Because a 100-year pandemic, monkeypox, inflation, and bifurcation weren't enough, the NC State Bar wanted to get into the mix.

In the spring of this year, the North Carolina State Bar’s Board of Continuing Legal Education proposed sweeping changes to the structure of North Carolina's CLE program. This will be the first time the structure of CLE in NC has undergone any significant changes since the inception of mandatory CLE in 1988.

Currently, North Carolina attorneys are required to complete 12 hours of CLE, with two of those hours being devoted to ethics/professionalism. Starting in 2001, attorneys were required to complete one hour dedicated to substance abuse and/or mental health every three years; and in 2019, the Board of CLE required that at least one of the 10 general CLE credit hours include technology training. Additionally, attorneys are permitted to carry over up to 12 hours of CLE, including the ethics hours.

Changing the reporting period is among the most significant proposed changes. Instead of the annual (12 month) reporting period, the reporting period for lawyers to complete their CLE requirements will become three years. Additional changes include elimination of the annual report, elimination of the $3.50 per hour fee in favor of creation of course application fees and an annual CLE attendance fee, elimination of the grace period, and changing the start and end date of the CLE year.

The thought behind eliminating the grace period and changing the dates for the CLE year is two-fold. First, the current CLE year runs from January through December, with the grace period to complete CLE hours running through February of the next year. Over time attorneys began to treat February as the end of the CLE reporting year. So under the proposed changes the CLE year will now run from March 1 through the end of February to be consistent with attorney behavior. And second, the elimination of the grace period will create a clean 12-month reporting period and eliminate the confusion created by the grace period.

Additional reasons cited for these massive changes include 1) providing lawyers more flexibility; 2) easing administrative burden on CLE staff; 3) improved enforcement of CLE requirements; and 4) improving efficiency for the CLE programming and reducing annual costs for attorneys.

The bottom line

Attorneys will have a 36-hour requirement over three years to complete six ethics hours, one Professional Well-Being hour (formerly known as Mental Health/Substance Abuse), and one technology training hour. The verdict is still out on carry-over credits. The anticipated start date of these changes is some time in 2024. Attorneys will be notified when the changes will apply to them. The rollout will likely be based on an attorney's bar number or some magical algorithm.

In reviewing these proposed changes, however, there does not appear to be any guidance on how the district bars should prepare for what is around the corner. Thankfully, for the MCB, we are in good hands with Lisa & Michelle at the CLE helm. Their experience and insight will be key to our CLE program's success as we navigate through these changes.

Meet the MCB Staff

Meet Lisa Armanini, our Director of Continuing Legal Education. Lisa has been with the MCB for 34 years, since the beginning of the mandatory CLE program in North Carolina.

Hometown: Warren, Ohio

Fun facts:

1. Huge fan of English Premiere League Soccer. Her favorite team is Arsenal.
2. Loves to volunteer with the annual Tour de Turns Bike Ride. It’s a fundraiser that supports Loaves & Fishes.

Next, meet Michelle Lee, Assistant Director of CLE. In just three years, Michelle has become a true asset to the MCB with her energy and fresh ideas.

Hometown: Indiana, PA, but in many ways claims Charlotte because she has been here since high school.

Fun facts:

1. Used to train vultures and other birds of prey (I feel like we need to figure out how to incorporate this into a future CLE program).
2. Expecting her first child in November.

Let's all thank Lisa, Michelle and the CLE committee for their tireless work and dedication to the MCB and our CLE program.

Keep an eye out for the updated proposed amendments in future publications.