The
Commission on Continuing Legal Education
Commission
on Continuing Legal Education
Judicial
Branch Building
1111 East Court Avenue
Des Moines, Iowa 50319
(515)
725-8029
cle@iowacourts.gov
The
Commission on Continuing Legal Education administers a program established by
the court which requires attorneys to attend legal education classes each year.
Lawyers and judges must complete a minimum of 15 hours of legal education
accredited by the Commission. The minimum number of legal education hours must
include a minimum of two hours every two years, of education devoted
exclusively to legal ethics. Hours in excess of the minimum requirements may be
carried over subject to specific restrictions. Click here for the Court Rules regulating CLE.
This requirement helps ensure that lawyers and judges keep abreast of the
latest legal developments.
Court Adopts Basic
Skills Course Requirement for Lawyers Admitted by Examination
On
October 9, 2009, the Supreme Court adopted a new requirement that all lawyers
newly admitted by examination attend a basic skills course on Iowa law. The attendance requirement applies to every
lawyer admitted by examination after December 1, 2008. Lawyers admitted by examination during 2009
will have two years from their actual date of admission to complete the
course. Lawyers admitted by examination
in 2010 and future years must complete the course within one year of their
actual date of admission. The basic
skills course requirement does not apply to lawyers admitted to practice on
motion.
An
approved basic skills course will consist of at least eight hours of
instruction on Iowa law, including one hour of ethics, drawn from at least
eight of the topic areas specified in the rule.
Lawyers who attend the basic skills course are entitled to claim credit
against their regular continuing legal education attendance requirements. The course must be reviewed and approved by
the Commission on Continuing Legal Education, and the sponsor will be required
to track and report attendance to the commission.
A
lawyer who fails to attend the required course within the allotted time period
may have their right to practice law suspended.
The Commission on Continuing Legal Education is authorized to grant
individual extensions of time or waivers based on hardship or extenuating
circumstances.
As
basic skills courses are submitted to the commission and approved, the
commission will list them on this web page.
Lawyers admitted during 2009 are encouraged to monitor the commission
web page and arrange attendance of the basic skills course at the first
available opportunity. At this time, the
Commission is aware of the following basic skills courses:
January,
2011 (Tentative) Iowa State Bar Association Location to be Determined For Information, call ISBA CLE at 515-697-7874
A
copy of the new rule is available here: Rule 41.2
Internet Filing of CLE Report, Client Security Report and Payment
of Fees Is Mandatory in 2009
Detailed instructions regarding annual reporting duties were mailed
to all active Iowa lawyers in late December.
This year, no paper report forms were enclosed with the December
mailing. Unless an exception is granted,
annual client security and continuing legal education reports (including Rule
41.9 reports) must be filed, and associated fees paid, on-line at the
professional regulation web site. Requests
for extensions of time to file regular continuing legal education reports and
Rule 41.9 reports also must be filed on-line using the lawyer's account on the
professional regulation web site. Exceptions
to on-line filing will not be routinely granted.
Instructions for accessing your account on the professional
regulation web site are available here: Instructions
A
comprehensive tutorial regarding lawyer use of the professional regulation web
site is available here: Tutorial
Late Filing Fees Have Increased and the Notice Period
Prior to Suspension for Noncompliance Has been Reduced
The penalty fees for
late filing of client security and CLE reports have increased. A penalty of $100 will be assessed for each
report filed up to one month late, $150 for each report filed more than one
month and up to two months late, and $200 for each report filed more than two
months late. Also, the notice period
prior to suspension for noncompliance has been reduced to 15 days.
Application
Fee for CLE Event Sponsors
By rule dated November 23, 2004 the Supreme
Court adopted an application fee to be paid by sponsors who submit CLE events
for accreditation approval in Iowa. Adoption of the application fee was
recommended by the Commission on Continuing Legal Education. The application fee has been set at $25.00
per application. The fee applies to
applications received at Commission offices on or after July 1, 2005. There are three important exceptions to the
application fee.
First, the application fee applies to event
sponsors only. No application fee will
be payable with an accreditation application submitted by an individual
attorney solely as an attendee at an event.
Second, the Commission will not impose the
fee on an application submitted by a sponsor who provides the educational
program at no cost to attendees. A
sponsor may charge attendees its cost for a meal provided to the attendees at
the event and still qualify for no-fee application under this exception,
provided the meal charge is not used to subsidize the cost of the CLE
presentation.
Third, the Commission will not impose the fee
on applications submitted for an additional, identical presentation of a
program already reviewed and approved by the Commission for presentation during
the same calendar year.
Sponsors subject to the fee should submit the
application fee with each application, in the form of a check or money
order. If multiple applications are
submitted simultaneously, a single check or money order may be submitted to
cover the application fees on all of the applications. The Commission will not maintain accounts for
sponsors or provide a billing service for application fees. Applications received without fees will
prompt an electronic mail or telephonic advisory to the sponsor, and the
application will be held for no more than two weeks pending receipt of the
required fee. The fee is an application
fee, rather than an approval fee, and it is not refundable regardless of the
action taken on the application by the Commission.
The Commission's application forms have been
revised. A single form now will be used
for applications submitted before or after an event is conducted. The new form is available below.
Policies
on Approval of CLE Events for Credit (Accreditation)
Basic standards on accreditation of CLE events are contained in
Rule 42.3:
(1) A continuing legal
education activity qualifies for accreditation if the commission determines
that the activity complies with all of the following:
a. It constitutes an organized program
of learning (including a workshop or symposium) which contributes directly
to the professional competency of an attorney.
b. It
pertains to common legal subjects or other subject matters which integrally
relate to the practice of law.
c. It
is conducted by attorneys or individuals who have a special
education, training, and experience by reason of which said
individuals should be considered experts concerning the subject matter of the
program, and preferably is accompanied by a paper, manual, or written
outline which substantively pertains to the subject
matter of the program.
d. It
is presented live or by computer-based transmission. Activities presented by
computer-based transmission must be interactive as defined by the accreditation
policies of the commission.
(2)
No activity will be accredited which involves solely self-study, including
television viewing, video or sound recorded programs, or correspondence work,
except as may be allowed pursuant to rule 42.5.
In addition, the Commission has adopted policies regarding accreditation
of CLE events, based on Rule 42.3 and its experience. Click
here for a copy of those policies.
Field of
Practice Rule Allows Expanded Use of Computer-Based CLE
In 2003 the Iowa Supreme Court amended DR 2-105 to specifically
allow expanded use of computer-based continuing legal education (CLE) events to
satisfy prerequisites for designating a field of practice or limiting one's
practice under the advertising rules.
Prior to the change, up to six hours of computer-based continuing legal
education (CLE) could be used to satisfy regular CLE requirements under
chapters 41 and 42. However, there was
no specific provision in DR 2-105 regarding use of computer-based CLE. The rule change makes clear that up to six
hours of computer-based CLE may be used to satisfy each separate ten or
fifteen hour requirement under DR 2-105.
The six hour per year limit still exists with respect to use of
computer-based CLE to satisfy regular CLE requirements under chapters 41 and
42. The actual text of the rule change
can be downloaded here: DR
2-105(B) Change (The former DR 2-105
now appears at rule 32:7.4 of the Iowa Rules of Professional Conduct.)
Forms (download a copy)
NEW!!
Searchable Database of Approved CLE Events: You may perform basic and advanced searches of
all the CLE events approved by the Commission at this page on the Professional
Regulation Online Services web site: CLE Search Page
Approved CLE Events Conducted During 2005: Download the list in Portable
Document Format (PDF) or in Excel (XLS)
format.
Approved CLE Events Conducted
During 2006: Download the list
in Portable
Document Format (PDF) or in Excel (XLS)
format.
Approved CLE Events Conducted
During 2007: Download the list
in Portable
Document Format (PDF) or Excel
(XLS) format.
Approved CLE Events Conducted
During 2008: Download the list
in Portable
Document Format (PDF) or Excel
(XLS) format.
Approved CLE Events Conducted During
or Scheduled for 2009: Download the list in Portable
Document Format (PDF) or Excel
(XLS) format.
Commission Members
The
commission is composed of twelve members - ten Iowa lawyers and two residents
who are not lawyers appointed by the Iowa Supreme Court. Members shall be
appointed for a term of three years except when appointed to fill an unexpired
term. No member shall serve more than two consecutive complete terms.
Honorable David L. Christensen, Ellston, Chair
Debra L. Hulett, Des
Moines
Laurie K. Doré, Des Moines
William J. Miller, Des
Moines
Myron L. Gookin, Fairfield
Steve Waterman, Osceola
Renee V. Sneitzer, Coralville
Kristen N. Ollenburg, Mason
City
Paul Feeney, Des Moines
Gary R.
Faust, Council Bluffs
Kathleen
Kleiman, Cedar Rapids
Loan
Hensley, Sioux City
