The first step in implementation of the Illinois Supreme Court plan for compliance with Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) standards is establishing the board that will administer them.

The court filed new Rules 790 through 797 on Sept. 29, closely tracking a joint proposal from the Illinois State Bar and Chicago Bar Associations. The proposal was the subject of a Supreme Court Rules Committee hearing in January 2003.

The MCLE program will be funded by fees charged to accredited seminar providers. A nine-member board appointed by the court will administer the program. The deadline for interested lawyers to submit résumés and supporting documents is Monday, Oct. 31.

Candidates must have actively practiced law in Illinois for at least 10 years, except for one non-attorney. One member must be a circuit court judge.

The board will promulgate regulations to implement MCLE, appoint an MCLE director and authorize staff hiring. Board members will receive no compensation other than expenses necessary to attend meetings and perform duties. Applications should be mailed to Cynthia Y. Cobbs, Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, 13th floor, 222 N. LaSalle St., Chicago, Ill. 60601.

Although the new rules took effect immediately, attorneys cannot earn credit for programs they attend before January 1, 2006. After that, they can carry 10 hours forward into their first reporting period.. The initial requirement is for each registered attorney to complete 20 hours of approved legal education in a two-year period.

Those whose names begin with A through M must file their first reports for the two-year period ending June 30, 2008. Those whose names begin with N through Z will file for the period ending June 30, 2009.

The MCLE requirement for the second two-year periods (for filing June 30, 2010 or 2011) will be 24 hours. For all reporting periods thereafter, 30 hours will be required.

Each two-year increment must include at least four hours of professional responsibility credits in such areas as civility, ethics, diversity, mental illness and addiction issues.

Exemptions include inactive attorneys, those on military duty, and judges, who are "strongly encouraged" by the Supreme Court to attend 15 hours of judicial education annually and are required to attend other training.

In addition, every new attorney who is ad- mitted after Jan. 1, 2006, must acquire 15 hours of basic skills education within a year after admission.

In addition to seminars conducted by accredited providers, including law-related organizations like the Illinois State Bar Association, the new rules provide for MCLE credits in other ways.

Among them are law school courses taken after admission to the bar, attendance at bar association meetings where substantive law and matters of practice are discussed, and cross-disciplinary programs (i.e., accounting-tax, medical-legal).

Also, teaching CLE courses or law classes, writing law books and articles in responsible legal journals, pro bono training, and Capital Litigation Trial Bar training.

The rule is clear that an “hour” is composed of “60 minutes duration.” As described in Rule 795(e) guidelines, the credit formula equals total minutes of a qualifying program or meeting, minus breaks for coffee and meals, etc., divided by 60.

For presenters, credit is given for the actual number of minutes of a presentation plus six times that amount for preparation. A repeat presentation of the same material gets only half credit, and subsequent repetitions get no credit.

An attorney who logs more hours than required for the two-year reporting period may carry over a maximum of 10 hours to the next period, except for professional responsibility hours. Credit hours beginning Jan. 1, 2006, may be included.

The responsibility of compiling and reporting MCLE hours is solely that of each registered attorney (read Rule 796 carefully).

The Supreme Court on Sept. 29 also adopted new Rule 799 that creates a Commission on Professionalism to serve as a resource for the bench, bar and public in promoting principles of ethical and professional responsibility.

The activities of the 14-member commission, appointed by the court, will be funded by an annual $10 addition to the registration fee. Among its duties is assisting in development of courses that fulfill the MCLE professionalism requirement.

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