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Mandatory CLE Plan Unveiled by N.J. High Court Calls for 24 Hours Every Two Years
New Jersey Law Journal
October 09, 2009
After two years of fact-finding and deliberation, New Jersey's Supreme Court announced Thursday that it will require mandatory continuing legal education for all plenary-licensed attorneys, starting next year.
Under the plan proposed by the justices (see notice to the bar), attorneys licensed to practice in New Jersey, including judges, law school professors and limited license in-house counsel, will have to take 24 hours of continuing legal education every two years.
By the same stroke, the court will abolish the skills and methods course now required of all newly admitted attorneys.
"Our goal is to implement a meaningful system of continuing legal education that will enable attorneys to learn about developments in the law, in order to help maintain the high quality of the legal profession in our state," state Supreme Court Justice Stuart Rabner said in announcing the plan.
The parameters of the new MCLE rubric, to be adopted as new Rule 1:42, are laid out in detail in a notice to the bar and are open for public comment for the next 30 days.
The court largely adopted the recommendations of its Ad Hoc Committee on Continuing Legal Education, chaired by former Supreme Court Justice Peter Verniero, which held extensive public hearings before issuing its report to the justices last December.
The court did part company with the committee in a few areas, the most significant being the reporting process. The committee had called for providers and attorneys to report attendance to the MCLE regulator, but the court decided on a self-reporting system with random audits. It left open the possibility of a stricter system if audits turn up substantial noncompliance.
A Board on Continuing Education will administer the MCLE programs and be made up of a maximum of 11 attorneys appointed by the court. Members will serve staggered, three-year terms.
Lawyers will have to earn four hours of ethics and professionalism credits during each two-year cycle. A range of verifiable formats -- including audiotape, videotape, teleconferencing, video conferencing, satellite simulcast and Internet -- will be permitted.
Attorneys will receive one-to-one credit for courses taken in other jurisdictions.
The court showed some sympathy for lawyers trying to balance MCLE requirements with their busy schedules, allowing attorneys to carry over 12 hours of credit from one cycle to the next. The committee had recommended only six. "The six-credit carryover recommended by the Committee is insufficient to meet the unique demands on an attorney's practice and home life," the court said.
Credits earned as of Jan. 1, 2009, may be applied forward.
The court agreed with the committee that attorneys participating in approved Inns of Court receive full credit for up to 24 hours of instruction, and that pro bono work can be counted after the initial program is implemented.
While the committee had recommended that law school professors receive two hours of CLE credit and one hour of credit for every hour of published writing, up to 12 hours, the court rejected that, saying, "Attorneys cannot obtain education credit for work and research they undertake in their everyday professional endeavors. The same should be true for law professors."
The court accepted the committee's proposition that approved MCLE providers should come from a wide variety of sources, including state, county, local and specialty bar associations; for-profit and nonprofit providers; Inns of Court and educational institutions, including but not limited to accredited law schools; and in-house providers, including law firms, profit and nonprofit corporations and government entities.
The court also agreed to a lengthy MCLE provider approval process that includes requirements that it has offered at least five separate courses that comply with all requirements for course approval.
