Can law blogging qualify for CLE credits? (Kevin O’Keefe, 4 Jan 2014) – Historically, education has taken place in the classroom with live speakers or recordings. With the advent of the Internet lawyers are now taking CLE classes online as well. Beyond classes, some states allow lawyers to earn credits by writing legal articles. The articles need not be law review or law journal quality or length. The articles need not be exclusively for other lawyers. In my first company, Prairielaw.com, the precursor to lawyers.com’s content and community, we had lawyers author content for consumers and small business people. Lawyers practicing in states which allowed it, earned a CLE credit for each of their articles. Such content was written and contributed by the lawyers, in part, as a means of enhancing their reputation as a reliable and trusted authority. The lawyers also contributed their articles as way to gain additional exposure online. Sounds an awful lot like lawyers publishing a blog. Would law blog articles/posts qualify for CLE credits? I took a quick look at various states’ positions on allowing lawyers to claim CLE credits for writing legal articles.

  • Tennessee : Writing articles concerning substantive law, the practice of law, or the ethical and professional responsibilities of attorneys may qualify for CLE credit if the articles are published in approved publications intended primarily for attorneys.
  • Maine : The writing of law related articles for publication will not be automatically approved for CLE credit. Authors requesting such credit must submit a copy of the article after publication for evaluation by the Board to apply toward only the self-study portion of the attorney’s annual CLE obligation.
  • Georgia : May earn credits in researching and writing articles provided that (1) the article or treatise’s content and quality are consistent with the purposes of CLE, (2) it is published in a recognized publication which is primarily directed at lawyers, and (3) the project was not done in the ordinary course of the practice of law, the performance of judicial duties, or other regular employment.
  • California : May get credit for articles published or accepted for publication that contributed to your legal education, exclusive of activity which is part of your employment.

You get the idea. Yes, lawyers may and do earn CLE credits for writing articles. At the same, though blog posts are arguably legal articles, you can see the hurdles and how states are apt to respond.

Provided by MIRLN.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net/Stuart Miles.