion of bias-reducing strategies to address how unintended biases regarding race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or other characteristics undermine confidence in the legal system.”
The state of Washington also commenced a new “Equity Credit” credit type and requirement during 2022. For each three-year reporting period, attorneys must complete at least one Ethics credit “in the topic of equity, inclusion, and the mitigation of both implicit and explicit bias in the legal profession and the practice of law.”
Looking for additional CLE resources? PLI has you covered. California attorneys can fulfill their state’s new two-hour Elimination of Bias requirement, including the required one hour of Implicit Bias training, with successful completion of the interactive program, Diversity and Inclusion in the Legal Profession: Addressing Implicit Bias. Read more here.
Visit PLI to browse over 440 hours of Cybersecurity and Data Protection-related CLE programs.
Keep track of all recent rule changes on PLI’s website.
With PLI’s My Credit Tracker, you can seamlessly track credits earned from any provider, in any jurisdiction. PLI keeps you informed of deadlines and rule changes, helping you find the programs you need to stay in compliance while building your skills and expertise. Learn more here.
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 programs here.
