Louisiana CLE Overview
As an attorney in Louisiana, it is imperative to maintain compliance with the state’s Continuing Legal Education (CLE) requirements. CLEs are designed to keep legal professionals up-to-date on the latest developments in the law and to ensure that attorneys maintain a high level of legal competency. The Louisiana Supreme Court mandates that attorneys complete a certain number of CLE credits every year to keep their licenses in good standing.
Continuing Legal Education is mandatory for all Louisiana licensed attorneys , regardless of their practice area. The Louisiana Supreme Court has implemented these requirements to ensure that attorneys are staying current on legal trends and developments in their field. Failure to meet these requirements can result in consequences ranging from fines to suspension of the license to practice law. Additionally, CLE courses provide an excellent opportunity for attorneys to network with their peers and enhance their professional skills.
Required Louisiana CLE Credits
In Louisiana, attorneys are required to complete 12.5 hours of credit each year as a requirement to be eligible to practice law. At least one hour of credit must come from an ethics course. In addition, the LSBA Board of Governors requires every member to complete minimum of one hour of professionalism education every two years. Each attorney shall receive an automatic 6.0 hour professionalism CLE credit for every two year reporting period that they are an actively participating member of a Louisiana Bar Association section or committee. एक पाठ्यक्रम; one repeated 2 times max. This automatically qualifies for professionalism credit. As long as the member participates in one more professionalism program to achieve the 1 in 2 requirement. As of January 1, 2018, at least 2 of these 1 hour of professionalism credit will be earned for every 12.5 CLE credit hours originated or "instructed" in Louisiana, regardless of whether the lawyer attended the course or obtained the credit and so long as the course is approved for credit.
Approved CLE Programs and Providers
Attorneys seeking to fulfill their mandated CLE requirements in Louisiana are presented with a variety of accredited programs and providers. The Louisiana Supreme Court has approved a broad range of programs, and has established specific requirements for attorneys on how to find and attend accredited CLE programs, and what types of programs and providers are eligible.
The Louisiana Supreme Court has authorized three entities as the only organizations that can provide accredited CLE programs: the Louisiana Supreme Court Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Committee (MCLE Committee), the Louisiana State Bar Association (LSBA), and the Louisiana Judicial College. Accreditation from any one of these entities allows attorneys to automatically receive credit in Louisiana. Attorneys can search for accredited programs in the MCLE Committee’s program directory; attorneys may also use this directory to look up their accrued credits for a given reporting year.
Attorneys are free to take any type of program that has been accredited by the MCLE Committee, LSBA, or Louisiana Judicial College. Eligible programs include courses of legal education sponsored by national, state, and local bar associations, practical skills programs, law school continuing education programs, bar review programs, live telephone or videotelephone seminars which meet the required standards, online courses, intensives, workshops, and panels conducted at legal or other professional association meetings. The MCLE Committee approves of both speaking and writing for credit; writing includes authorship or co-authorship of books, casebooks, articles, monographs, CLE papers, or any other substantive legal material of significant value to the attorney or to members of the attorney’s profession or to the public. This work qualifies only if the average reader would expect to pay an admission charge for attendance at a similar live presentation or seminar, or would ordinarily pay to purchase such a similar publication and feel reasonably assured of receiving the product for which a charge has been made.
How to Submit Louisiana CLE Credits
To comply with the Louisiana CLE requirement in accordance with the Louisiana Supreme Court Rules, an attorney must submit an Official Annual Report form and pay the annual fee to the Louisiana Supreme Court Committee on Bar Admissions and Continuing Legal Education evidencing said compliance by the appropriate reporting deadline.
Every active attorney in Louisiana is required to report sixteen and a half (16.5) hours of CLE credit by June 30 of each year. The first application fee for a new lawyer is $198. The remaining annual fees are $188. Those attorneys who do not pay the annual fee when due shall be considered delinquent. A fee of $20 will be assessed every quarter for nonpayment of the administrative fee until paid. An additional $100 will be required if a lawyer’s license becomes inactive due to nonpayment of this fee. This additional fee will be assessed every quarter until the fee is satisfied. Failure to pay the annual fee and any additional fees shall result in a special assessment. Unless good cause is shown, the special assessment fee shall be set at $500. The special assessment shall be in addition to the regular administrative fee set forth above. If the lawyer fails to use the Mandatory CLE Reporting Form (or another form which provides the requisite information) and/or submits this form after the due date, the lawyer shall be considered ineligible for admission. The lawyer will be given reasonable notice of the ineligibility and 60 days to cure the default. If the lawyer fails to cure, the lawyer shall not be eligible to practice law in Louisiana until the lawyer does cure the default and is readmitted. Mandatory CLE requirements must be met by the last day of May. Fees and reports made after that date are subject to a special assessment of $50 per month per the CLE statute. If an attorney does not comply with the CLE requirements as outlined above and is subsequently audited, that attorney may not certify compliance for the reported compliance year. Credit will be given only for courses taken in Louisiana after the beginning of the compliance year. Attorneys are required to maintain copies of certificates of attendance for six (6) years following the reporting deadline. Such certificates are the official record of a lawyer’s attendance at CLE courses.
Louisiana CLE Waivers and Extensions
LOUISIANA CLE EXEMPTIONS AND EXTENSIONS
The LSBA Rules, pursuant to Rule 5(o)(ii), provide for exemptions and extensions for the CLE requirement. It also provides for a waiver in some cases. Specifically, the rule states:
A person may apply for a waiver of the continuing legal education requirement on the basis of undue hardship or nonpracticability. Rule 8 of the Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct addresses the continuing legal education requirements applicable to attorneys practicing law in Louisiana.
An attorney temporarily assigned to the armed services, who is an active member of the Louisiana State Bar Association, may be excused from minimum mandatory continuing legal education requirements for that period of active military service to the same extent that members of the United States Armed Forces are excused from mandatory continuing legal education requirements in other jurisdictions.
An attorney who is an active full-time member of the judiciary does not have to earn any minimum mandatory continuing legal education requirements for the period of time that he or she is serving as an active full-time member of the judiciary .
An attorney who is a full time law school student (not attending unless certified as a full time student) will not be considered as engaging in the practice of law.
An attorney who has been inactive during a reporting year but wishes to reactivate his or her status may obtain an extension upon petitioning the Committee, since inactive attorneys are not required to take CLE.
For CLE credit, course offerings must be approved by the Committee no later than 30 days prior to the date of the offering. However, if the course offering is of unusual importance and excellence, and there would be a hardship on the attorney to register and attend all approved courses in order to meet minimum mandatory continuing education requirements, the Committee may grant an extension of time, not to exceed six months, for completion and attendance of the course offerings required. Attorneys also may attend courses offered by organizations which are not approved for CLE credit, and may submit their course offering to the Committee for approval.
An attorney may also apply for a waiver to practice law in a foreign country or territory pursuant to Louisiana Supreme Court Rule XVII, Section 6(D) and Rule 17.1 of the Rules of the Supreme Court.
Consequences of Failing to Fulfill CLE Requirements
The Louisiana State Bar Association monitors attorneys’ compliance with the compulsory CLE requirements, and attorneys are periodically audited to ensure compliance. When an attorney fails to meet the mandatory CLE requirements, they may be subject to disciplinary action by the Committee on Professional Responsibility. If you are not in compliance with the CLE requirements, you should immediately take steps to remedy the situation by completing the necessary CLE hours. Notably, CLE hours completed over the compliance year that exceeds the minimum will not count towards the next year’s CLE requirements, and carry-over is not permitted. If additional CLE hours beyond what is required for compliance are not completed, attorneys are subject to discipline ranging from a letter of admonition to suspension from the practice of law for up to one year. Further, attorneys who fail to complete the necessary CLE hours by the reporting deadline must pay a fee of $100 per month for each month that they are not in compliance. This fee is in addition to any penalties that the Committee on Professional Responsibility may impose. Due to the serious nature of the potential consequence for non-compliance, it is ideal to be proactive to prevent any issues from arising. Attorneys should be certain to remain in compliance through self-audits, CLE calendars, and reminders.
Louisiana CLE FAQs
Q: What is the relevance of the "other state" requirement for attorneys practicing in Louisiana?
A: Attorneys admitted in other states and practicing in Louisiana must earn credits in accordance with the rules for "Out-of-State Attorneys Practicing in Louisiana." There are specific requirements for these attorneys, along with additional alternative options to earn the necessary credits. Out-of-State Attorneys may not buy credits through our Buy-a-CLE program.
Q: Are there extra requirements for multi-disciplinary attorneys?
A: Any attorney who is multi-disciplinary (admitted in another U.S. jurisdiction) does have to complete all requirements for each state. This is because CLE requirements do not transfer between states.
Q: Title Insurance Agents and those in certain legal fields (i.e. Real Estate) have special CLE rules. Do I have to follow those specific guidelines or simply comply with the Louisiana guidelines?
A: Those practicing in insurance or in specific areas like Real Estate must follow the guidelines specific to those positions. The requirements vary; however , a few of the key guidelines are as follows:
Title Insurance Agents must complete 8 hours of title specific CLE, which includes but is not limited to Title Insurance Law, writing title insurance policies, and title insurance underwriting. This is in addition to the standard CLE compliance requirements for attorneys.
Real property attorneys must complete at least 10 hours of their CLE in the area of real estate law (includes real property & succession & probate law). Real property attorneys may also take the standard CLE courses available through our site if they wish.
