Attorneys whose last names begin with the letters A through L have until New Year’s Eve to complete their continuing legal education (CLE) credit hours.

Attorneys registered for active and corporate status are required to complete 24 hours of CLE credit, including 2.5 hours of attorney professional conduct instruction, every two years.  Judges are required to earn 40 hours of CLE credit, including 10 hours of Judicial College education, which includes three hours of judicial conduct instruction, every two years.

Attorneys and judges are divided into two groups based on their last name.  Attorneys and judges with last names beginning with the letters A through L are required to earn their CLE credit hours on or before Dec. 31 of each odd-numbered year.  Attorneys and judges with last names beginning with the letters M through Z are required to earn their CLE credit hours on or before Dec. 31 of each even-numbered year.

Effective Jan. 1, 2014, several amendments to the CLE rule were adopted by the Ohio Supreme Court. One change was to eliminate the requirement that attorneys and judges file a final reporting transcript at the end of their biennial compliance period.  Other changes include increasing the number of online credit hours an attorney can earn and allowing attorneys to earn up to six hours of CLE by engaging in certain types of pro bono legal work.

The CLE amendments first impacted M through Z attorneys in the 2013/2014 biennial compliance period. This is the first time the new rules apply to attorneys whose last names begin with the letters A through L.

The Office of Attorney Services has compiled several reference guides on its website to provide guidance to Ohio’s legal professionals about the 2014 amendments. There are separate charts to compare the current and amended rules. There are also frequently asked questions and answers about the current and amended CLE rules for attorneys, judges, and new lawyers.