NH Minimum Continuing Legal EducationSummary of Rule 53 Summary of Annual NHMCLE Requirements--2007 If you have supplied an email address to NHBA, you may review your course attendance by logging into the For Members area and selecting NHMCLE Attorney Records, then Attendance. To submit your e-mail address and/or obtain your For Members login, please send an e-mail to login@nhbar.org.
For all other information about NHMCLE go to the NHMCLE SC Rule 53 page.
REQUIREMENT
Each reporting year (from July 1- June 30) in which you are in active status for nine months or more, you are required to complete 12 credits of CLE, 2 of which must deal with ethics/professionalism. At least 6 of your 12 hours of CLE must come from your attendance at NHMCLE-approved, live programs held outside of your office, or through your participation in NHMCLE-approved, distance-learning courses where lawyers can communicate with faculty by e-mail or other reasonably contemporaneous methods. One credit equals 60 minutes of actual classroom time. Sponsors have 30 days to report attendance, and you may check your attendance in your online record at any time. The NHMCLE Office will request that you verify the entries to comply with SC Rule 53. Penalties for missing the filing deadline of October 1st and failing to complete CLE credits are outlined in Rule and Reg 53.7.
IN-OFFICE PROGRAMS
Seminars held for a limited group, such as the members of a firm, office or invited lawyers are considered to be “in-office” programs and do not count toward the “live” credit requirement of 6 hours, regardless of their method of presentation. They must be approved for CLE credit by the NHMCLE Board. Reading CLE materials alone does not qualify for this or any kind of credit.
NEW LAWYERS/REACTIVATED LAWYERS
Lawyers admitted to the Bar between July 1st and October 1st are required to file CLE credits no later than October 1st in the following calendar year. If you were admitted to the Bar after October 1st and before July 1st, or have changed your NHBA membership status to active after October 1st, you are exempt for that reporting year. You do not have to meet the credit requirement and do not have to file a Certificate. Only courses completed after your NHBA admission date count toward the NHMCLE requirement, unless you were already admitted to a Bar in another state. If you bring CLE credits with you from another state, please submit an Attorney Credit Application Form for each program as soon as possible to the NHMCLE Office to get those courses approved in NH and entered into your record.
If you change your NHBA membership to inactive after March 31st, you still have to meet the requirements of SC Rule 53 for the reporting year ending on June 30th, unless you successfully appeal to the NHMCLE Board for an exemption. Contact the NHMCLE Office for more information.
ETHICS/PROFESSIONALISM
Courses meeting the ethics/professionalism requirement deal with the areas of legal ethics (NH Rules of Professional Conduct), professionalism and the prevention of malpractice and substance abuse, as well as attorney-client relations.
TEACHING CREDIT
Review the worksheet online or request it from the NHMCLE Office for the method to compute teaching credit. Teaching credit is granted only for teaching post-JD CLE courses approved by the NHMCLE Board and presented to lawyers, unless the NHMCLE Board has granted approval. Teaching credit is considered as a distinct category not counting toward the “live” attendance requirement.
PUBLICATION CREDIT
Publication credit applies to the principal authors of books, law review and journal articles directed to an audience of lawyers. Application should be made for credit in the year of publication. Creating CLE materials is considered part of “teaching” credit and does not qualify for publication credit. Publication credit is counted as “non-live” credit. The worksheet online, or from the NHMCLE Office, explains how to compute this category of credit.
CLE SPONSORSCLE courses sponsored by many organizations are credit-worthy but must be approved in NH, if not presented by
Annual Sponsors. Attorneys may also meet up to 50% of their requirement through approved, non-live CLE programs on CD Rom, video/audio tape accompanied by written materials, provided the course was produced less than three (3) years ago. The Web and the NH Bar publication, NH Bar News regularly feature the list of
Annual Sponsors, whose CLE programs are presumptively approved for credit. NH Bar News, along with the Web site, will also keep you updated on any rule or regulation changes.
Course Approval Process
All programs have to be approved by the NHMCLE Board for credit. Annual Sponsor programs are presumptively approved for credit, but you must tell the sponsors you want your attendance reported to NHMCLE. You can check the list of Annual Sponsors.
When registering for CLE programs offered by non-Annual Sponsors, always ask the sponsor if they plan to apply for NHMCLE credit and report your attendance. If they do not, you must apply within 30 days of completing the course using the Attorney Credit Application Form. All programs must meet the “Standards for Course Approval” in SC Rule 53.5 to qualify for credit.
RECORD KEEPING
These specific steps will not only make your annual Certificate of Compliance filing process easier, but also equip you to respond to a future audit request. Please share these suggestions with your administrative assistant. For each reporting year (July 1- June 30), establish a NHMCLE file to contain:
- CLE program agendas;
- Program attendance certificates;
- A copy of the Certificate of Compliance filed with the NHMCLE Board for that year.
The information in the NHMCLE file is all that is necessary to complete your Certificate of Compliance every year. Compare your office records with the course attendance that sponsors report for you on the Web site at any time during the year and contact them directly if your attendance does not appear in your record within 45 days of a program. Course information must be kept for two years after filing. It is your responsibility, not your firm’s, to maintain your records and have them available. The sponsor of every CLE program you attend should provide you with an attendance certificate showing the proper program title, the sponsor’s name, date, location and length of the program. THIS IS A REQUIREMENT OF ALL APPROVED CLE SPONSORS. If you do not receive an attendance certificate, ask for one to be sent to you and request that your attendance be reported to NHMCLE.
QUESTIONS
If you have any issues preventing your compliance or questions about SC Rule 53 or its regulations, please contact Lee Jones in the NHMCLE Office at the Bar Center at 603-715-3222 or by e-mail at ljones@nhbar.org.
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