La. R. Sup. Ct. 3
Law office management concerns knowledge and skill of office practice including courses on how to:
Legal ethics concerns the standard of professional conduct and responsibility required of a lawyer. It includes courses on professional responsibility and malpractice. It does not include such topics as attorneys fees, client development, law office economics, and practice systems, except to the extent that professional responsibility is discussed in connection with these topics.
Professionalism concerns the knowledge and skill of the law faithfully employed in the service of client and public good, and entails what is more broadly expected of attorneys. It includes courses on the duties of attorneys; elimination of bias or discriminatory communication or conduct; equal access to justice; sensitivity to cultural and other differences when interacting with members of the public, judges, jurors, litigants, attorneys, and court personnel; attorney competency; and pro bono obligations.
Legal ethics sets forth the standards of conduct required of a lawyer; professionalism includes what is more broadly expected. The professionalism CLE requirement is distinct from, and in addition to, the legal ethics CLE requirement.
REGULATIONS/RULE 3
Regulation 3.1. To meet the minimum requirements of Rule 3, each Member must obtain credit for not less than twelve and one half (12.5) hours of CLE per calendar year.
Regulation 3.2. An instructional hour must contain at least sixty (60) minutes, with no credit given for introduction of the speaker, meal breaks, or business meetings.
Regulation 3.2(a). For computer-based credit as defined in Rule 3(d), the approval of credit hours for such activities will include consideration of instruction time, availability of materials, provider verification of attendance, and other factors as deemed appropriate by the Committee.
Regulation 3.3. Members who have a permanent physical disability that makes attending CLE programs inordinately difficult may file a request with the Committee for approval of a permanent substitute program in lieu of attendance and shall therein set out CLE plans tailored to their specific interests and physical abilities. The Committee shall review and approve or disapprove such requests on an individual basis and without delay. Rejection of any requested substitute for attendance shall be reviewed as provided in Rule 6 prior to any sanction being imposed.
Regulation 3.4. Other requests for substituted compliance, partial waivers, or other exemptions for hardship or extenuating circumstances may be granted by the Committee upon written application of the member and shall likewise be reviewed as provided in Rule 6.
Regulation 3.5. As provided in Rule 5(b), hours of credit in excess of the minimum annual requirement may be carried forward for credit in the succeeding calendar year. Such hours, however, must be reported in the Annual Report of compliance for the year in which they were earned and must be designated as hours to be carried forward.
Regulation 3.6. Credit will be given only for approved CLE activities. Under exceptional circumstances, approval by the Committee may be given retroactively.
Regulation 3.7. Credit may also be earned through teaching in an approved CLE activity. Presentations accompanied by thorough, high quality, readable, and carefully prepared written materials will qualify for CLE credit on the basis of six (6) hours of credit for each instructional hour of presentation. Presentations accompanied by one or two page outlines or not accompanied by written materials will qualify for CLE credit on the basis of three (3) hours of credit per hour of presentation. Repeat presentations qualify for one half of the credits available for the initial presentation. To receive credit, the member shall submit MCLE Form 4.
Regulation 3.8. Credit may also be earned through teaching a course in an American Bar Association accredited law school. The Committee will award six (6) hours of CLE credit for each hour of academic credit awarded by the law school for the course. Similar credit may be earned through teaching an undergraduate course on law in an accredited college or university. To receive credit, the member shall submit MCLE Form 4.
Regulation 3.9. Credit may also be earned through authorship of a law review article on matters of law published by an American Bar Association accredited law school, or through authorship of a book on matters of law published by a recognized publishing company. The Committee will award six (6) hours of CLE credit for each such article or book published. Any attorney may petition the Committee for credit for authorship of articles on matters of law published in other publications. The article must comply with the provisions of Regulation 4.1(a) and (b). To receive credit, the member shall submit MCLE Form 5.
Regulation 3.10. Credit may also be earned through service as a bar examiner or assistant bar examiner in Louisiana. The Committee will award eight (8) hours of CLE credit annually for service as a member of the Committee on Bar Admissions and six (6) hours of CLE credit annually for service as an assistant bar examiner to a member of the Committee on Bar Admissions, but credit shall not be allowed for both activities.
Regulation 3.11. Credit may also be earned through formal enrollment and education in an American Bar Association accredited law school. The Committee will award six (6) hours of CLE credit for each hour of academic credit awarded by the law school. Note: Amended effective December 10, 2001.
Regulation 3.12. Credit may also be earned through attendance at meetings of the Council of the Louisiana Law Institute or committee meetings of the Institute on the basis of one hour of CLE credit for two hours of such participation, not to exceed ten (10) hours of CLE credit per year.
Regulation 3.13. Activities providing credit hours through participation in technological transmissions must be pre-approved by the MCLE Committee for computer-based credits.
Regulation 3.14. No credit will be given for activities sponsored by law firms and corporate law departments for the sole or principal benefit of their own members or employees. Credit may be awarded, however, for activities presented by public entities for the sole or principal benefit of their own employees.
COMMENT
The MCLE Committee considers the following four (4) factors when evaluating whether or not an activity is "for the sole or principal benefit" of a law firm or corporation's members or employees:
Note:Amended effective October 14, 2009.
Regulation 3.15. Eight (8) hours of CLE credit per year will be given to a Member who is a member of the Louisiana Legislature, or who serves as Secretary of the Senate or Clerk of the House of Representatives of the Louisiana Legislature. [amended effective December 5, 2016, amended effective February 9, 2024]
Regulation 3.16. Four (4) hours of CLE credit per year, with one (1) hour deemed to be in satisfaction of the Ethics requirement, shall be given to each member of (i) the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board, its hearing committees, and its counsel, and (ii) the Lawyer Disciplinary Committee of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, for service in the disciplinary system. [Amended effective November 18, 2016]
Regulation 3.17. Four (4) hours of CLE credit per year, with one (1) hour deemed to be in satisfaction of the Ethics requirement, shall be given to each member of the Disciplinary Board of the Louisiana State Bar Association, its hearing committees, and its counsel, for service in the disciplinary system, and two (2) hours of CLE credit per year, with one (1) hour to be deemed to be in satisfaction of the Ethics requirement, shall be given to each alternate member.
Regulation 3.18. Four (4) hours of CLE credit per year, with one (1) hour deemed to be in satisfaction of the Ethics requirement, shall be given to each member of the Judiciary Commission for service in the judicial disciplinary system.
Regulation 3.19. Six (6) hours of CLE credit per year shall be given to examiners of the Family Law, Tax, Estate Planning, Health Law, Labor Law, Employment Law and Appellate Practice legal specialties. [Amended effective June 23, 2021; amended effective November 11, 2022]
Regulation 3.20. Six (6) hours of CLE credit per year shall be given to examiners of the Family Law, Tax, and Estate Planning legal specialties. Note: Amended effective June 14, 2002.
Regulation 3.21. Credit may also be earned through providing uncompensated pro bono legal representation to an indigent or near-indigent client or clients, or through other activities approved by the Committee. To be eligible for credit, the matter must have been assigned to the Member by a court, a bar association, or a legal services or pro bono organization that has as its primary purpose the furnishing of such pro bono legal services and that has filed a statement with the Louisiana Committee on MCLE. A Member providing such pro bono legal representation shall receive one (1) hour of CLE credit for each five (5) hours of pro bono representation, up to a maximum of three (3) hours of CLE credit for each calendar year. To receive credit, the Member shall submit MCLE Form 6 ("Application for CLE Credit for Pro Bono Services"). [Enacted effective May 1, 2015; amended effective May 15, 2017]
Regulation 3.22. Credit may also be earned through participation in the LSBA's Transition Into Practice program by a newly admitted active Member. Timely, certified completion of the Transition Into Practice program will satisfy the CLE requirements under Rule 3(b) for newly admitted active Members and the CLE requirements for the second full calendar year following the Member's admission, Regulation 5.5 notwithstanding.
La. R. Sup. Ct. 3