Rule - Mandatory Continuing Legal Education and Mandatory Judicial Education GuidelinesSECTION 1. AUTHORITY AND PUBLICATION OF GUIDELINES. These guidelines have been adopted by the Court under Section 4 of Rule 28 and Section 6(a) of Rule 29 in furtherance of the efficient discharge of the Commission's duties. The Commission shall:
The Commission shall:
(a) file a copy of these guidelines with the Clerk; (b) cause these guidelines to be published from time to time as revised in a pamphlet, brochure, or the Internet along with the full text of the Rule 28 and 29 and any other materials deemed useful by the Commission in assisting Attorneys, Judges, and Sponsors to understand and comply with the Rule;(c) cause these guidelines and the full text of the Rules to be sent to the West Publishing Company of St. Paul, Minnesota, with a request that they be published in the Northeast Reporter; and (d) cause these guidelines and the full text of the Rules to be sent to the Editors of Res Gestae with a request that they be published. SECTION 2. DEFINITIONS. All of the definitions found in Section 2 of the Rule 28 and 29 are applicable in these guidelines. In addition, as used in these guidelines:
(a) Approved Courses means any course, approved by the Commission under Section 3 of these Guidelines, or conducted by an Approved Sponsor which meets the requirements of Section 3 of these Guidelines. (b) Approved Sponsor means any person approved under Section 4 of these Guidelines. (c) Course means any educational seminar, institute, or program which is designed to contribute to the continuing legal education of Attorneys and the continuing judicial and legal education of Judges.(d) Enroll means registration for and attendance at a course. (e) Person means an individual, partnership, corporation or any other organization. (f) Rule means Admission and Discipline Rule 28 on Mandatory Continuing Judicial Education and Admission and Discipline Rule 29 on Mandatory Continuing Legal Education.(g) Sponsor means a person who conducts or presents a course. (h) Application means a completed application form, with all required attachments and fees, signed and dated by the applicant. (i) Received, in the context of an application, document(s), and/or other item(s) which is or are requested by or submitted to the Commission, means delivery to the Commission; mailed to the Commission by registered, certified or express mail return receipt requested or deposited with any third-party commercial carrier for delivery to the Commission within three (3) calendar days, cost prepaid, properly addressed. Sending by registered or certified mail and by third-party commercial carrier shall be complete upon mailing or deposit.SECTION 3. ACCREDITATION POLICIES. (a)Approval of Courses. The Commission shall approve the course if it determines that the course will make a significant contribution to the professional competency of Attorneys or Judges who enroll. In determining if a course meets this standard the Commission shall consider whether: (1) the course has substantial legal content. (2) the course has substantial judicial content and constitutes an organized program of learning which contributes directly to the professional competency of a Judge. (3) the course deals with matters related directly to the practice of law or the professional responsibility of Attorneys or Judges. (4) the course pertains to subject matter having significant intellectual or practical content relating to the administration of justice, the adjudication of cases, the management of case or court operations by a Judge, or to the education of Judges with respect to their professional or ethical obligations.(5) each faculty member who has teaching responsibility in the course is qualified by academic work or practical experience to teach the assigned subject. (6) the physical setting for the course is suitable, including the availability of a writing surface and accessibility to persons with disabilities. (7) high quality written materials including notes and outlines are available at or prior to the time the course is offered to all Attorneys or Judges who enroll. (8) the course is of sufficient length to provide a substantial educational experience. Courses of less than one (1) hour will be reviewed carefully to determine if they furnish a substantial educational experience. (9) there are live presentations; or there is a licensed Indiana Attorney, whose function shall be to certify attendance to accompany the replaying of tapes. (10) the applicant has sufficiently identified those portions of a seminar that should be accredited. It shall be the duty of an applicant to apply separately for accreditation of the legal portions of a seminar, where the substance of a seminar is not entirely legal. The Commission may deny accreditation for an entire program where separate application is not made and where a significant portion of the program is not continuing legal education. (11) the course is designed for and targeted to Attorneys or Judges. (12) any attendance restrictions are grounded in a bona fide educational objective to enhance the Continuing Judicial Education or Continuing Legal Education activity. The Commission may deny accreditation to any course that restricts or that a reasonable person would perceive to restrict attendance based upon a classification protected by Indiana state law, federal law or by the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct. (b)Approval of Other Educational Activities. (1) Credit may be given for the following legal subject matter courses: (i)Law School Courses. An Attorney or Judge who attends a regularly conducted class at a law school approved by the American Bar Association. The number of credits may not exceed twenty-four (24) hours for a single law school activity. (ii)Bar Review Courses. An Attorney or Judge who completes a bar review course may apply for continuing legal education credit. The number of credits may not exceed twenty-four (24) hours for the course. (iii)Commission-Accredited Basic Mediation Training Course. An Attorney or Judge who completes a basic mediation training course approved by the Commission for mediation training shall receive twenty-four (24) hours. (iv)Court Administration Courses. Courses directed at improving docket management and court administration shall be approved. (v)Ethics Concentrated Law Firm Management Courses. An Attorney or Judge who attends a law firm management course with a concentration on: Trust accounting, ethical client contact, and ethical use of staff and resources may apply for credit. Any portion of the course dealing with marketing of services or profit enhancement will be denied credit. (vi)Teaching Approved Courses. An Attorney or Judge who participates as a teacher, lecturer, panelist or author in an approved course will receive credit for: (A) Four (4) hours of either approved continuing legal education or continuing judicial education, as applicable, for every hour spent in presentation.(B) One (1) hour of either continuing legal education credit or continuing judicial education, as applicable, for every four (4) hours of preparation time (up to a maximum of six (6) hours of credit) for a contributing author who does not make a presentation relating to the materials prepared.(C) One (1) hour of either approved continuing legal education or continuing judicial education, as applicable for every hour the Attorney or Judge spends in attendance at sessions of a course other than those in which the Attorney or Judge participates as a teacher, lecturer or panel member.(D) Attorneys or Judges will not receive credit for acting as a speaker, lecturer or panelist on a program directed to non-attorneys. (2) Subject to the 12-hour limitation set forth in Rule 28, Section 3(b) and Rule 29, Section 3(a) and the 18-hour limitation set forth in Rule 28, Section 3(a), credit may also be given for Non Legal Subject Matter (NLS) Courses. (i)Sponsor Applications for NLS Course Approval. A sponsor may apply for and receive accreditation of an NLS course. An NLS course may be approved without reference to Section 3(a)(1) of these guidelines. The following is a non-exclusive list of courses that may be accredited under this section: (A) Law firm management courses. A Sponsor may apply for accreditation of a law office management course that does not meet the criteria of (b)(1)(v)) Ethics Concentrated Law Firm Management courses (above). To be accredited, the course must deal with law firm management as opposed to office management in general. Further, the course must be directed to Attorneys or law office administrators. Any portions of the course dealing mainly with profit enhancement or marketing of services will be denied credit. (B) Medicine. Orthopedics or Anatomy for Lawyers. (C) Accounting for Lawyers. (D) Teaching Administration Skills for Law School Teachers. (ii)Attorney Application for NLS Course Approval. In addition, individual Attorneys and Judges may apply for NLS credit for a course that does not deal with matters directly related to the practice of law. NLS credit may be approved without reference to Sections 3(a)(1)(3) and (11) of these guidelines if the course directly related to a subject matter directly applicable to the applicant's practice. The following are nonexclusive examples of courses for which individual credit may be awarded under this provision: (A) Courses in anatomy or other fields of medicine, when credit is sought by an Attorney whose practice includes medical malpractice. (B) Courses in construction, engineering, or architecture, when credit is sought by an Attorney whose practice includes construction contracting or litigation. (C) Courses in financial planning, when credit is sought by an Attorney whose practice includes estate planning. (3) Professional Responsibility Credit shall be given when a topic has professional responsibility, ethics, wellness or diversity, equity, and inclusion as its main focus, and the course has at least one-half ( 1/2) hour of professional responsibility, ethics, wellness or diversity, equity, and inclusion content. (i) An Approved Sponsor must separately designate Professional Responsibility Credits when certifying attendance to the Commission. (ii) A Non-Approved Sponsor must separately request Professional Responsibility Credits on an application provided by the Commission. (4) Approved In-house education. In-house programs include those primarily designed for the exclusive benefit of Attorneys employed by a private organization or law firm. In-house programs also include those programs presented only to those Attorneys and/or their clients, even if the program was not designed for those Attorneys. Attorneys within related companies are considered to be employed by the same organization or law firm for purposes of this Rule. In-house education programs may become approved where the education is provided by a Judge, Attorney or Sponsor of legal education who is not a member, employee or acting of counsel of the participating organization or law firm. Inhouse CLE is subject to the following limitations and requirements: (i) Limited credit may be given for courses taught in-house. Non-governmental or non-academic Attorneys may report up to three (3) hours per three-year educational period for in-house programs that have been accredited by the Commission. Governmental or academic Attorney employees may receive unlimited CLE for these courses sponsored by their employers for the exclusive benefit of their Attorney employees. (ii) To be accredited, the Attorney or Sponsor must apply for accreditation at least thirty (30) days before the course is presented, using an Application for Accreditation. Additionally, the Sponsor or Attorney must demonstrate the facts set forth in paragraph 6 below. (5) Distance education courses. Limited credit may be given for courses taken through distance education methods. Subject to the eighteen (18) hour limitation found in Rule 28, Section 3(b) and Rule 29, Section 3(a) and the twelve (12) hour limitation found in Rule 28, Section 3(a), an Attorney or Judge may receive CLE or CJE through interactive distance education during an educational period. To be accredited, the Sponsor must apply for accreditation at least 30 days before the course is presented using an Application for Accreditation. Additionally, the Sponsor, Attorney or Judge must demonstrate the facts set forth in paragraph 6 below. (6) Accreditation of in-house and distance education courses. The Sponsor, Attorney or Judge must demonstrate that: (i) the course is designed for and targeted to Attorneys or Judges; (ii) continuing attendance is monitored and evidence of continuing attendance and/or participation is provided by the Sponsor to the Commission in conformance with such guidelines as the Commission may develop. In the case of distance education, the sponsor or Attorney must provide evidence that attendance is monitored by randomly polling or testing of participants during the program to ensure their participation;(iii) the Sponsor will provide a certificate of continuing attendance to the Commission; (iv) in content and style the program meets standards of educational quality as determined by the Commission; (v) in the case of distance education courses, meaningful technical assistance will be provided at times and in ways reasonable to the attendee; (vi) the course has substantial legal or judicial content (non legal subject credit is not available through in-house programs);(vii) the course deals with matters related directly to the practice of law, management or administration of court, the adjudication of cases, or the professional responsibility of Attorneys or Judges;(viii) each faculty member who has teaching responsibility in the course is qualified by academic work or practical experience to teach the assigned subject; (ix) high quality written materials are available either through paper format or electronic format to accompany the instruction either at or prior to the time the course is offered; (x) in the case of distance education courses, the program is not text-based; (xi) in the case of distance education courses, either audio or video or both are provided; and, (xii) the Sponsor will allow the Commission and its Executive Director or designated appointee to audit the course for regulation purposes. (7) Credit will be denied for the following activities; and,(i) Legislative, lobbying or other law-making activities. (ii) Self-study activities. Courses or activities completed by self-study will be denied credit unless approved under Section 8(c) of these guidelines. (c)Procedure for Sponsors. Any Sponsor may apply to the Commission for approval of a course. The application must: (1) be received by the Commission at least thirty (30) days before the first date on which the course is to be offered; The applicant must include the nonrefundable application fee in order for the application to be reviewed by the Commission. Courses presented by non-profit sponsors which do not require a registration fee are eligible for an application fee waiver.
Courses presented by bar associations, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum (ICLEF) and government or academic entities will not be assessed an application fee, but are subject to late processing fees.
Applications received less than thirty (30) days before a course is presented must also include a late processing fee in order to be processed by the Commission.
Either the provider or the attendee must pay all application and late processing fees before an attorney may receive credit.
Fees may be waived in the discretion of the Commission upon a showing of good cause.
(2) contain the information required by and be in the form approved by the Commission and available upon request; and (3) be accompanied by the written course outline and brochure used to furnish information about the course to Attorneys or Judges. (d)Procedure for Attorneys and Judges. Except for in-house courses, an Attorney or Judge may apply for credit of a course either before or after the date on which it is offered. Application for accreditation of an in-house course must be received at least thirty (30) days prior to the Course. The application must: (1) include the nonrefundable application fee in order for the application to be reviewed by the Commission. Courses presented by non-profit sponsors which do not require a registration fee are eligible for an application fee waiver. Either the provider or the attendee must pay all application and late fees before an Attorney may receive credit.
Fees may be waived in the discretion of the Commission upon a showing of good cause;
(2) contain the information required by and be in the form set forth in the application approved by the Commission and available upon request; (3) be accompanied by the written course outline and brochure used by the Sponsor to furnish information about the course to Attorneys or Judges; and (4) be accompanied by an affidavit of the Attorney or Judge attesting that the Attorney or Judge attended the course together with a certification of the course Sponsor as to the Attorney's or Judge's attendance. If the application for course approval is made before attendance, this affidavit and certification requirement shall be fulfilled within thirty (30) days after course attendance. Attendance reports received more than thirty (30) days after the conclusion of a course must include a late processing fee. Course applications received more than one-year after a course is presented may be denied as untimely.
(e)Executive Director's Discretionary Powers. The Executive Director of the Indiana Commission for Continuing Legal Education may use discretion in waiving the 30-day preprogram application requirements of these Guidelines upon a showing of good cause by the applicant and may waive application or late processing fees.SECTION 4. APPROVAL OF SPONSORS. (a)Procedure. A Person may apply to the Commission for approval as a Sponsor of continuing legal or judicial education activity. The application submitted to the Commission must contain the information required by and be in the form approved by the Commission and available upon request in the Commission office. A Person becomes an Approved Sponsor when the Commission places a Person's name on the list of Approved Sponsors . (b)Standard for Approval. The Commission shall approve the Person as a Sponsor if the Commission finds that the Person has conducted and is prepared to conduct on a regular basis programs which, if considered on an individual basis, would satisfy the standards for course approval set out in Section 3(a) of these Guidelines. In order to determine whether a Sponsor should be granted Approved Sponsor status, the Commission may consider the following:
(1) Whether the Sponsor has presented a minimum of an average of five (5) Approved Courses per year for the previous three (3) years. (2) Whether the courses within the previous three (3) years were substantively legal or judicial in nature and primarily targeted to Attorneys or Judges.(3) Whether the Sponsor has observed Commission Rules, Guidelines and Policies with regard to advertising, application requirements and attendance reporting. (4) Whether courses within the previous three (3) years were high quality and advanced the education of Attorneys or Judges. (5) Whether the Sponsor has substantially complied with requests from the Commission. (6) Whether courses have been denied accreditation by the Commission during the previous three years and the reasons for the denials. (c)Review of Approved Sponsors. The Commission shall periodically audit Approved Sponsors. If the Person fails to conduct approvable courses on a regular basis, the Person shall be removed from the Commission's list of Approved Sponsors. In order to remain an Approved Sponsor, a Sponsor must certify to the Commission the name and attorney number of all Indiana Attorneys and Judges who attend any Continuing Legal Education Program or Continuing Judicial Education Program.(d)Presumption of Course Accreditation. Courses presented by an Approved Sponsor are presumed to satisfy the education requirements of Section 3 of Rule 28 and Rule 29; provided however, courses which do not meet requirements of Section 3(a) of these Guidelines will be denied credit. Approved Sponsors must seek approval of courses of less than one (1) hour duration under Section 3 of these Guidelines. (e)Fees. Approved sponsors need not pay application fees. Approved sponsors must pay a late processing fee for attendance reports received more than thirty (30) days after conclusion of a course.SECTION 5. PROCEDURE FOR APPEALS. Any Person who disagrees with a decision of the Commission and is unable to resolve the disagreement informally, may petition the Commission for a resolution of the dispute. Petitions pursuant to this Section must be received by the Commission within thirty (30) days of the Commission's written notification giving rise to the disagreement and shall be considered by the Commission at its next regular meeting, provided that the petition is received by the Commission at least ten (10) business days before such meeting. The Person filing the petition shall have the right to attend the Commission meeting at which the petition is considered and to present relevant evidence and arguments to the Commission. The rules of pleading and practice in civil cases shall not apply, and the proceedings shall be informal as directed by the Chair. The determination of the Commission shall be final subject to appeal directly to the Supreme Court.
SECTION 6. CONFIDENTIALITY. Filings with the Commission shall be confidential. These filings shall not be disclosed except in furtherance of the duties of the Commission or upon the request, by the Attorney, Judge or Sponsor involved, or as directed by the Supreme Court.
SECTION 7. RULES FOR DETERMINING EDUCATION COMPLETED. (a)Formula. The number of hours of continuing legal or judicial education completed in any course by an Attorney or Judge shall be computed by: (1) Determining the total instruction time expressed in minutes; (2) Dividing the total instruction time by sixty (60); and (3) Rounding the quotient up to the nearest one-tenth (1/10). Stated in an equation the formula is:
Total Instruction Time (in minutes) / Sixty (60) = Hours completed (rounded up to nearest 1/10)
(b)Instruction Time Defined. Instruction time is the amount of time when a course is in session and presentations or other educational activities are in progress. Instruction time does not include time spent on: (1) Introductory remarks; SECTION 8. REPORT OF SPONSOR. The Sponsor shall, within thirty (30) days after the course is presented, submit to the Commission an alphabetical list including attorney numbers of all Attorneys admitted in Indiana and Indiana Judges who have attended the course. This list shall be certified by the Sponsor and include the hours to be credited to each Attorney and Judge for attendance and speaking. Attendance reports received more than thirty (30) days after the conclusion of a course must include a late processing fee.
If the course is presented by an Approved Sponsor under Section 4 of these Guidelines, the Sponsor shall submit a copy of the outline and brochure by which information about the program was furnished to Attorneys or Judges.
SECTION 9. USE OF THE OFFICIAL LEGEND OF THE COMMISSION. (a) Legend of the Commission. The Commission has adopted the official legend set forth in subsection (c) of this Section as a symbol of approval of continuing legal education activity. This legend is the subject of copyright and may not be used in advertisement or publicity for a course unless the Sponsor complies with the requirements of subsection (b) of this Section. (b) A Sponsor of Approved Courses may use the legend set forth in subsection (c) of this Section if the Sponsor agrees to report hours of credit and submit materials under Section 8 of these Guidelines. (c) This legend which may be utilized by Sponsors is: THIS COURSE HAS BEEN APPROVED BY THE COMMISSION FOR CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION OF THE STATE OF INDIANA. ATTORNEYS OR JUDGES WHO COMPLETE THIS COURSE SHALL RECEIVE
1. _______ HOURS OF CONTINUING EDUCATION, INCLUDING (BLANK) HOURS OF ETHICS, OR 2. _______ HOURS OF NLS CONTINUING EDUCATION HOURS UNDER INDIANA SUPREME COURT ADMISSION AND DISCIPLINE RULE 29 ON MANDATORY CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION AND/OR ADMISSION AND DISCIPLINE RULE 28 ON MANDATORY CONTINUING JUDICIAL EDUCATION. THE SPONSOR OF THIS COURSE IS OBLIGATED TO REPORT THE HOURS OF CONTINUING EDUCATION COMPLETED BY AN ATTORNEY OR JUDGE.Ind. R. Att'y Adm. & Discip. Mandatory Continuing Legal Education and Mandatory Judicial Education Guidelines
Adopted effective 10/1/1986; amended effective 4/16/1987; amended effective 6/8/1988; amended Nov. 30, 1989, effective 1/1/1990; amended May 23, 1991, effective 1/1/1992; Amended Dec. 23, 1996, effective 3/1/1997; amended July 1, 2005; January 1, 2006; amended Aug. 15, 2006, effective 1/1/2007; amended Sept. 10, 2007, effective 1/1/2008; amended Sept. 9, 2008, effectie Jan. 1, 2009; amended 1/6/2011, effective 1/6/2011; amended Oct. 7, 2011, effective 1/1/2012; amended Sep. 13, 2013, effective 1/1/2015; amended Oct. 9, 2018, eff. 1/1/2019; amended October 6, 2021, effective 1/1/2022; amended June 6, 2022, effective 6/6/2022.