GA CLE Requirements Explained
Continuing Legal Education (CLE) is an ongoing education requirement for Georgia Bar members. CLE refers to professional education aimed to keep lawyers and judges abreast of the latest legal developments and trends. Georgia Bar members must stay informed of important decisions made by state and federal courts, and also be aware of any needed changes to their practice to comply with those decisions. CLE is also to make sure lawyers stay current with new laws that may affect their area of practice.
Most lawyers in Georgia are required to complete 12 credits of continuing lawyer education.* Most lawyers, including all new lawyers and all lawyers with a small practice , are required to complete 1 credit of ethics education. The 12 credits required for CLE programs shall be completed at least 2 per reporting period, which is every other year. Newly admitted lawyers are exempt from this rule, provided that they complete 6 CLE credits, including 2 ethics credits in the first year. CLE credits may be met through attendance at an approved educational CLE program, by serving as a speaker, lecturer, moderator, or panel member, or by distance learning courses such as audio, video or a live web cast. As mentioned above, ethics is another important part of CLE. Members of the State Bar are required to take 1 credit hour of Ethics education, and the other 11 credits can be made up of specialized subject matter programs.
Minimum Annual GA CLE Credit Requirements for Lawyers
The State Bar of Georgia requires its attorneys to earn a total of 12 CLE credits every year, which includes at least one ethics credit, one professionalism credit, and three trial credits. While the State Bar of Georgia accepts all NY CLE from New York approved providers as accredited in Georgia it is important for attorneys to make sure they comply with the requirements, and the subject matter is relevant to Georgia law.
The 12 credits may be earned at any time during the calendar year and may be carried over from one year to the next in certain instances. For example, if an attorney has taken more than the 6 required general credits in ethics over the course of two years, the excess credits can be carried forward as excess general credits into the next reporting period. However, if an attorney has not taken the required number of ethics credits in a particular year, there is no "grace period" to carry those credits over to the next reporting period. All credits must be earned to maintain compliance. As previously noted, attorneys only have a duty to report their CLE compliance to the State Bar every two years, and until further notice, attorneys can comply with Georgia’s CLE requirements by completing the necessary CLE credits as set forth herein.
An attorney must on the day that he or she wishes to receive continuing legal education credit for periods of study for a subject matter in which the attorney is a member of the faculty or panel, registrar, or director, and who is a member of the State Bar shall complete and file with the Board a Licensee Affidavit for Self-Study Reporting Form (Form 2). The self-study credits may be applied to either the Professionalism/Trial/General Ethics Requirements or the Required Legal Skills Requirement for the Attorney’s compliance period in which the study was completed.
Most Georgia attorneys are considered active attorneys for the purposes of the CLE requirement because they are considered to be in a regular course of practice. Because of this, the Attorney General opinions regarding CLE compliance, as well as the Georgia Minimum Continuing Legal Education requirement and regulation, are generally not applicable to inactive or retired attorneys. There are a few exceptions in instances where retired attorneys are engaged in pro bono work within the state of Georgia where CLE compliance becomes applicable.
How to Obtain CLE Credits in GA
Georgia attorneys maintain their licenses to practice by completing a certain number of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) hours every year. Depending on the bar member’s scope of practice, they must complete 6, 10, or 12 CLE hours every year and hybrid (in-person and distance learning) compliance is available. Live or in-person courses can satisfy requirements, including those provided by the state bar, or by other approved CLE providers. Each live course is approved for either 1 or 2 CLE hours, and webcasts can be taken on-demand for 1 CLE hour each. Additionally, the Georgia Bar requires that attorneys complete:
• 1 ethics CLE hour every three years (only from pre-approved courses);
• 2 regular activity MCLE hours every three years (only from pre-approved courses); and
• 3 Georgia law MCLE hours every three years (normally from pre-approved courses).
The Georgia Bar provides many different opportunities to earn CLE credits. The Bar’s Professional Development Program (PDP) offers many seminars and distance-learning options throughout the year, both live or as a webcast. In addition, the PDP includes the Professionalism Program, which meets over two days, and ensures compliance with both the ethics requirement and the regular activity requirement. The Bar also sends out a calendar each year that lists all of its seminars, audio courses, and online courses; as well as those available via telephone or video.
A number of other organizations offer CLE courses in Georgia. For example, the Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) in Georgia offers courses regularly at various locations, in addition to distance-learning webinars. Other organizations approved by the Georgia Bar include the State Bar of Georgia, the Georgia Commission on Dispute Resolution, and the Institute of Continuing Legal Education at the University of Georgia.
Attorneys may only claim credit once for a course. Courses offered by the Georgia Bar and other approved providers typically do not require certification and automatically transfer to a lawyer’s MCLE transcript. Credits are awarded on a course-by-course basis and Georgia Bar members can track their hours on the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement’s My MSC LE online portal.
GA Attorney Reporting and Compliance for CLE
Georgia attorneys have two basic requirements for CLE compliance. First, they must earn a minimum of 10 CLE hours each year. Second, of those 10 hours, at least one must be an ethics hour. (Those attorneys who are newly admitted to the bar in the course of the calendar year have the option of completing 10 CLE hours during their first full year in the practice of law, and completing the remaining hours in the following calendar year).
There are several options for obtaining CLE credit for compliance. First, Georgia attorneys may attend traditional courses that provide CLE credit. Second, they can take interactive courses for CLE credit. Third, Georgia lawyers may complete self-study courses for CLE credit . Finally, attorneys may also obtain CLE credit via webcasts, on-demand video, and phone seminars. If attorneys complete more than 10 CLE hours, Georgia permits the excess CLE credit to roll over into the next compliance period. However, the carryover hours cannot be used for ethics credit in the subsequent compliance period. For attorneys in Georgia, the reporting date for CLE compliance is the same as their annual renewal date. In order to maintain compliance the State Bar of Georgia requires attorneys to keep a record of their CLE credits, including at a minimum the number, type, and dates of CLE completed, and a record of the attorney’s signature after the compliance year.
Consequences for Non-Compliance with Georgia CLE Requirements
Georgia lawyers who fail to meet mandatory Continuing Legal Education requirements are subject to penalties that can range from monetary fines to suspensions. The State Bar of Georgia enforces compliance with the CLE requirements and maintains a reporting system to ensure adherence. If a CLE report is not filed on time, the attorney will be charged a late penalty fee. Any attorney who is non-compliant will be issued a Notice of Non-Compliance, and the matter will be forwarded to the Authorized Board. If the lawyer does not remedy their non-compliance within thirty (30) days, then the Authorized Board may suspend the lawyer’s license to practice law, with reinstatement to occur only upon a showing of compliance. Any suspension disagreement may be overridden by the Board of Governors of the State Bar of Georgia.
Recent Changes and Updates to GA CLE Requirements
Recently Adopted Rules
On March 24, 2005, the Georgia Supreme Court adopted a new rule requiring attorneys to earn at least one hour of ethics credit every year. This new rule is now in effect. It requires attorneys to earn (in addition to the Standard CLE requirement of at least 3 hours of ethics credit per biennial period) at least one hour focusing on the ethics and professional responsibility of the practice of law for each calendar year in which the attorney is a member of the bar of Georgia. These ethics hours may be any combination of live, video, audio, or self-study formats. The requirement is that the courses have an ethics and professionalism focus; however, it’s important to understand that this does also include courses that have a technical title as "ethics" or "professionalism" because those courses focus on a technical legal topic but include portions or all of the course addressing ethical or professionalism considerations.
Coming Soon
Currently , attorneys may fulfill their Standard CLE and Georgia Legal Ethics & Professionalism credit requirements through any accredited CLE provider. However, beginning January 1, 2019, attorneys will be required to take certain designated mandatory CLE courses offered by the State Bar of Georgia along with their general CLE credits. The State Bar Board of Governors adopted a new rule, effective January 1, 2019, which will require Georgia attorneys to take a new round of MCLE courses covering ethics, professionalism, professionalism, or mental health, and substance abuse, or any combination thereof, every three years.
As the program gets closer to being implemented, we’ll have further information on this here on CLEly.