MCLE
Providers: Getting local
By
Psyche Pascual
Staff Writer
For
some attorneys, December and January are not exactly holidays. It’s a scramble to
get the minimum continuing legal education (MCLE) credits completed before the
Feb. 1 deadline.
Some
find online providers who offer courses that they can finish at their leisure.
Others turn to MCLE audiotapes and self-study courses like those offered by the State Bar of California.
Others find that getting local with courses through county bar associations, law schools
and other local CLE providers offers a strategic advantage, providers say. Local
judges and mediators are often recruited to give MCLE seminars.
“We’re
talking about the way that certain judges run their courtrooms, or different
areas of law that have their ways of conducting mediation,” said Sally J.
Elkington, president of the Alameda County Bar Association in Oakland. “They
just vary from county to county.”
Whether
attorneys have the full 25 hours to complete or just a few, there are still
opportunities to get them locally. The Contra Costa Bar Association held its “MCLE
Spectacular” on Nov. 16, and the Alameda County Bar
Association held its “MCLE
Compliance Countdown” on Dec. 7.
- The
San Mateo County Bar Association hosts its “Funky Credit Day”
on Jan. 25 at the Hilton San Francisco Airport Hotel. It’s a kind of crash
course day for hard-to-find credits, such as ethics or substance abuse.
- The
Orange County Bar Association also hosts its Annual “OCBA Last Dash”
in mid-January to squeeze in the last of the 25 hours required by the State
Bar. The OCBA offers credits in all categories.
- The
Sonoma County Bar Association hosts “The Blitz” in January. During the month, the organization offers live and video programs,
including updates on employment and family law and an ethics- and elimination
of bias-eligible course on transgender rights.
- Six
hours of CLE credit come with the Beverly Hills Bar Association’s “MCLE Extravaganza”
on Jan. 11.
- The
Los Angeles County Bar Association doesn’t host a special push in the winter,
but it does offer its “CLE in a Box,” a one-stop shop for all 25 credits, throughout the year.
Some
bar associations, such as the Alameda County Bar Association, also have their own
online tracking tool to record MCLE hours.
Law
schools also offer last-minute programs to help attorneys meet the MCLE
requirement.
The University of San Diego School of Law will host a series of CLE
programs in mid-January, including:
Pepperdine
offers CLE throughout the year. But this year’s presidential election and the
upcoming MCLE compliance deadline made Pepperdine University’s forum on tax
changes particularly timely, said Deanell Tacha, dean of the law school. This
year, the forum will feature Paul Caron, the writer of TaxProf Blog, one of the
most popular blogs in the nation.
“The
local law schools have some outstanding [CLE] offerings that bring together
nationally known experts on various topics,” including those who shape tax
policy for the country, Tacha said. “There are experts in our own backyards.”