Where can I find a list of approved CLE providers?

Yes, court-mandated CLE exists in many jurisdictions. Courts may order attorneys to complete specific CLE hours as part of licensing rules, disciplinary actions, or reinstatement after suspension.

When Courts Require CLE

• Licensing requirements: State supreme courts typically mandate CLE as a condition of maintaining active law licenses.
• Disciplinary sanctions: Attorneys disciplined for misconduct may be ordered by the court to complete additional CLE, often in ethics or professionalism.
• Reinstatement: Lawyers returning from suspension or inactive status may be required to complete remedial CLE before resuming practice.
• Specialized orders: Some courts impose targeted CLE in areas like trust accounting, ethics, or technology where deficiencies were identified.

Implications for Attorneys

• Court-mandated CLE requirements are binding and non-compliance may result in suspension or denial of reinstatement.
• These requirements are in addition to the regular annual or biennial CLE obligations.
• Sprout Education provides accredited CLE programs that satisfy both standard and court-mandated requirements, ensuring attorneys remain in compliance.

Key Takeaway: Court-mandated CLE is real and can be imposed as a licensing condition, disciplinary sanction, or reinstatement requirement, making compliance essential to continued practice.

CLE is required on either an annual or biennial basis, depending on the state. Some jurisdictions require attorneys to complete CLE hours every year, while others set a two-year reporting cycle.

Common Reporting Periods

• Annual cycle: Attorneys must earn and report CLE credits each year (e.g., states like Alabama, Kansas, or Wyoming).
• Biennial cycle: Attorneys have a two-year period to complete their credits (e.g., states like California, New York, or Pennsylvania).
• Three-year cycle: A smaller group of states, such as Washington, operate on a three-year reporting cycle.

Practical Impact

• Compliance deadlines vary and often align with the attorney’s birth month, admission date, or a fixed calendar deadline.
• Attorneys practicing in multiple states must track separate compliance periods.
• Sprout Education monitors these jurisdictional differences to help attorneys stay on schedule across all reporting cycles.

Key Takeaway: CLE reporting frequency is not uniform—some states require annual compliance, others biennial, and a few triennial. Attorneys must follow the rules of their licensing state(s).

Yes — attending a legal conference can count toward CLE credit if the conference is accredited in your jurisdiction (or qualifies under that jurisdiction’s self-approval or reciprocity rules). However, not every conference qualifies — credit depends on course approval, content, format, and compliance with the state’s CLE rules.

Details & Conditions:

• The conference sessions must be approved or accredited by your CLE/MCLE authority.
• The content must be legal, educational, and meet subject / format standards (ethical, substantive law, skills, etc.).
• Attendance must be verifiable (sign-in sheets, digital timestamps, certificates).
• Some jurisdictions allow you to apply for credit for an out-of-state conference not pre-approved (i.e. request retroactive approval).
• Providers of legal conferences (such as bar associations, CLE providers) often seek multi-state accreditation and issue certificates listing credit by jurisdiction.
• Example: The Federal Bar Association offers conferences where attendees get CLE credit pending state approval; attendees must check in and out of panels.

Key Takeaway
Yes — you can often earn CLE by attending a legal conference, but only when the conference is accredited (or approved) for credit under your jurisdiction’s rules.

No — you generally cannot share a CLE subscription with a colleague unless the provider’s terms explicitly permit it.

CLE providers and bar regulators almost always require that each user/licensee have a distinct, individual account so attendance verification, certificates, and credit tracking remain accurate.

Details:
– CLE providers typically verify attendance through unique user logins, activity tracking, and certificates tied to a specific attorney (with name and bar number).
– Sharing access (for example, passing your login credentials or allowing another person to use your account) would violate provider rules and could jeopardize credit validity.
– Even if a subscription is marketed as “firm-wide” or “multi-seat,” that does not mean you can treat a single personal subscription as shareable — the distinction is whether the package explicitly supports multiple authorized users.
– Bar or MCLE regulators may reject credit claims if attendance verification is questionable or noncompliant.

Key Takeaway: Unless a CLE subscription is explicitly licensed for multiple users (e.g. firm or seat-based licensing), you must use your own individual access to ensure credits are properly tracked and honored.

Yes — failure to complete required CLE can result in suspension of your law license in many jurisdictions. CLE noncompliance is treated as a regulatory violation, and if you do not cure the deficiency or obtain a waiver, disciplinary action can include suspension or administrative inactivation.

Details & Examples:

• California: Attorneys who fail to comply with MCLE can be placed on administrative inactive status, making them ineligible to practice law until compliance is restored. (calbar.ca.gov)
• New York: Failure to meet CLE requirements may result in referral to attorney grievance committees for disciplinary action. (ww2.nycourts.gov)
• Texas: Attorneys who fail to cure CLE deficiencies by the compliance deadline can be suspended from practice until CLE requirements and penalties are satisfied. (texasbar.com)
• Ohio: Attorneys who fail to comply with CLE rules may be sanctioned and suspended from the practice of law until reinstated by the Supreme Court of Ohio. (supremecourt.ohio.gov)
• General rule: Most states provide a deficiency notice and grace period, sometimes with late fees, but prolonged noncompliance almost always leads to suspension or inactivation.

Key Takeaway
Yes — persistent CLE noncompliance can cause license suspension or inactivation, meaning you cannot legally practice until you cure the deficiency and pay any penalties.

Self-study CLE is continuing legal education that attorneys complete independently, without attending a live class or interactive program. It typically includes recorded courses, reading materials, or online modules that can be done on demand at the attorney’s own pace.

What Self-Study CLE Includes

• On-demand video or audio programs.
• Recorded webcasts from prior live CLE events.
• Approved legal publications, articles, or written materials with quizzes.
• Online courses with self-assessment questions to verify completion.

Limits on Self-Study Credits

• Many states cap the number of self-study hours attorneys can apply toward their CLE requirement.
• Some states only allow live or interactive formats and do not count self-study toward compliance.
• Attorneys should always confirm state-specific limits before relying solely on self-study courses.

Key Takeaway: Self-study CLE lets attorneys earn credits on their own schedule through recorded or written materials, but most states impose limits on how many hours may count toward annual or biennial requirements.