CLE Compliance for Board Certified Specialists by December 31, 2020

n accordance with the requirements of the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization (LBLS), as set forth in the individual Specialty Standards for each field of legal specialization, board certified attorneys in a specific field of law must meet a minimum CLE requirement for the calendar year ending December 31, 2020. The requirement for each area of specialty is as follows:

• Appellate Practice – 15 hours of approved appellate practice
• Estate Planning and Administration – 18 hours of approved estate planning and administration
• Family Law – 15 hours of approved family law
• Health Law – 15 hours of approved health law
• Tax Law – 18 hours of approved tax law
• Bankruptcy Law – CLE is regulated by the American Board of Certification

CLE credits will be computed on a calendar year basis and all attendance information must be delivered to the Committee on Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) no later than January 31, 2021. Failure to earn and/or timely report specialization CLE hours will result in a penalty assessment.

On September 1, 2020, considering the continuing need to take measures to stop the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Supreme Court of Louisiana increased the limitation on “self-study” credits to a maximum of eighteen (18) hours for board certified specialists. In compliance with the September 1, 2020 Supreme Court of Louisiana Order, LBLS Estate Planning and Administration specialists and Tax Law specialists may earn up to 18 hours of approved specialization “self-study” credits on or before December 31, 2020. LBLS Appellate Practice specialists, Family Law specialists, and Health Law specialists may earn up to 15 hours of approved specialization “self-study” credits on or before December 31, 2020. LBLS Business Bankruptcy Law specialists and Consumer Bankruptcy Law specialists must satisfy the continuing legal education requirements of the American Board of Certification (“ABC”).

Preliminary specialization transcripts will be sent in late November to all specialists who are delinquent in their specialization CLE hours for 2020. Please be sure to satisfy your specialization CLE requirements by December 31, 2020.

If you have any questions, contact Mary Ann Wegmann, Specialization Director, Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization, at (504) 619-0128, or email maryann.wegmann@lsba.org.

Specialization transcripts may be accessed directly at: https://www.lsba.org/Specialization/SpecializationTranscripts.aspx

To find approved specialization CLE courses, consult the specialization CLE calendar. Check off your specialization and click on “Search Courses” to find approved specialization CLE.