IN THE MATTER OF THE ADOPTION OF THE AMENDMENTS TO APR 11 REGULATION 104 AND 106

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ORDER NO. 25700-A-834

     The Washington State Bar Association having recommended the adoption of the proposed amendments to APR 11 Regulation 104 and 106, and the Court having determined that the proposed amendments will aid in the prompt and orderly administration of justice and further determined that an emergency exists which necessitates an early adoption;

     Now, therefore, it is hereby

     ORDERED:

     (a) That the amendments as attached hereto are adopted.

     (b) That pursuant to the emergency provisions of GR 9 (j)(1), the amendments will be published expeditiously and become effective upon publication.

     DATED at Olympia, Washington this 12th day of October 2005.

	Alexander, C.J.
C. Johnson, J.	Chambers, J.
Madsen, J.	Owens, J.
	Fairhurst, J.
Bridge, J.	J. M. Johnson, J.

     (a) Basis for Approval of Courses. [No change]

     (b) Basis for Approval of Activities. [No change]

     (c) Examples of Courses or Activities That May Qualify for Credit.

     (1) [No change]

     (2) [No change]

     (3) [No change]

     (4) CLE credit will be given for attending law school courses, including courses offered at the J.D. or advanced education levels based upon the actual hours of attendance. Applicants need not take exams to qualify for credit, but must otherwise comply with the applicable regulations of the law school or university involved. Credit for teaching law school courses by full-time teachers will not qualify for credit. However, for the first preparation leading to the teaching of a specific law school course by an adjunct (not a full-time) professor, credit will be given on the basis of ten hours of preparation credit for each hour of preparation presentation time, and one credit will be given for each hour of class presentation time to a maximum of 15 credit hours of presentation time each year.

     (5) [No change]

     (6) [No change]

     (d) The Following Activities Will Not Qualify for Credit. [No change]

     (e) Private Law Firm, Legal Department, and Government Agency Education.

     In addition to compliance with the requirements of Regulation 104(a) and the limitations described below, courses presented by Private Law Firms ("Law Firms"), in-house Legal Departments ("Legal Department"), and federal, state, local, and military agencies and organizations ("Government Agencies") courses may be approved for credit under the provisions of APR 11 on the following bases:

     (1) Approval of such courses may be granted only on a case by case basis. Accredited Sponsor status (as set forth in Regulation 106) will not be available for private Law Firm, Legal Department, or Government Agency sponsors (herein collectively "Private Legal Sponsors"). The CLE Board may, however, consider the sponsoring organization's experience in presenting similar programs.

     (i) If a Private Legal Sponsor contracts with an outside CLE provider to present a CLE, then the Private Legal Sponsor must register as the sponsor of the CLE program. The outside CLE provider is not the sponsor in this situation.

     (ii) Nothing herein, however, shall be construed to prohibit or discourage Private Legal Sponsors from contracting with CLE providers to provide training, nor shall a CLE sponsor lose its accredited status because it provides courses or training to Private Legal Sponsors.

     (2) All information called for by Form 1, including a A complete course schedule with time allocations, must be submitted at least thirty (30) days prior to the date scheduled for the class in advance. High quality written materials are required and should be distributed to all attendees at or before the time the course is presented. A critique form or evaluation sheet and an attendance sheet, which attendees will complete, must be submitted to the CLE Board within 30 days after the program.

     (3) The course must be attended by five (5) or more lawyers admitted to any Bar Association, excluding the instructors.

     (4) Private law firm c Courses sponsored by Private Legal Sponsors may shall be open or closed to non-members of the Private Legal Sponsor law firm provided that notice of such courses shall be published on the WSBA's MCLE web page there is space available.

     (5) Marketing of the Private Legal Sponsor law firm in any manner is not permitted including but not limited to the display of brochures, pamphlets, or other Private Legal Sponsor firm advertising. Approval for credit may be denied or withdrawn if the program material is presented in such a way that it is necessary for a particular firm to be retained or associated in order to adequately handle the type of matter being discussed. Persons or organizations may not state or imply that the WSBA or the CLE Board approves or endorses any person or organization.

     (6) No course provided by a Private Legal Sponsor shall focus directly or indirectly on to a pending case, action or matter being handled by the Private Legal Sponsor.

     (7) Additional regulations pertaining to Law Firms:

     (i) No course provided by a Law Firm shall be paid for or in any way underwritten in whole or part, directly or indirectly by a client or prospective or former client of the Law Firm.

     (ii) Members shall be entitled to a maximum of fifteen (15) credit hours in any reporting period for courses provided by a Law Firm.

     (8) Additional regulation pertaining to Legal Departments -- Members shall be entitled to a maximum of fifteen (15) credit hours in any reporting period for courses provided by a Legal Department.

     (9) Additional regulation pertaining to Government Agencies -- If a course is closed, any written materials need to be made available to any inquirer.

     (f) Governmental Agencies. In addition to compliance with the requirements of Regulation 104(a) and the limitations described below, the courses of federal, state, local, and military agencies or organizations may be approved for credit under the provisions of APR 11 on the following bases:

     (1) Approval of such courses may be granted only on a case by case basis. Accredited sponsor status (as set forth in Regulation 106) will not be available for governmental agencies. The Board may, however, consider the sponsoring organization's experience in presenting similar programs.

     (2) A complete course schedule with time allocations must be submitted in advance. High quality written materials are required and should be distributed to all attendees at or before the time the course is presented. A critique form or evaluation sheet and an attendance sheet which attendees will complete must be submitted to the CLE Board within 30 days after the program.

     (3) The course must be attended by five (5) or more lawyers admitted to any Bar Association, excluding the instructors.

     (4) Governmental agency courses may be open or closed to nonmembers of the governmental agency or organization, provided that notice of them will be published on the WSBA web page, and that any written materials are available to any inquirer.

     (a) The CLE Board may extend approval to a sponsoring organization for all of the continuing legal education activities sponsored by such organization which conform to Regulation 104. A sponsoring agency to which such general approval has been extended shall be known as an "accredited sponsor".

     (b) A sponsoring organization desiring to apply for status as an accredited sponsor shall submit to the CLE Board all information called for in the form required by the Board. Accreditation shall be granted or denied in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 108. A primary consideration in the evaluation of such a request for status as an accredited sponsor shall be the previous experience of the organization in sponsoring and presenting continuing legal education activities. A reasonable fee may be assessed by the CLE Board, with approval of the Board of Governors, with regard to the application. A private law firm shall not qualify for accredited sponsor status.

     (c) Once a sponsoring organization has been granted the status of an accredited sponsor, it is not required to seek approval for individual educational activities sponsored while an accredited sponsor. Accredited sponsors It

     (i) sShall be responsible for calculating the number of credit hours to be awarded.

     (i) and Shall be responsible for reporting those determinations to the CLE Board prior to the event in such manner as the CLE Board determines.

     (iii) Accredited sponsors a Are entitled to include in any materials which promote such activity, language that indicates the activity has been approved for Washington State MCLE credit in the amount of ____ hours (of which ____ hours will apply to ethics credit requirements).

     (d) The CLE Board may set fees and fines and penalties for failure to comply with accredited sponsor reporting requirements, including revocation of the accredited sponsor status.

     (e d) A sponsoring organization which has been granted the status of an accredited sponsor shall, except as otherwise provided in this Regulation 106, continue to be subject to and governed by all provisions of APR 11 and these Regulations.

     (f e) A sponsoring organization which has been granted the status of accredited sponsor shall provide the CLE Board at least yearly with a list of all its course offerings, identifying the number attorneys and non-attorneys attending each program, and such additional information as the CLE Board may require. The sponsoring organization shall also solicit critiques or evaluations from participants at each program, retain copies, and provide them to the CLE Board upon request. The CLE Board may, upon review of such information, advise the organization that its manner of compliance is improper, and may terminate the organization's status as an accredited sponsor for future offerings.

     Reviser's note: The brackets and enclosed material in the text of the above section occurred in the copy filed by the agency and appear in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.

     Reviser's note: The typographical errors in the above material occurred in the copy filed by the State Supreme Court and appear in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.

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