subject: Complete Guide To California Continuing Education Of The Bar [print this page] California Continuing Education of the Bar refers to the approved legal education that is required of all attorneys who practice in the state. Every new year brings with it new information about CA CLE, and it is convenient to have all the information you need in one place for reference. Here is all of the information you will need to know for the year regarding your requirements and any changes that may have taken place so far.
Right off the bat, we will say that if you have any questions or concerns that are not addressed here, you can contact the State Bar of California at: MCLE Program, 180 Howard Street in San Francisco, 94105. There is a phone number listed of 415.538.2155, and an email address is available as well, which is MCLE@calbar.ca.gov.
All attorneys (including those who are exempt) are required to turn in a compliance card to verify that they have successfully fulfilled the requirements for maintaining their licensure. This is part of the actions to make sure that lawyers receive continuing quality legal education, and the State has to approve the MCLE providers and the activities that are education oriented for the program.
There are three different groups that membership is divided into, called compliance groups. The periods for the three groups are different so that each group reports in different years, and the periods for compliance are three years in length. Just before the end of a compliance period, the Bar sends out California Continuing Education of the Bar compliance cards to members who are to comply that year. Group 1 includes last names A G, with a period from 2/070 to 1/31/10 and a deadline of 2/1/10. Group 2 is for last names H M, with a period from 2/1/09 to 1/31/12 and a deadline of 2/2/12. Group 3 is for last names N Z, with a period of 2/1/08 to 1/31/11 and a deadline of 2/1/11.
The total hours that are required every three years is 25, and the maximum CA MCLE self study hours that are allowed is 12.5. Members have to have at least half of their hours from approved activities for participatory credit, and 4 hours of Legal Ethics is required as well, in addition to one hour of Detection/Prevention of Substance Abuse and one hour of Elimination of Bias in the Legal Profession. As previously stated, for more information about California Continuing Education of the Bar, contact the State Bar directly.
