CLE Sponsors/Provider Information
The State Bar of Arizona does not approve or accredit
CLE providers or individual programs. Therefore, a provider
is not required to submit any information regarding the seminar, or
subsequent attendance lists.
The State Bar does not retain or track CLE records for members
and registrants other than CLE taken through the State Bar.
For CLE taken with other providers, it is the responsibility of
each member/registrant to keep documentation such as the
event/seminar/training material and the certificates of attendance
to support the hours and events claimed on their annual
affidavit.
The filing of the annual affidavit demonstrating compliance is
predicated on the assumption that members and registrants will
evaluate CLE activities based on the guidelines set forth in the
MCLE Regulations. An extract of pertinent regulations is
provided in this document.
Yearly CLE Requirements
At least 15 hours of CLE are required each year, of which at
least three hours must be professional responsibility.
Reference Supreme Court Rule 45 extract in this document re
subjects included in professional responsibility.
Specialists are required to attend advanced level programming in
their specialization field. Their yearly requirement is
at least 12 hours of substantive/advanced level CLE in their area
of specialty, plus three hours of professional
responsibility. Eight areas of law are currently recognized
as specialization: Bankruptcy, Criminal, Estate and Trust
Law, Family Law, Injury and Wrongful Death Litigation, Real Estate,
Taxation, and Workers' Compensation.
Arizona utilizes a base credit-hour calculation of a 60-minute
hour of instruction, omitting breaks and introductory remarks that
do not substantively relate to the topic of the activity.
Advertising of CLE Events
The following language must be included for general CLE
events:
"The State Bar of Arizona does not approve or accredit CLE
activities for the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education
requirement. This activity may qualify for up to _____ hours
toward your annual CLE requirement for the State Bar of Arizona,
including _____ hour(s) of professional responsibility.
The following language must be included for advanced level CLE
events:
"The State Bar of Arizona does not approve or accredit CLE
activities for the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education
requirements of specialists. This activity may qualify for up
to _____ hours toward your annual CLE requirement for the State Bar
of Arizona, including _____ hour(s) of professional responsibility
and including _____ hours of advanced level training in the area of
__________________________________________." (Indicate applicable
area: Bankruptcy, Criminal Law, Estate and Trust Law, Family Law,
Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Law, Real Estate Law, Tax Law,
or Workers' Compensation.)
Certificates of Attendance
Certificates of attendance must be provided to Arizona
attendees. The sample certificate may be used, or a similar
format used by the provider that contains the same information.
MCLE Regulations Extracts
REGULATION 101.
DEFINITIONS
G. "Interactive CLE" means (i) attendance at a CLE program
administered by live faculty; (ii) attendance at a CLE program
sponsored by a single private law firm, a single corporate law
department, or a single department or office of a federal, state,
or local government entity, attended by no fewer than five
attorneys, including the instructor, who are active bar members in
any jurisdiction; and (iii) a computer-based or on-line CLE program
where the order of presentation or the content of the course
material is dependent on the member's response and the member has
an opportunity to respond to prompts initiated by the faculty or
placed within the course material.
J. "Records" means course outlines, written materials,
verification of attendance, and other evidence of a CLE program
identifying the course, sponsor, and date and place of presentation
and/or publication.
L. "Self-study" means any course of legal study meeting the
standards of Regulation 104 undertaken by an Active member for the
member's own benefit, and may include listening to audio
reproductions or viewing video reproductions of course materials,
but does not include reading. "Self-study" includes a
computer-based or on-line CLE program where the member does not
have the opportunity to respond to prompts initiated by the faculty
or placed within the course material. "Self-study" also includes
service on a legislative committee by a state or federal elected
legislative member. Such service qualifies a member as a
"lawyer/legislator" for the purposes of the Rule and these
regulations. "Self-study" also includes service as an
arbitrator under Rule 73, Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure.
Such service qualifies for two hours of CLE activity in lieu of
financial compensation otherwise available under A.R.S. § 12-133(g)
or local rule for service as an arbitrator.
REGULATION 104. STANDARDS AND CALCULATION OF
HOURS
A. Standards.
CLE Activities that are claimed toward the annual
requirement shall meet the following standards:
Significant Content. The activities shall have
significant intellectual or practical content, have attorneys as
the primary audience, and have as the primary objective the
increase of the participant's professional competence as a
lawyer.
Organized Program.
The activities shall constitute an organized program of learning,
deal with matters directly related to the practice of law,
professional responsibility, professionalism, or ethical
obligations of lawyers, and follow the agenda defined by the
written materials or exercises distributed as part of the
activities.
Appropriate Setting. The activities shall be
conducted in a setting physically suitable to the educational
activity of the program.
B. Calculation of Credit Hours.
2. Interactive CLE Hours
a. Calculation of credit hours for Interactive CLE shall be
determined by dividing the total minutes of instruction or
participation by sixty, and rounding down to the nearest quarter
hour. Breaks shall not be included in calculating the credit
hours.
b. Written materials or exercises must be in the possession of
the member participating in the Interactive CLE. The member
claiming Interactive CLE credit must have future access to the
written materials or exercises (such as in a personal, firm or
public library).
4. Teaching Hours. Credit may be earned for
teaching at a CLE Activity, teaching at an American Bar Association
accredited law school, or teaching a law course at any accredited
American university or any American community college, or any ABA
approved paralegal school or institute, whether the teaching is
computer-based, on-line or in a classroom.
a. Speakers whose presentations are accompanied by original
written materials prepared, augmented, or updated by the speaker
may earn teaching credit, as follows:
For the original presentation: First hour of presentation x 6 =
total credit hours
Additional hours of presentation x 2 = total credit hours
Repeat live presentations hours x 1 = total credit hours
b. Speakers, including college of trial advocacy educators, whose
presentations are not accompanied by original written materials
prepared, augmented, or updated by the speaker may earn teaching
credit as follows:
Each hour of presentation x 1 = total credit hours
5. Self-study Hours. Credit may be earned for
participation in activities defined as self-study in regulation
101.
a) Credit hours earned by Self-study of
CLE program materials shall be equal to the hours of presentation
of the seminar on which the materials are based, or the actual time
spent in Self-study, whichever is less.
b) An Active member may not receive credit
for both attendance at a CLE program and Self-study of course
materials from that program.
c) Written material must be in the
possession of the Active member viewing the video reproduction or
listening to the audio reproduction of a live CLE program at the
time of such viewing/listening. The Active member claiming
Self-study credit must have future access to the written material
(such as in a personal, firm or public library).
d) Verification of Self-study would include
the purchase or rental agreement, if applicable, notes made while
viewing/listening, and file notes establishing the date of
Self-study, name of program, and sponsor of the program.
Supreme Court Rule 45 Extract
Rule 45. Rules of the Supreme Court of Arizona
(a) Continuing Legal Education
Requirements.
2. A minimum of three hours of continuing legal education
activity each educational year shall be in the area of professional
responsibility. Professional responsibility includes instruction in
legal and judicial ethics, professionalism, and malpractice
prevention, and may include such topics as substance abuse,
including causes, prevention, detection and treatment alternatives,
attorneys' fees, client development, law office economics and
practice, alternatives to litigation for managing conflict and
resolving disputes, stress management, and the particular
responsibilities of public lawyers, judges, and in-house counsel,
to the extent that professional responsibility is directly
addressed in connection with these topics.