If you'd rather enjoy CLE at home, the ABA launches a new satellite service in September 1997. The Internet provides some uniquely valuable CLE features. First of all, it's available 24 hours every day from anywhere there's a computer and phone line. It can deliver audio and written CLE quite easily. However, no one has created the ideal Internet CLE store yet.
Several players are in the pool, with relative levels of success.
Counsel Connect was one of the first offering online CLE, as early as 1994. Those early classes were not real-time, and included the online text of syllabi, which accompanied hardcopy class materials which were mailed to seminar attendees. The online portion also included questions posed by attendees and answered by the trainers. This worked pretty well, and at times included over a hundred attendees from several continents. It truly expressed the power and potential of online training.