Illinois Supreme Court Amends Rule to Add ‘Sexual Harassment Prevention’ to CLE Topic Areas

Two weeks ago, the Illinois Supreme Court amended a Supreme Court Rule to add “sexual harassment prevention” to the enumerated topic areas for which lawyers may receive professional responsibility CLE (PR CLE) hours.  The amended Rule 794(d)(1) now reads as follows:

Each attorney subject to these Rules shall complete a minimum of six of the total CLE hours for each two-year reporting period in the area of professionalism, civility, legal ethics, sexual harassment prevention, diversity and inclusion, or mental health and substance abuse.

2Civility has more details and commentary here.  LexBlog has the story here. 

Legal Ethics Year in Review Program

 Happy New Year, everyone!  And, as you know, this is the time of the year when we see "top ten lists" and "year in review" programs and podcasts.  

One of my favorites is the Legal Ethics Year in Review Program put together by Lucian Pera (of Adams & Reese LLC) and Trisha Rich (of Holland & Knight LLC).  They run down their top ten stories (or topics/themes) of the year and very quickly summarize the issues and provide helpful references and materials.  Their programs are always both informative and entertaining and this year's was no exception.  I actually wish they would make them a little bit longer so there could be more of a discussion at the end.  

In any case, if you missed it, go watch the program by clicking here, and put yourself on their mailing list so you can attend next year's program when it is offered live.

How not to practice law: ask someone else to take your CLE courses for you

 It has bee a while since I posted to the ongoing "how not to practice law" series, which highlights particularly shocking misconduct that you would think is obvious to all.

In today's installment we meet a lawyer who asked his assistant to take his continuing legal education classes for him.  Isn't it obvious that you should not do that?  The lawyer was suspended for 1 year.  

You can read more about the case here.

Arizona rejects requirement for diversity and inclusion CLE

 On August 30, the Arizona Supreme Court rejected a petition that proposed to require Arizona licensed attorneys, who are not otherwise exempt, to dedicate one hour of continuing legal education (“CLE”) to training on diversity and inclusion, as part of the current requirement that attorneys receive three hours of education in professional responsibility each year. 

The Court rejected the petition stating that ...

The Court supports legal education addressing diversity and inclusion issues, just as it supports education concerning other important topics, such as mental health, sex trafficking, and victim’s rights. But it has historically refrained from setting a curriculum for attorneys to achieve their educational goals, believing it preferable for them to do so. The Court continues to take this approach.  

Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Regulation 101(L) provides that “Professional Responsibility (Ethics) Hours” maybe satisfied by attending programs that “address diversity and inclusion in the legal system of all persons regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disabilities, as well as, the elimination of bias.” Such content has been, and continues to be, available. The Court invites State Bar members to take advantage of these educational opportunities.

 

NY may soon require training in "cyber security" as part of CLE

As you probably know already, many jurisdictions have adopted the ABA Model Rule's view that knowledge or understanding of technology should be an element of the duty of competence under rule 1.1.

Also Florida and North Carolina currently require mandatory CLE on issues of technology.  Florida was the first state to do so (in 2016) (see here). 

I am writing about this today to let you know that the New York State Bar Association has approved a committee report that recommends amending the mandatory continuing legal education rule to require one credit in cybersecurity.

LawSites has the story here.

Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism launches free online CLE program on lawyer wellness

I have written about the notion of "wellness" before, including about a report on the negative effects of the practice of law and the fact that Vermont has adopted a comment [9] to its rule on competence which states that maintaining mental, emotional, and physical well-being necessary for practice is important aspect of competence.

Today I want to let you know that the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism has created a free online CLE program on lawyer well-being that you can access by going here.

According to the website, attorneys who complete the CLE are eligible to receive 0.5 hours of mental health and substance abuse CLE credit in Illinois. During the 30-minute interactive eLearning attorneys will (1) understand the extent of the well-being crisis in the legal profession, (2) identify potential symptoms of stress, and (3) learn strategies to help maintain their well-being.

How not to practice law: "multi-task"

I always tell my students that there is no such thing as multi-tasking.  You can't do two things at the same time.  You can alternate doing one thing at a time and get more than one thing done at the end of the period of time you spend alternating between tasks, but that is not multi-tasking.  That is doing one thing at a time, and then doing something else, and then going back to what you were doing before.  One thing at a time.

And now I can add to my "rant" that if you think you can do two things at the same time, you might be on your way to get disciplined.

In a case involving facts I have to admit I had never seen before, the Supreme Court of Kansas disciplined a lawyer for making a “materially false statement” in reporting his attendance at an MCLE program.

Here is how this relates to the issue of "multi-tasking":  The false statement charge was based on the fact that the lawyer claimed more than eight hours of CLE in a single day. His explaination to MCLE authorites? He viewed an “online on-demand CLE program while sitting in live CLE program.   Efficiency by multi-tasking at its best!

The lawyer actually argued that he was “overconfident” in his “abilities to multitask.” The Court, however, found that the lawyer engaged in conduct “involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.

The case is In  re Mathews, No. 120,924 (Ks. Sep. 27, 2019).

North Carolina considering mandating CLE on technology

Back in 2016, I reported (here) that Florida became the first state to mandate technology training for lawyers by adopting a rule that requires lawyers to complete three hours of CLE every three years “in approved technology programs.”  Since then, no other state has adopted a similar rule, but that may be about to change. 

LawSites is reporting that the North Carolina State Bar Council has approved a proposed amendment to lawyers’ annual CLE requirements that would mandate that one hour of the required 12 hours of CLE training annually be devoted to technology training.  Go here for the full story.

Amendments to Illinois CLE requirements

Earlier today, the Illinois Supreme Court amended the Illinois rule that imposes a minimum number of hours of CLE dedicated to Professional Responsibility.  The Rule will still require Illinois lawyers to complete 6 hours of professional responsibility CLE every reporting period, but effective July 1, 2017, of those 6 hours, one hour must be devoted to issues of diversity and inclusion, and one hour must be devoted to mental health and substance abuse.  

You can read the Court’s press release here and the revised Rule here. The Commission on Professionalism has also answered some FAQs for both attorneys and providers regarding this upcoming requirement, including effective dates, application procedures and eligible courses and activities.

I am not sure I like this rule.  I don't understand why require certain topics and not others.  

Florida adopts duty of technology competence and a requirement regarding technology CLE -- Updated

October 1, 2016. 
Last week the Supreme Court of Florida became the 25th state to adopt the duty of technological competence that the ABA adopted in its recent amendments to the Model Rules.  That's not terribly surprising as the language of the Model Rules usually eventually finds its way into state rules.

However, the Florida Supreme Court did go a bit further.  As explained by the court, the amendment "add[s] language to the comment providing that, in order to maintain the requisite knowledge and skill, a lawyer should engage in continuing study and education, including an understanding of the risks and benefits associated with the use of technology.

Go here for more information and a copy of the Court's order.   The ABA Journal online also has the story here.

Interestingly, once it is decided that having knowledge about technology is part of the duty of competence, it follows that it will become an element of the standard of care for malpractice cases. 

UPDATE 2/12/17:  The ABA Journal has a story here.

ABA approves new rule on CLE

Just a few days ago, the ABA House of Delegates adopted a new Model  Rule  for  Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE).  You can find the text of the rule and the report in support of the proposal here.

Comment on the new ABA rule on CLE panels

In 2008, the American Bar Association adopted as a goal to work to "eliminate bias and enhance diversity” by promoting full and equal participation in the association, our profession, and the justice system by all persons by eliminating bias in the legal profession and the Justice System.

As part of that effort, the ABA in turn adopted a new mandatory rule for all ABA-sponsored continuing legal education programs to regulate the composition of panels of speakers.  Is this a good idea?  Professor Ronald Rotunda (Chapman) offers his view on the issue in his latest column at Verdict.

Lawyer suspended for being drunk at a CLE program

The Legal Profession blog is reporting that a Virginia lawyer has been been suspended for six months and ordered to enroll in a two-year treatment and monitoring program for being intoxicated and disruptive at a Continuing Legal Education program last year. You can read more details on the story here.
 
I have seen cases of discipline for not complying with CLE requirements but I don't remember another case involving conduct during a CLE program.
 
Prof. Jonathan Turley has a comment on the case here.

IL amends rules on CLE

The Illinois Supreme Court has amended some of the rules regarding Continuing Legal Education for Illinois attorneys.  Go here for more information.