After successfully completing law school, a law school graduate is required to pass a state bar examination before he or she will be admitted to the practice of law in the state. Most states require lawyers to continue their legal education after admission to the state bar for as long as they actively practice law in those states. The primary goal of continuing legal education is to maintain a lawyer's professional competence.
Minimum continuing legal education (MCLE) states require a lawyer to complete a specified number of continuing education hours each year, every two years, or every three years. For example, Arizona requires completion of 15 hours of MCLE every year. Ohio requires each lawyer to complete 24 hours of MCLE every two years. Ohio lawyers must file a report every two years. California requires each lawyer to complete 25 hours of MCLE over a three-year period.
Some MCLE states specify the types of continuing education courses that must be taken. For example, lawyers in Ohio are required every two years to complete two hours on legal ethics, one hour on professionalism, and 30 minutes on substance abuse education within their MCLE. California lawyers are required every three years to include in their continuing legal education four hours on legal ethics, one hour on substance abuse education, and one hour on the elimination of bias in the legal profession.
Before a lawyer receives credit for a continuing education course, the course must be accredited by the appropriate entity within the state. In Vermont, for example, the Board of Continuing Legal Education is responsible for approving continuing education courses. In Iowa, the Commission on Continuing Legal Education administers the program. The Commission on Continuing Legal Education in Ohio administers the continuing legal education requirements of the Bar of the State of Ohio.
Some states have special requirements for lawyers recently admitted to the practice of law. For example, Delaware requires new lawyers to complete a three-day course on the fundamentals of law. Florida requires newly admitted lawyers to complete a basic skills course. Louisiana has a similar law practice management requirement. Lawyers who have inactive status, meaning they are not currently practicing law, are generally exempt from MCLE during their inactive period.
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