Connecticut Establishes CLE Requirement
Posted on Jul 5, 2016 1:24pm PDT
After years of discussion and debate, the Connecticut Judicial Branch has
established a new minimum continuing legal education ("CLE")
requirement for Connecticut attorneys, to take effect as of January 1,
2017, approved by the judges of the Connecticut Superior Court.
The new rule will be Section 2-27(A) of the Superior Court Rules, General
Provisions in the Practice Book. It is entitled “Minimum Continuing
Legal Education” and will state:
"On an annual basis, each attorney admitted in Connecticut shall certify,
on the registration form required by Section 2-27(d), that the attorney
has completed in the last calendar year no less than twelve credit hours
of appropriate continuing legal education, at least two hours of which
shall be in ethics/professionalism. The ethics and professionalism components
may be integrated with other courses.…”
A wide variety of organizations provide CLE that will meet the requirements
under the new rule, including the Connecticut Bar Association. Section
2-27A(b)(1) provides that attorneys can satisfy the requirement:
“… (1) By attending legal education courses provided by any
local, state or special interest bar association in this state or regional
or national bar associations recognized in this state or another state
or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia (hereinafter
referred to as ‘‘bar association’’); any private
or government legal employer; any court of this or any other state or
territory of the United States or the District of Columbia; any organization
whose program or course has been reviewed and approved by any bar association
or organization which has been established in any state or territory of
the United States or the District of Columbia to certify and approve continuing
legal education courses; and any other non-profit or for-profit legal
education providers, including law schools and other appropriate continuing
legal education providers, and including courses remotely presented by
video conference, webcasts, webinars, or the like by said providers.” The rule also allows for credit through self-study, publishing, and teaching
as provided for in 2-27A(b)(2) – (6).
Section 2-27A(c)(6) describes eligibility for education credit:
“To be eligible for continuing legal education credit, the course
or activity must: (A) have significant intellectual or practical content
designed to increase or maintain the attorney’s professional competence
and skills as a lawyer; (B) constitute an organized program of learning
dealing with matters directly related to legal subjects and the legal
profession; and (C) be conducted by an individual or group qualified by
practical or academic experience.”
It is believed that most states that require CLE have more restrictive
standards than Connecticut and will count towards Connecticut’s
requirement. No nationwide rule exists within the United States for CLE
requirements or accreditation. Instead, each individual jurisdiction exercises
discretion on how to regulate attorneys within its state. Connecticut
had been one of six domestic jurisdictions remaining that did not require
CLE, the others being Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, South Dakota,
and the District of Columbia.