Is cybersecurity CLE required by any state?

Experienced New York attorneys must complete 24 CLE credit hours every two years, including 4 credit hours in ethics, 1 credit hour in diversity, inclusion & elimination of bias, and 1 credit hour in cybersecurity, privacy & data protection.

Newly admitted attorneys must complete 16 transitional CLE credits in each of their first two years (a total of 32), with credits distributed among ethics, skills, law practice/areas of professional practice, and a cybersecurity requirement.

Details

• Compliance cycle: 2 years (biennial) — experienced attorneys’ reporting is due within 30 days after their birthday in alternate years.

• Ethics: 4 of the 24 hours must fall in this category.

• Diversity & Bias: 1 credit hour must be in the diversity, inclusion & elimination of bias category.

• Cybersecurity: Effective July 1, 2023, 1 credit is required in cybersecurity, privacy & data protection (can be general or ethics).

• Carryover: Up to 6 credits may carry over into the next reporting period (in any category).

• Newly Admitted Attorneys: Each of the first two years requires 16 credits: 3 in ethics, 6 in skills, 7 in law practice/areas of professional practice. The cybersecurity credit may be fulfilled in Year 1 or Year 2.

Key Takeaway: In New York, experienced attorneys need 24 CLE credits every two years with specific sub-requirements for ethics, diversity, and cybersecurity; newly admitted attorneys must fulfill transitional 16-credit years over their first two years.

New York provides a 30-day automatic grace period after your birthday to complete CLE and report compliance on your biennial registration. Attorneys must certify that they have met their CLE requirements within 30 days of their birthday on alternate years.

New York CLE Deadline & Grace Period

• CLE compliance and reporting deadline: 30 days after your birthday in the reporting year.
• If credits are not completed or reported within that 30-day window, you must apply for an extension citing hardship or extenuating circumstances.
• The maximum extension granted is 90 days beyond the default deadline.

Consequences & Compliance

• Failure to certify CLE compliance by registration may lead your name to be referred to the Appellate Division for disciplinary action.
• During the extension period, you should proceed to complete remaining CLE credits while awaiting the CLE Board’s decision.

Key Takeaway: In New York, the “grace period” is 30 days after your birthday to complete and report CLE — beyond that, you need an approved extension (up to 90 days) to avoid disciplinary exposure.

In New Jersey, attorneys receive a grace period until June 27 following the December 31 deadline to complete their CLE and report compliance via the online registration system. Attorneys who miss that grace deadline incur an additional $50 noncompliance fee (for a total of $100) and must submit a detailed reporting form and proof of credit.

New Jersey Grace Period & Process

• Compliance deadline: December 31 for the statutory CLE requirement.
• Grace period end: June 27 of the following year.
• During the grace period: attorneys can complete missing credits and file final compliance via the online registration system.
• After grace expires: the online system is disabled; attorneys must use a manual reporting form, pay additional fees, and risk being declared ineligible.

Key Takeaway: New Jersey grants a grace period until June 27 after the December 31 CLE deadline, but failure to satisfy or report compliance by then triggers extra fees and more onerous reinstatement steps.

You report CLE credits in North Carolina mostly via sponsor reporting, but you must verify your transcript and self-report certificates if the sponsor does not report within 40 days.
Under new rules effective March 1, 2024, your reporting period is two years (March 1–February 28), and compliance is certified through your State Bar record.

Overview of North Carolina CLE Reporting

The CLE reporting cycle runs from March 1 through February 28 of the second year.
Attorneys must complete 24 CLE hours in each cycle, including 4 hours of ethics/professional responsibility, 1 hour of technology training, and 1 hour of professional well-being.
Up to 12 hours may carry over to the next cycle, but ethics, technology, and well-being credits do not carry over.
Most CLE program sponsors report your attendance to the State Bar within 40 days.
If the sponsor fails to report, you may submit your certificate to the CLE department.

Steps to Report CLE in North Carolina

• Ensure you complete your 24 hours (including the required ethics, tech, and well-being) by the end of your reporting period (February 28).
• Verify your CLE transcript in the NC State Bar member portal to confirm that your program attendance was reported.
• If a sponsor has not reported attendance within 40 days, submit your certificate to the CLE department (mail, fax, or email).
• If you teach a CLE program, apply for teaching credit via the North Carolina “Teacher Credit” application form.
• If you earned credits through Sprout Education, verify that your programs meet NC requirements and check whether the sponsor submitted your attendance (we support reporting where allowed—but verifying your transcript is your responsibility).

Key Takeaway: In North Carolina, you don’t normally file every credit yourself—sponsors do. But you must check your transcript each cycle, submit certificates for unreported attendance, and assure completion of 24 hours (with required ethics, tech, and well-being) by February 28.

Yes — New Jersey requires that at least half of an attorney’s CLE credits in each compliance period be earned “live” (in-person or synchronous interactive formats).

The rule ensures that 50% of the 24 credit-hour biennial requirement comes from live instruction as defined by the Board.

Details

• New Jersey attorneys must complete 24 credit hours every two years.
• At least 12 credits must be obtained in “live instruction” (i.e. in-person, live webcast, or similar synchronous formats).
• The remaining credits may come from alternative verifiable learning formats (recorded, on-demand, etc.), but those formats are capped at one half of the total CLE requirement.
• To count as live, a program must allow real-time participation and verification under rules set by the Board.
• Attorneys must keep certificates and records in case of audit; the Board does not pre-approve providers in many instances, so format compliance is evaluated post hoc.

Key Takeaway

In New Jersey, lawyers must earn at least 12 of 24 credits in a “live” format each biennium — so there is a built-in minimum in-person/synchronous requirement.

Yes — judges in North Carolina have a separate continuing judicial education (CJE) requirement that is distinct from the CLE obligations for attorneys.

The North Carolina Supreme Court has adopted Rules of Continuing Judicial Education mandating specific education hours and types for judges, and judges are exempt from the State Bar’s CLE rule while serving on the bench.

Details

• Every judge in the trial division must, within the first year after appointment or election, attend an orientation or instruction course for new judges.
• Judges and justices must complete 30 hours of judicial education every two years, of which at least 15 hours must be in courses designed especially for judges (i.e. judicially-oriented).
• The Rules of Continuing Judicial Education codified by the Supreme Court outline these requirements.
• Magistrates also have distinct continuing education rules: within six months of taking office, a magistrate must complete 40 hours of basic training. Then magistrates must complete 12 hours annually of continuing education approved for magistrates.
• Under the North Carolina rules, judges and justices are exempt from the State Bar CLE requirement (27 N.C.A.C. 01D.1517(c)).

Key Takeaway

In North Carolina, judges (and magistrates) must satisfy a dedicated continuing judicial education regime under Supreme Court rules, and are exempt from the general State Bar CLE requirement while serving on the bench.