May 20, 2019 – In a move to increase efficiency through technology, the Board of Trustees of the California State Bar Association has approved rule changes that will enable the Bar to modernize how it audits attorney compliance with continuing education requirements.
Attorneys licensed by the State Bar have been required to certify completion of MCLE requirements since 1992. Until now, attorneys have had to maintain their own records and, at the end of each three-year reporting cycle, declare under penalty of perjury that they are in compliance.
The rule changes enable the State Bar to require instead that MCLE providers supply attendance records electronically.
This method, used in at least 18 states, “has multiple benefits. It will reduce the time-keeping burden on attorneys, streamline the audit process, enable the State Bar to provide licensees with accurate progress reporting, and afford the State Bar better data on MCLE provider offerings,” the Bar said.
The new process will be implemented by December 1, 2020.