What You Need to Know About the New C.R.C.P. 250 Rule

What is professional development? How can we ensure quality of education but provide lawyers with CLE learning options to accommodate different learning methods? How can we ensure personal choice and flexibility for time management knowing the professional and personal pressures lawyers and judges have on a daily basis? How to ensure flexibility knowing that access to CLE opportunities vary around the state? The new CLE Rule 250 and supporting regulations were promulgated to effect balance between all the competing objectives. Over the next few months, the CLJE Committee and the Office of Continuing Legal and Judicial Education will be providing additional guidance on the rules and regulations for lawyers and judges, as well as for sponsors of CLE activities on our website.

Below are some frequently asked questions that will help acquaint you with the rules and regulations. Many have not changed and some you might not have known about previously. As you work on your own professional development plan, you may want to consult the regulations to help guide you in planning your activities.

Q: Will the total number of CLE and Ethics hours required each period change?

A: No. However, it is important that you are certain that a program is accredited before attending and watching one on-demand. Each Colorado-approved activity has a unique program ID code that appears on the program accreditation affidavit. Please ensure the activity sponsor provides you with that code. Having that program ID code will ensure an easy entry to your online CLE transcript to record attendance. If you question whether a program has been approved, consult the list of accredited programs or list of accredited homestudies located on our website. If the program is not accredited, a Form 1 must be submitted by you or the program provider with the required fee.

Q: Are there any exemptions from the CLE requirement?

A: Yes. In the compliance period in which you turn age 72 and you remain on active status, you will become exempt from CLE. You will be able to continue to enter your CLE activities on your transcript, but you will not be required to do so under Rule 250.

Q: Are inactive attorneys still exempt from the CLE requirements?

A: Yes.

Q: May I get credit for taking graduate level courses or courses taken in pursuit of an LLM degree?

A: Yes. The courses must be administered by an accredited law school. Please fill out and submit a Form 1A.

Q: My law firm or organization provides professional development opportunities in my workplace. May I receive CLE credit for teaching and/or attending?

A: Yes, if the activity meets the requirements under the CLJE Rules and Regulations. The entity will need to be a recognized sponsor (see Form 2) and submit the appropriate Forms to the CLJE Office to have the activity accredited (see Form 1). Additionally, please note, under the new Regulations, the restrictions on law firm trainings has been eliminated. If your law firm or organization needs assistance in this process, please have them contact the CLJE Office. If the program is not accredited in Colorado, but is an accredited CLE activity in another jurisdiction, you may receive credit for teaching under Regulation 103.2 and by submitting a Form 5.

Q: May I get credit for performing Pro Bono work?

A: Yes, under certain circumstances you may earn general credits for providing uncompensated pro bono legal representation to indigent or near-indigent persons, or supervising a law student providing such representation. To receive credit, the pro bono matter must have been assigned to you by a court or an entity whose mission includes providing pro bono representation to indigent or near-indigent persons. The assigning entity must undertake a financial eligibility determination of the recipient of the services. You may obtain credit for participating in qualified pro bono activity by submitting the information on Form 8. See Rule 250.8 for more information. You may receive a maximum of nine CLE credit hours during each three-year compliance period; ethics credit may not be earned under this rule.

Q: How may I get credit for activities I think are worth CLE, but are not an accredited activity?

A: The Committee recognizes that there are many activities that lawyers and judges undertake that may contribute to their professional development, but may not fit into a recognized, sponsored activity. An independent study activity must involve active participation in an educational endeavor which is beneficial to the applicant's practice and is not part of the applicant's ordinary practice of law. Independent study credit may be earned for any of the following types of activities:

·        Attending or teaching a non-accredited, structured course that was produced for law-related or practice management educational purposes;

·       Attending or teaching a non-accredited professional educational course that trains participants in the use of non-legal software or technology skills;

·       Required training in preparation for serving as a judge or evaluator in any type of mock trial, moot court or client counseling competition, class or program;

·       Participating in Access to Justice clinics held for the public, sponsored by a state judicial entity, a bar association, or an entity defined in C.R.C.P. 250.9(2); or

·       Actively engaging as a legislator in the Colorado General Assembly.

Under Regulation 103.5, Independent Study Activities, you may receive a maximum of nine CLE credit hours during each three-year compliance period; ethics credit may not be earned under this regulation. You must fill-out and submit a Form 7 and must include a certificate of completion explaining how the independent study was beneficial to you.

A course attended in preparation of admission to practice law in any jurisdiction will not be accredited and cannot otherwise be approved for CLE credit. Regulation 103.1(4)(g).

Q: How may I receive credit for teaching a CLE?

A: Credit may be granted for teaching an accredited CLE program, as well as for a non-accredited program that contributes to the continuing legal education of the applicant and other lawyers or judges. You may earn a maximum of four CLE credit hours for every 50 minutes spent in teaching the program, inclusive of preparation time. Credit for teaching will be prorated accordingly. Regulation 103.2(1); see Form 5.

The Our Courts Program: Educational activity of lawyers and judges who present programs to a public audience may be accredited as a teaching activity, if the program's purpose is to inform the public about the workings of the Colorado Judiciary and the functions of judges and courts. Regulation 103.2(2); see Form 5.

Q: I participate on a Court or Bar Association Committee. May I get CLE credit for my participation?

A: It depends. The CLJE Office may accredit committee research activities provided the activity: (1) has produced written materials, personally authored, in whole or part, by the applicant on behalf of a committee qualified under this regulation; (2) contributes to the continuing legal education of the applicant and other lawyers and judges outside of the committee; and, (3) is not done in the ordinary course of the practice of law, the performance of judicial duties, or other regular employment. Regulation 103.4; see Form 6A.

A meeting of a bar association, committee, section or other entity composed of lawyers or judges, that is intended primarily to be a general business meeting or work session as opposed to a CLE program will not be accredited. Regulation 103.1(4)(a).

Q: I have written a book and/or article for publication. May I get CLE credit for my research and written product?

A: It depends. The CLJE Office may accredit research activities provided the activity: (1) has produced published findings in the form of articles, chapters, monographs or books, personally authored, in whole or part, by the applicant; (2) contributes to the continuing legal education of the applicant and other lawyers or judges; and, (3) is not done in the ordinary course of the practice of law, the performance of judicial duties, or other regular employment. In order to be accredited as a research activity, all articles, chapters, monographs and books must be published by someone other than the author, the author's law firm or employer, and must be subject to peer review. Regulation 103.3; see Form 6.

Authoring a legal article, newsletter, blog or other written product that is published by the authoring lawyer, his or her law firm or other employer or that is not subject to peer review will not be accredited. Regulation 103.1(4)(f).