Standards for MCLE Activity Approval

To be eligible for Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) accreditation, an MCLE activity must meet State Bar standards outlined in the MCLE provider rules and be directly relevant to active attorneys licensed to practice law in California.

The presenter or presenters of the MCLE activity must have significant professional or academic experience related to the activity’s content. If the MCLE activity lasts one hour or more, the provider must provide participants with substantive written materials relevant to the MCLE activity either before or during the activity. Any materials provided online must remain online for at least 30 calendar days following the MCLE activity.

Additionally, a provider may request MCLE credit for welcoming remarks, introductions of speakers, closing remarks, and question and answer periods.

Types of MCLE credit considered by the State Bar

General credit
MCLE activities for general credit must relate to legal subjects directly relevant to State Bar licensees and have current significant, educational, professional, or practical content with an objective to increase each participant's professional competency as an attorney. Activities designed for nonattorney participants will not be approved for general MCLE credit. MCLE activities that may be eligible for general MCLE credit include those that provide education or practical instruction in:

The practice of law
Litigation
Management of a solo law practice
Management of a law firm or corporate legal department
Management of client trust accounts
Law firm finances
Attorney-client communications
Case management
Effective calendaring
Avoidance of malpractice
Opportunities to participate in pro bono legal services

California licensees do not receive credit for breaks, lunch periods, or nonlegal education functions such as networking or company business meetings.

Legal ethics—subfield credit
MCLE activities for legal ethics credit must focus on attorneys' professional responsibility and obligations, including education on, and citation to, the California Rules of Professional Conduct, the State Bar Act, and related authorities such as applicable case law, ethics opinions, the ABA Model Rules, or the professional conduct rules of a tribunal. Activities that focus on the ethics of business, corporate or government affairs, or society in general do not qualify for MCLE credit.

Recognition and elimination of bias—subfield credit
MCLE activities for credit in recognition and elimination of bias must focus on education in the recognition and elimination of impermissible bias in the courtroom and law offices; attorney-client relationships and relationships with other attorneys; legal and nonlegal employment and workplaces, including hiring, managing, and terminating employees; and housing, including accommodations and services. Courses required by Government Code section 12950.1 also qualify for credit in recognition and elimination of bias.

Courses required by AB 1825—mandatory sexual harassment awareness and prevention training for personnel managers—are approved for elimination of bias credit.

Implicit bias—subfield credit
MCLE activities for implicit bias credit must meet the requirements of Business and Professions Code section 6070.5 and must focus on implicit bias and the promotion of bias-reducing strategies to address how unintended biases regarding race, ethnicity, gender, identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or other characteristics undermine confidence in the legal system.

Prevention and detection competence—subfield credit
MCLE for prevention and detection competence focuses on developing awareness of substance use, addiction, and mental health related issues in the legal profession; strategies for dealing with mental health issues and substance use, and steps to assist and report affected attorneys. This includes, but not limited to topics on:

The disease of addiction and the impact of addiction on the legal profession;
Recognizing signs and symptoms of substance use and addiction in oneself or one’s colleagues;
Stress management strategies for dealing with mental health issues and substance use, and intervention strategies for attorneys and attorneys with colleagues in need of support;
The prevention, detection, and treatment of substance use, addictive disorders, or mental health issues and available assistance for impaired attorneys, including steps to assist and report an affected attorney or colleague;
The relationship between mental health, substance use, and attorney discipline; and
The effects of lawyer impairment on the profession and destigmatizing mental health and substance use issues.

Wellness competence—subfield credit
MCLE activities for wellness competence encompass practical strategies for managing mental health, stress, and overall well-being that are tailored to the legal profession. This includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:

Barriers to wellness for lawyers and why there’s often reluctance to seek help;
Fostering a culture of wellbeing as it relates to attorney competence through evidence-based strategies;
Professional burnout among lawyers, including what it is, how it impacts attorneys in and out of the office, how to spot it, and how to address professional burnout;
Stress management programs which focus on building awareness of stress-related problems in the practice of law, including through topics on work/life balance; recognizing signs of stress in oneself or one’s colleagues, instituting preventative measures as an individual, and developing of policies within a law firm or legal department for dealing with stress-impaired attorneys;
Ethics and well-being, including how to balance and manage competing obligations that may implicate an attorney’s professional responsibility requirements, and how enhancing personal well-being and adopting strategies for balancing life’s demands can enhance the ability to comply with these obligations;
Stress and trauma in the legal profession, including various methods for managing compassion fatigue, developing a trauma-informed practice, and improving organizational health;
Physical and professional health, including programs that support self-awareness, stress management and mental well-being (i.e., decreasing anxiety and depression, and stress hormones); and
Emotional Intelligence as it relates to the practice of law and emotional self-regulation.

Technology in the practice of law—subfield credit
MCLE activities for technology credit must include education on technology tools, programs, or applications to assist attorneys in their law practice. Credit will not be rewarded for course content consisting of marketing of a technology product or service. Examples of courses that would qualify for this credit include:

Cybersecurity, privacy, and data protection;
Use of technology to create, receive, transmit, store, analyze, or delete client documents or client documentation;
Law practice management technology tools, including technology for virtual appearances before a tribunal;
Use of applications to assist attorneys in advising clients, including artificial intelligence technology; and
Electronic discovery.

Civility in the legal profession—subfield credit
MCLE activities for civility in the legal profession provide education and practical instruction in promoting civility and eliminating bias-driven incivility in the legal profession, thereby increasing each participant’s professional competency as an attorney. This includes, but is not limited to training that highlights:

The connection between civility and bias and eliminating bias-driven incivility;
Incivility that is directed at opposing parties or counsel; and
Incivility toward the judiciary.

Legal Specialist—add-on credit
MCLE activities for legal specialists must provide high-quality legal education in one or more areas of the law eligible for LSMCLE credit as set forth in Title 3, Division 2 of the State Bar Rules.

Activities not acceptable for MCLE credit

A legal subject taught to nonattorneys;
Programs or portions of an activity that teach attorneys how to improve marketing, develop new clients, or increase revenue;
Nonlegal functions such as business development, team building, committee meetings, or any recreational activity;
Writing for, to, or on behalf of a client in the regular practice of law;
Programs designed to teach or enhance a person's ability to prepare and present an MCLE activity;
Review and evaluation of the legal work of associates or other attorneys by more experienced attorneys (for example, performance evaluations or a mentoring program);
Grading the California Bar Exam;
Acting as judge pro tem, mediator, arbitrator (public or private);
Acting as judge or a Supervising Attorney is the State Bar's Law Office Study Program;
Programs that discuss pending court cases or litigation, an appeal, or any client matter by the participants in the pending case, litigation appeal, or client matter;
Activities primarily intended to market or sell the presenter's technology, products, services, or skills;
Time spent in conducting a roll call or connecting to the teleconference/webinar;
Online discussions or written comments posted on public forums;
Courses on general business writing;
Informal discussion groups;
Preparation for admission to practice law in any state, the District of Columbia, any territory of the U.S., or any foreign jurisdiction, or for time spent actually taking such examinations;
Educational programs on mentoring new attorneys
Registering for a program or viewing vendor exhibits and demonstrations; and
Time spent reading or studying published or printed materials before taking self-assessment test.

Standards for MCLE Activity Approval

Types of MCLE credit considered by the State Bar

Activities not acceptable for MCLE credit

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