Earning Credits

It depends on the jurisdiction – some states allow mindfulness or well-being courses to count for CLE when they address lawyer competence or mental health in the legal profession, while others allow them only if tied to permissible credit categories.
To qualify, the course usually must be lawyer-focused, meet the state’s accreditation standards, and be categorized under competence, mental health-substance use, or professional responsibility where applicable.

Details:

• Minnesota requires at least one credit on mental health and substance use in the legal profession per 3-year cycle starting with

Sometimes — in many jurisdictions, attending law school classes can count as CLE (or MCLE) credit if the jurisdiction’s rules allow academic credit to be converted into CLE, but only under certain conditions. It depends on the state’s CLE regulations and whether the law school course is approved.

Details & Examples:

• Illinois: The MCLE Board permits attorneys to claim CLE credit for attending J.D. or graduate level law courses at an

In West Virginia, CLE credit is earned via approved courses, self-study, teaching, pro bono service, and certain “Bridge the Gap” programming—all governed by Rule 6 of the West Virginia State Bar’s MCLE regulations.

Attorneys must complete 24 credit hours every two years, including 3 hours in ethics, office management, substance abuse, or elimination of bias.

Qualifying CLE activities

• Approved live or interactive courses (in-person or webcast) — credit for instruction time, measured

In Wisconsin, CLE “counts” when the activity is approved by the Board of Bar Examiners under SCR Chapter 31 and meets format and content rules (e.g. live, on-demand, teaching, writing).

Wisconsin lawyers must earn 30 credit hours every two years, including 3 hours in Ethics..

Approved CLE Activities & Formats

• Live or interactive programs (in-person, live webcasts, telephone seminars) — required

Yes — non-attorneys often can enroll in CLE courses, but they generally are not eligible to receive the CLE credit that counts toward a lawyer’s mandatory CLE requirement.
Many providers and state CLE rules permit attendance by non-lawyers, but awarding credit is reserved for licensed attorneys under regulatory CLE programs.

Details:

• In Connecticut, attorneys may receive MCLE credit for teaching legal courses to law students; non-attorneys teaching legal

In Illinois, CLE credit counts for approved educational programming (live, recorded, webinars), teaching or presenting CLE, writing legal or professional articles, committee or bar service, and in some cases pro bono legal work.

These credits must satisfy Supreme Court Rule 795 standards; teaching credit includes both presentation and preparation time under a defined formula.

Details

• Rule 795 requires programs to have “significant intellectual, educational or practical content,” a qualified

Yes — in many jurisdictions you can earn CLE credits by watching webinars, provided the webinar is approved by the CLE/MCLE authority in your state. Whether a webinar qualifies depends on format, accreditation, participation verification, and state rules.

Details & Conditions:

• In Texas, accredited CLE includes live and prerecorded webinars or online CLE courses.
• CLE providers like IMLA offer webinars

In New Jersey, CLE credit counts when the activity is accredited by the Board on Continuing Legal Education (or recognized via reciprocity), including live programs, distance/alternative learning, teaching, moot activities, course prep, and publication (within limits).

Attorneys must complete 24 credit hours every two years, of which 5 must be ethics (with at least 2 in diversity, inclusion, and elimination of bias).

Approved activities that count

• Attendance at Board-accredited live or interactive programs (in-person sessions, webinars).

In Nebraska, approved CLE credit includes live attendance, distance learning, teaching, in-house programs, and other educational activities, subject to rules and caps.

The Nebraska Supreme Court Rule § 3-401.4 sets the types of qualifying CLE and limits for carryover and distance learning.

Qualifying CLE activities

• Attendance at accredited live or interactive programs hosted by accredited sponsors—must be reported

In Mississippi, CLE credit counts when the activity is approved under the Rules and Regulations for Mandatory CLE—approved live programs, distance learning (within limits), teaching, writing, law-school courses, and service roles.

Each active attorney must complete 12 credit hours per calendar year, including at least 1 hour of ethics.

Qualified CLE activities

• Attendance at approved live in-person CLE programs.
• Distance learning (online, webinars,

In Hawaii, CLE credit counts for attending approved programs, teaching, writing scholarly legal articles, in-house courses, and out-of-state or alternate-format programs—so long as they satisfy HSBA standards under Rule 22.

These activities must be approved by the Hawaii State Bar or accepted jurisdictions and meet quality, content, and delivery requirements set in the CLE Regulations.

Details

• Active attorneys must complete at least 3 credit hours annually, including 1 hour of ethics every three years.
• Attending

In New York, attorneys earn CLE credit by participating in Board-accredited programs, presenting or teaching, publishing legal works, or engaging in qualifying pro bono service, subject to format, documentation, and category rules.

These rules derive from 22 NYCRR Part 1500 and the NY State CLE Board’s policies.

Credit-eligible activities

• Attendance at accredited programs in formats such as live classroom, webinars, teleconferences,

In Idaho, eligible CLE credit includes live and on-demand courses, ethics programs, teaching or presentations, committee work, writing legal articles, and approved out-of-state programs, as long as they satisfy Idaho’s accreditation rules.

These activities must comply with Idaho Bar Commission MCLE rules—including standards for content, provider accreditation, credit rounding, and reporting.

Details

• Idaho attorneys must complete 30 Idaho-approved MCLE credits every 3 years, including at least 3 credits in ethics.

Yes — in Indiana attorneys can submit CLE attendance via an online portal (Indiana’s Judicial Branch CLE portal).

The portal allows reporting attendance for courses when the provider does not report, and also handles accreditation applications. ([in.gov](https://www.in.gov/courts/help/portal/education/report-cle/))

Details:

• The Indiana Judicial Branch “Report Legal Education Credits” portal lets attorneys report attendance for CLE

In Maine, CLE credit counts through accredited live, self-study, teaching, writing, auditing, and certain volunteer roles, subject to the limits and specialty requirements set in Bar Rule 5.

Each attorney must complete 12 MCLE credit hours per calendar year, including at least one live ethics hour and one in-person harassment/discrimination hour.

Approved activities that count

• Live programs (in-person or live webcast) approved by the CLE Committee under Rule 5 — credit is

It depends on the jurisdiction; in some states mentoring may qualify for CLE credit, but in many others it is explicitly excluded from eligible activities.
Where allowed, mentoring typically must satisfy detailed requirements (e.g. structured program, recordkeeping, approval by the CLE authority) to count.

Details:

• In New Jersey, mentoring another attorney is explicitly listed among the activities “that WILL NOT be given CLE credit.”
• In

In Kentucky, CLE credit counts when an activity is accredited under SCR 3.650, including live programs, self-study/technological formats, teaching, writing, and program planning.

Every attorney must complete 12 credits per educational year, of which 2 must be in ethics.

Approved CLE activities

• Live seminars, interactive webinars, or in-person programs accredited by the CLE Commission under SCR

Yes — many jurisdictions allow technology-oriented CLE courses to count toward regular CLE credit, often under a specific “technology” or “competence/skills” category.
Whether such credit is allowed — and how much counts toward the general requirement — depends on your state’s CLE rules and category scheme.

Details:

• In California, lawyers must complete at least one credit hour of education addressing technology in the practice of law as part

In New Hampshire, CLE credit counts when the educational activity meets the requirements of Rule 53—meaning it is intellectually substantive, properly reported, and aligns with defined subject matter—and attorneys must earn 720 minutes (12 hours) annually, including at least 120 minutes (2 hours) in ethics.

Creditable activities include live, interactive, or recorded educational programming, and pro bono legal representation (under set formulas), all subject to reporting and carryover rules.

Qualifying activities

• Live or interactive programs (in-person, live webcast, or teleconference) that offer substantive legal

CLE credit in Connecticut counts for live or self-study educational programs, teaching or lecturing to lawyers or law students, writing qualified legal articles, judging/coaching moot court, and committee or bar-association presentations, so long as they meet content and delivery rules.

These activities must satisfy Practice Book § 2-27A(b) & (c)(6) standards—i.e. significant legal content, a qualified presenter, organized program materials, and properly measured time.

Details

• Live or self-study formats (webinars, recordings, audio) qualify, with credit allocated by actual instruction or running