New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 22 - JUDICIARY › Subtitle B - Courts › Chapter IV - Supreme Court › Subchapter E - All Departments › Part 1500 - Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Program For Attorneys In The State Of New York › Subpart A - Structure of Program › Section 1500.4 - Accreditation

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28,
						July 10, 2024
(a) Procedure. Unless a provider has
						been granted accredited provider status pursuant to subdivision (c) of this
						section, accreditation of continuing legal education courses or programs must
						be sought at least 60 days prior to the occurrence of the course or program,
						except in extenuating circumstances and with prior permission of the CLE
						board.
(b)
						Standards. Continuing legal education courses or programs to be accredited
						shall comply with the following guidelines:
(1) One hour of continuing legal
						education credit shall consist of at least 50 minutes of instruction, exclusive
						of introductory remarks, meals, breaks, or other noneducational
						activities.
(2) The course or
						program must have significant intellectual or practical content and its primary
						objective must be to increase the professional legal competency of the attorney
						in ethics and professionalism, skills, law practice management, areas of
						professional practice, diversity, inclusion and elimination or bias, and/or
						cybersecurity, privacy and data protection.
(3) The course or program shall be
						taught by instructors with expertise in the subject matter being taught and
						shall be specifically tailored to attorneys.
(4) The faculty of the course or
						program shall include at least one attorney in good standing, who shall
						actively participate in the course or program.
(5) The course or program
						shall not be taught by a disbarred attorney, whether the disbarred attorney is
						the sole presenter or one of several instructors.
(6) The continuing legal
						education course or program must be offered by a provider that has substantial,
						recent experience in offering continuing legal education to attorneys, or that
						has demonstrated an ability to effectively organize and present continuing
						legal education to attorneys.
(7) Thorough, high quality, readable
						and carefully prewritten materials must be made available to all participants
						at or before the time the course or program is presented, unless the absence of
						materials, or the provision of such materials shortly after the course or
						program, is pre-approved by the CLE board. Written materials shall satisfy the
						criteria set forth in the regulations and guidelines.
(8) The cost of continuing
						legal education courses or programs to the participating attorney shall be
						reasonable.
(9)
						Providers must have a financial hardship policy as provided in the regulations
						and guidelines.
(10)
						The course or program must be conducted in a physical setting that is
						comfortable and conducive to learning.
(11) At the conclusion of the course or
						program, each participant must be given the opportunity to complete an
						evaluation questionnaire addressing the quality, effectiveness and usefulness
						of the particular course or program. A summary of the results of the survey(s)
						must be submitted to the CLE board at the end of the calendar year in which the
						course or program was given. Providers must maintain the questionnaires for a
						period of four years following the course or program.
(12) Providers of continuing
						legal education courses or programs shall provide a certificate of attendance
						to all persons completing the continuing legal education course or
						program.
(13)
						Providers of continuing legal education courses or programs must maintain an
						official attendance list of participants in the program, and the time, date,
						location, title, speaker(s) and amount of approved CLE credit for each course
						or program, for at least four years after the completion date.
(14) Programs that satisfy
						these standards and that cross academic lines, such as accounting-tax seminars,
						may be considered for approval by the CLE board.