RULES OF COURT
| IN THE MATTER OF THE ADOPTION OF THE AMENDMENT TO APR 11.2 (A)(6)-EDUCATION REQUIREMENT-MINIMUM REQUIREMENT AND APR 11 REGULATION 102 | ) ) ) ) ) |
ORDER NO. 25700-A-903 |
The Court was, thereafter, asked to reconsider the revisions to APR 11.2 (a)(6)-Education Requirement-Minimum Requirement and APR 11 Regulation 102 and has reconsidered and determined that APR 11.2 (a)(6)-Education Requirement-Minimum Requirement and APR 11 Regulation 102 as originally submitted by the Washington State Bar Association 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 January 1, 2009.
DATED at Olympia, Washington this 28th day of October, 2008.
| Alexander, C. J. |
|
| C. Johnson, J. |
Owens, J. |
| Madsen, J. |
Fairhurst, J. |
| Sanders, J. |
J.M. Johnson, J. |
| Chambers, J. |
Stephens, J. |
EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENT
(1) A lawyer may earn all of the required credit hours, and must earn at least half of the required credits, as live credits, as described in Regulation 103(b) of Appendix APR 11.
(2) A lawyer must earn a minimum of six of the required 45 credit hours of accredited legal education in the area of ethics, as that is defined in Regulation 101(g) of Appendix APR 11.
(3) A lawyer may earn a maximum of one-half of the required credit hours for any reporting period through self-study, as defined in Regulation 103(h) of Appendix APR 11.
(4) A lawyer may earn a maximum of six credit hours annually through pro bono training and service carried out strictly in compliance with Regulation 103(f) of Appendix APR 11.
(5) A lawyer may earn a maximum of six of the required credit hours for any reporting period for participation in law school competitions, moot court, or mock trials programs, as described in Regulation 103(g) of Appendix APR 11.
(6) A lawyer may earn a maximum of one-half of the
required credit hours for any reporting period through courses
sponsored by private law firms, corporate law departments and
government agencies.
(b) New Admission. Newly admitted members must complete 45 continuing legal education credits during the four full calendar years after the member's date of admission. Following the new admission period, the member shall complete 45 credits every three years as required by APR 11.2(a).
(c) Carryover of excess earned credits. If a member completes more than the required credits for any one reporting period, up to 15 of the excess credits may be carried forward and applied to that member's education requirement for the next reporting period. Of the 15 credit hours that may be carried forward to the next reporting period, pursuant to sections (a) and (b) of this rule:
(1) A maximum of two credit hours may be applied toward the ethics requirement; and
(2) A maximum of five credit hours may be applied to self-study credits.
Regulation 102. Continuing Legal Education Requirement
(a) As provided for in APR 11.2, each active member shall complete a minimum of 45 credit hours of approved legal education every three years. At least six of the 45 continuing legal education credit hours required during the reporting period shall be devoted exclusively to the areas of legal ethics, professionalism, or professional responsibility. If an active member completes more than 45 credits during a three year reporting period, 15 of the excess credits may be carried forward and applied to that member's education requirement for the next reporting period. The fifteen credit hours that may be carried forward may include two credit hours toward the legal ethics, professionalism, or professional responsibility requirement.
(b) Ethics/Professionalism Requirement. As provided for in APR 11.2(c)
(c) All active members shall complete and report a minimum of six credit hours of approved or accredited legal ethics, professionalism, or professional responsibility continuing education for the reporting period terminating on December 31, 1998 and for each reporting period thereafter.
[Regulation 102 adopted effective July 26, 1995; amended effective May 2, 2000.]
Regulation 102. Standards for Approval and Accreditation. To be approved for credit, all courses must meet all of the following criteria, except where otherwise stated.
(a) A course must have significant intellectual or practical content relating to the practice of law or legal ethics. In determining whether courses have such content, the following factors should be considered:
(1) The topic, depth, and skill level of the material;
(2) The level of practical or academic experience or expertise of the presenters or faculty;
(3) The intended audience, which may include others besides lawyers;
(4) The written materials, which must be of high quality, in a hardcopy or electronic format, and distributed to all attendees at or before the course is presented. In some unusual cases, written materials may not be necessary, but that is the exception and not the rule; and,
(5) The physical setting, which must be suitable to the educational activity and free from unscheduled interruption.
(b) Any written, electronic, or presentation materials must be available for submission and review upon request by the MCLE Board. However, in the case of government-sponsored, closed seminars, where materials are subject by law to confidentiality rules or regulations, those portions of the materials subject to confidentiality may be redacted from the overall submission, provided that a list of the redacted materials, a general summary of the redacted materials, and the basis for confidentiality, is supplied.
(c) The course must be open to audit by the MCLE Board or its designees at no charge. However, this requirement may be waived in cases of government-sponsored, closed seminars if the reason stated on the Form 1, as required by Reg 104 (a)(3), is approved by the MCLE Board.
(d) The sponsor must keep accurate attendance records and retain them for six years. The sponsor must provide copies to the MCLE Board upon request. In addition, the sponsor must report attendance within 30 days of the end of the program as required by APR 11.6 (a)(1).
(e) The attendees must be provided with a critique form or evaluation sheet to complete. The completed forms, or a compilation of all numerical ratings and comments, must be retained by the sponsor for two years and copies must be provided to the MCLE Board upon request.
(f) There must be no marketing of any law firm or any company that provides goods or services to lawyers or law firms during the presentation of the program in the room where the program is being held.
(g) Aside from indicating that an activity has been accredited for the number and type of credits approved by the MCLE Board, people and organizations must not state or imply that the WSBA or the MCLE Board approves or endorses any person, law firm, or company providing goods or services to lawyers or law firms.
(h) A course must not focus directly on a pending case, action or matter currently being handled by the sponsor if the sponsor is a private law firm, corporate legal department, or a government agency.
(i) If the course is sponsored by a private law firm, no client, former client, or prospective client of the private law firm may directly or indirectly pay for or underwrite the course, in whole or in part.
Reviser's note: The typographical error in the above material occurred in the copy filed by the State Supreme Court and appears in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.
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.