Continuing legal education helps lawyers continue to be sharp in the courtroom.

Continuing legal education, which is also more precisely referred to as Mandatory Continuing Legal Education, is the required maintenance of legal expertise in the form of supplementary classes throughout an attorney’s career. Similar to the necessary continued study of academic and professional medical journals by doctors, it ensures that lawyers remain abreast of pertinent changes in litigation and the legal system. Continuing legal education is most often in the form of classes, each that furnish college credit points pursuant to a given minimum, although some states allocate credits for “self-study” (described as “educational activities” that may involve CDs, videos, audio, or the internet).

Where is Continuing Legal Education Required?

This compulsion is not standardized throughout the country, but rather, is specific for each state (as in, there may be a presence of octogenarian attorneys practicing an anachronistic version of the law in some places). Only three U.S. states do not require continuing legal education, to include New Jersey, Connecticut, and, quite ironically, Maryland, although every other U.S. territory (yes, even Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam) does. The desideratum for continuing legal education exists in other countries as well, but to varying degrees (it’s required in Canada, but merely encouraged in Israel).

What Does Continuing Legal Education Entail?

The majority of continuing legal education covers ethics and professionalism to avoid too many attorneys promising their souls to the devil, with a light peppering of litigation refresher courses such as “substance abuse” and “mental illness.” Most obligate that practicing attorneys earn a certain number of credit hours per year, although some have a minimum requirement per every two or three years (referred to as a compliance period). Additionally, some have established deadlines, while others base deadlines on the date of certification. As aforementioned, some states and territories do allow some, but never all, of these credits to be earned through self-study. The minimum number of required credit hours of continuing legal education ranges from 10 to 15 hours per year.