CLE: What Every MN Lawyer Needs to Know
Continuing legal education (CLE) refers to the process of new and established attorneys obtaining further knowledge on areas of law in which they practice. Whether you are a paralegal, judge, or lawyer, your professional obligations extend beyond acquiring a license to practice law, obtaining certification, and registering with the state in which you work. CLE courses keep your skills sharp, develop new knowledge, and comply with state requirements for professional development. Minnesota and many other states require that lawyers complete a minimum number of hours of continuing education, and do so on a regular basis. Although the exact number of credits may vary from year to year, Minnesota requires most attorneys to complete 45 hours of CLE every three years . Of those 45 hours, 45 hours must be live instruction, which can include attendance at seminars and other relevant programs. The remaining hours can be earned through self-study, generally in the form of on-demand or virtual classes. Each attorney may designate six hours per compliance period to ethics credit. Minnesota state bars provide guidelines for those seeking to earn CLE credits and offer a variety of ways to fulfill the requirement, with distinguished instructors offering a variety of methods. Some CLEs may be offered by your employer or firm, while others may include online instruction, on-demand sessions, or in-house with other licensed professionals. Being knowledgeable of the offerings will help you avoid the stress of last-minute scrambling, while also letting you be strategic about which courses to take to both cover required and discretionary credits with ease.
Minnesota CLE Mandatory Requirements
When it comes to fulfilling mandatory continuing legal education requirements for Minnesota attorneys, there is much to learn. The Minnesota Board of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) oversees the process of lawyer compliance and education in the state. Attorneys in the state must complete a minimum of 45 hours of approved coursework every three years to meet their CLE obligations. Of those, at least 30 hours must be from live activities such as seminars, workshops, and interactive multimedia. They also must take at least 3 hours of ethics coursework and at least 2 hours in professionals responsibility.
At least once each compliance group year, every lawyer must complete a course or seminar covering a statute or rule regarding attorney trust account issues to earn CLE credits. The other 3.0 CLE credit hours needed to fulfill the ethics education requirement may be earned in practical credits relating to professionalism or in any other professional responsibility area approved for ethics credit.
The administrative year for each attorney begins on the day they are sworn in to the Bar. So, for example, an attorney whose swearing in date is in February 2018 will have an administrative year ending in February 2019. At this date they will be required to have earned at least 45 credits, including 30 in approved live activities, four in professional responsibility, including at least two in ethics and should always fulfill the trust account requirement.
Reporting & Deadlines: MN CLE Compliance
Consistent with the Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct, attorneys in the state of Minnesota are required to report their CLE credits by a specific deadline. The reporting requirements depend upon the attorney’s date of admission and the two-year period in which the attorney is required to fulfill CLE obligations. As an added benefit for attorneys, CLE Central will file a report for Minnesota lawyers at no additional cost. However, you can also report directly through your online study account, by email, fax, or regular mail.
Attorneys newly-admitted to the bar after July 1 of any given year are not required to submit final reports for their first reporting period as they become subject to all Minnesota CLE requirements during their second reporting period, which ends 24 months from July 1 in the year of admission. Newly-admitted attorneys are required to attend 45 credits of approved courses in their first full reporting period, a minimum of 15 of which must be live interactive courses. Continuing legal education programs completed before July 1 of the year of admission are not applied toward initial reporting requirements.
There are several different dates for submitting CLE reports; initial reporters and two-year reporters have different deadlines. Attorneys who are filing their initial reports must submit them before September 30th of the year following their first compliance period. Two-year attorneys must submit final reports by June 30th of the year compliance is due.
Reports can be filed directly through your online study account, sent through email to MNCLE, by fax, or by regular mail. If you are reporting through your online study account, when you log in and click on the Report or Track a Course link you will be taken to the final report screen where you can transfer your courseshere. To print and mail the CLE report, complete the fields and then either fax or mail the filing document to MN CLE.
Learning Formats: Approved Continuing Legal Education
Gone are the days when attorneys had to travel long distances to attend in-person seminars—all that is required now is a Wi-Fi connection or a conference room with an internet connection and a projector—and CLE credits can start to accumulate.
Personal attendance is still popular and remains an option for attorneys, however. No matter which avenue you choose, one thing is clear: the legal landscape is always changing, and keeping up with developments is essential . Courses generally run from 60 to 90 minutes long, depending on the provider, and cover a myriad of topics. Minnesota CLE allows lawyers registered in Minnesota and authorized in Minnesota to receive CLE credits in multiple ways:
How did we get here?
In 2011, the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Board approved "distance education," which includes non-traditional courses like live webcasts and telephone seminars. Since then, it’s been an upward trajectory for attorneys wanting more flexibility in how they earn their continuing legal education.
Professional and Ethical Topics: Special CLE Requirements
Not only does Minnesota require CLE credits on regular topics, the state also mandates ethics CLE as well as elimination of bias CLE. The Board of Continuing Legal Education requires attorneys licensed in Minnesota to obtain 3.0 approved credits in ethics, professionalism, or civility, and 2.0 approved credits in elimination of bias. Due to the topics of these mandatory CLE requirements, ethics and elimination of bias courses are often approved for both subject areas.
The Minnesota CLE Board permits approved courses in other states to satisfy the special CLE rules, and many attorneys licensed in Minnesota also choose to obtain credits covering the mandatory CLE special topics from other providers besides Minnesota CLE. Keep in mind that if you intend to use any courses taken through another provider to satisfy any of the required CLE credits, you must obtain pre-approval from the Board of Continuing Legal Education for any courses taken out of state. Even courses sponsored by the Minnesota State Bar Association, a common source of ethical CLE, must receive pre-approval for seismic credit in Minnesota.
For more information on the specifics of the ethics and elimination of bias requirements in Minnesota, please check out the video below for details.
Staying Current: Upcoming CLE Trends
With the legal industry in a constant state of flux, keeping abreast of current trends is not only a good idea; it’s a must. As an attorney attempting to grow your practice in the ever-evolving legal world, you’ll find that CLE opportunities can provide invaluable insight into industry trends, best practices, and tips on how to adapt to this brave new world.
As artificial intelligence and other technologies continue to infiltrate law firms, CLE courses that offer insights on the intersection of technology and the legal world are becoming more widespread. From cloud-based software solutions to robust practice management tools, CLE-accredited programs help lawyers navigate this new terrain. Legal innovation is another area likely to be heavily featured in future CLE sessions. From new strategies to bring efficiency in hourly rate billing to the innovative use of different kinds of retainer and success arrangements , CLE providers will continue to address these issues in an effort to encourage lawyers to innovate their legal services. Another likely trend is distance learning. Increasingly, legal professionals are working remotely. To accommodate this separation, CLE providers are adapting to provide distance learning courses, which are likely to grow in popularity in the coming years. Finally, the regulatory environment in which Minnesota lawyers work is subject to continual change and new rules and requirements are set to take effect as this year comes to a close. CLE providers have begun releasing CLE courses to help lawyers understand how these changes will affect their practices.
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