Supreme Court Tasks LSBA with MCLE Administration The Louisiana Supreme Court, in conjunction with the Louisiana State Bar Association, announced today that as of Jan. 1, 2018, the Court’s Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) program will be administered by the Louisiana State Bar Association (LSBA). Attorneys licensed to practice law in Louisiana are required to keep current on changes and developments in the law through continuing legal education, in accordance with Rule XXX of the Supreme Court rules. “Our MCLE program protects the public by ensuring that Louisiana attorneys are familiar with the latest developments in the law. We appreciate the LSBA’s willingness to accept the responsibility of administering this important program,” commented Chief Justice Bernette Joshua Johnson, who also noted that the Court will retain jurisdiction to determine the MCLE requirement and certify non-compliant attorneys ineligible to practice law for failure to comply with the Rules. MCLE Director Kitty Hymel and MCLE staff, now LSBA employees, will maintain their current office location in Metairie, La., for the immediate future. Efforts are underway to physically relocate MCLE operations to the Louisiana Bar Center and fully integrate MCLE administration into the LSBA information technology systems, with a target completion date of mid to late 2018. “We are very pleased and honored to be entrusted once again with the administration of Mandatory Continuing Legal Education, an important component in ensuring that our lawyers remain abreast of changes and developments in the law,” said LSBA President Dona Kay Renegar. The Court is currently preparing amendments to Supreme Court Rule XXX (Rules for Continuing Legal Education) to clarify the LSBA’s administrative and regulatory role. The Rules dictate that lawyers must attend 12.5 hours of approved continuing legal education each calendar year, including one hour of ethics and one hour of professionalism, with a special law office management requirement for newly admitted lawyers. The Rules also address other methods of earning credit, including but not limited to teaching, writing scholarly articles, and doing pro bono work. “As the last self-regulated profession, we need to ensure that all of our members are meeting the highest ethical and professionalism standards. Partnering once again with the Court on MCLE will be helpful in reaching those targeted goals,” Ms. Renegar added. Additional information on the MCLE program is available at: www.lsba.org/mcle.