Associated Rule

• Admission and Discipline Rule 29. (The CLE Rule)

Admitted in Illinois?
Attorneys licensed in Illinois now have MCLE requirements. For more information, please visit www.mcleboard.org, the web site of the MCLE Board of the Supreme Court of Illinois.

Admitted in other state(s)?
Please visit www.cleusa.org for more information about CLE in other states.

Ethics Credit Policy

The ethics portion of a course shall be directed to the ethics of attorneys as opposed to the ethical or moral behavior of other professionals or of people in general. Such courses shall include instruction focusing on the Rules of Professional Responsibility as they relate to law firm management, malpractice avoidance, attorneys fees, legal ethics, and the duties of attorneys to the judicial system, the public, clients and other attorneys.

Although ethics can be integrated into the program (as opposed to a freestanding, single-issue program), it still must appear as a separate agenda item and must be at least thirty minutes in duration to be given credit.

Sponsors must separately certify attorney ethics credits on the sponsor's attendance reports.

CLE Courses and Sponsors

• List of Approved CLE Sponsors
• Search the Approved CLE Courses Database
  Includes: Approved Courses for Newly Admitted Attorneys; Approved Courses for Applied Professionalism Credit for Newly Admitted Attorneys; Approved Courses for Attorneys Admitted Longer than Five Years

CLE Scholarship Information
The Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum (ICLEF) has established an endowed scholarship fund at Indiana Bar Foundation with a generous $50,000 contribution to allow attorneys experiencing financial hardship to attend necessary continuing legal education seminars. Visit www.inbf.org for more information.

The Indiana Commission for CLE has no role in the awarding of scholarships.

Applications for Accreditation

Before submitting this application to the Commission for consideration, please review the following:

1. Determine whether you wish to apply for a traditional CLE course, in-house, distance education or NLS course. These are explained further below.
   
   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. The education must be provided by a judge, attorney or sponsor of legal education who is not a member, employee or acting of counsel of organization or law firm.
   
   Governmental and Academic attorneys may receive unlimited in-house credits. Nongovernmental or non-academic attorneys may receive up to three hours per three-year educational period through in-house means. Remember attorneys may receive up to three hours of credit per three-year education period for in-house activities. NLS is unavailable for in-house programs. Applications for accreditation must be received at least thirty days prior to the program. Effective January 1, 2005.
   
   Distance Education Courses. Distance education courses are those that do not require a student to be in the same location as the instructor and do not require an attendant at the learning site to monitor attendance. The courses must be interactive, and the sponsor must be able to verify continuing attendance of the attendee to the Commission. The verification may be done through the use of PIN numbers, random prompts or otherwise through guidelines the Commission may develop. Attorneys may receive up to six hours of credit per three-year education period for distance education activities. Applications for accreditation must be received at least thirty days prior to the program. Effective January 1, 2005.
   
   Non-Legal Subject Matter ("NLS") Courses. NLS courses are those courses that are not substantially legal that enhance an attorney's competence in his or her individual practice. Attorneys only (Sponsors cannot apply for NLS accreditation) can receive accreditation on a course-by-course basis. Attorneys can report a maximum of twelve hours toward the three-year 36-hour requirement using NLS courses. Complete the beige "Application for Accreditation of a Non-Legal Subject Matter Course. " NLS is unavailable for in-house programs.
   
   
2. Determine which portions of a course should be accredited.
   
   Total Accreditation. Complete the "Application for Accreditation of Continuing Legal Education Activity."
   
   Partial Accreditation. An applicant must 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 this separate application is not made. Complete the enclosed “Application of Accreditation of Continuing Legal Education Activity," and identify those topics for which you request accreditation.
   
   
3. Check that form is complete: signed and properly verified.
   
   
4. Insure that the required course enclosures are provided.
   
   
5. Check that instruction minutes have been computed correctly:

a. Only time of actual instruction counts toward credit hours.
b. Credit is not given for introductory remarks, breaks, or business meetings.
c. If credit is requested for a dinner or luncheon speaker, minutes will be deducted for service of the meal.

6. Remember sponsors are encouraged to plan activities that are at least 60 minutes long.
   
   
7. Note that in order to receive ethics accreditation, a topic must have ethics for attorneys as its main focus and must be at least 30 minutes long. The Commission's ethics policy is as follows:
   
   The ethics portion of a course shall be directed to the ethics of attorneys as opposed to the ethical or moral behavior of other professionals or of people in general. Such courses shall include instruction focusing on the Rules of Professional Responsibility as they relate to law firm management, malpractice avoidance, attorneys fees, legal ethics, and the duties of attorneys to the judicial system, the public, clients and other attorneys. Although ethics can be integrated into the program (as opposed to a freestanding, single-issue program), it still must appear as a separate agenda item and must be at least thirty minutes in duration to be given credit. Sponsors must separately certify attorney ethics credits on the sponsor's attendance reports.
   
   
8. For Internet research courses computer skills courses, complete course materials must be submitted with the application form.

Application	Adobe PDF
Application for Accreditation of Continuing Legal Education Activity [updated 01.01.05]
Application for Accreditation of Non-Legal Subject Matter Activity