Texas CLE Requirements for Attorneys

Experienced attorneys are those who have been admitted for more than 2 years following their birthday.

All attorneys in Texas must complete fifteen (15) hours of CLE per compliance year. At least three (3) of the 15 hours must be devoted to Ethics/Professional Responsibility.

The compliance year is a one-year period that begins on the first day of the attorney’s birth month and ends one year later on the last day of the month preceding the birthday.

For example, if the attorney’s birthday is January 24, their compliance year would be January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023. If the attorney’s birthday is June 12, the compliance year would be June 1, 2023 through May 30, 2024. 

At least twelve (12) of the 15 hours must be in accredited CLE classes or activities, including live group presentations, live and pre-recorded online CLE and webinars and by reviewing approved downloadable CLE programs such as podcasts and programs recorded onto DVD and CD. Other course delivery formats may be approved for CLE credit as “developed through advanced technology”.

Yes! Experienced attorneys can receive credit for:

• Self-Study: Up to three (3) hours can be completed via self-study. Self-study credit refers to credits for a CLE activity that is performed by an individual acting alone or while attending a non-accredited professional education activity. Time spent viewing or listening to audio, video, or digital media as part of an organized CLE activity approved by the Committee counts as conventional continuing legal education and is not subject to the self-study limitation. Only one (1) hour of the Ethics/Professional Responsibility requirement can be fulfilled by self-study.
• Attending Law School: Up to thirty (30) hours of CLE can be earned per compliance year for attending ABA-accredited, in-person law school courses after admission to practice. Credit can only be earned in this manner through in-person classroom instruction, not through electronic means.
• Teaching CLE: Attorneys may earn credit for teaching or participating in accredited CLE activities. Credit may be earned for both presentation and preparation time, and preparation time for repeated presentations.
• Legal Research and Writing: Attorneys may earn CLE credit for legal research-based writing, and can apply for credit for these activities to the CLE Committee. The activity needs to have:
  • Produced published material in the form of an article, chapter, or book written, in whole or in part, by the applicant
  • Contributed substantially to the attorney’s own CLE education and the CLE education of other attorneys
  • Not been done during the ordinary course of the practice of law, the performance of regular employment, or as a service to clients.
• Teaching Law School: Attorneys who hold full-time faculty positions in ABA-accredited law schools may be credited as fulfilling the Texas CLE requirements, except with regards to the Ethics/Professional Responsibility requirement. Attorneys who hold part-time faculty positions in ABA-accredited law schools may claim participatory credit for actual hours of classroom instruction (up to 12 hours per compliance year), except with regards to the Ethics/Professional Responsibility requirement.
• Mentorship Program: Attorneys may earn a maximum of five (5) hours, including one (1) ethics hour, per compliance year for participating in a Mentor Program that is either sponsored or cosponsored by the State Bar of Texas or otherwise approved by the MCLE Committee, is open to all members of the State Bar, and is completed in conjunction with MCLE approved training. The purpose of the Mentor Program is to prepare attorneys for providing pro-bono services or for managing professional responsibility challenges and shall consist of substantive legal training as opposed to coaching or personal encouragement.
  

All  CLE requirements should be completed by the last day of the MCLE compliance year for any given year. Each attorney has an automatic grace period until the last day of his or her birth month to complete and report MCLE hours for that compliance year.

Yes! Attorneys can carry over accredited CLE credits completed during any compliance year in excess of the minimum 15 hour requirement to the following compliance year’s requirement.

Texas attorneys can only self-apply for in-person courses located outside of Texas. 

If you would like a Lawline course approved for Texas credit, please reach out to us at support@lawline.com. 

Attorneys can complete all 15 credits on Lawline. Our Texas course catalog can be found here. 

State Bar of Texas 
1414 Colorado, Suite 503 
Austin, TX 78701 
512-463-1463 x 2106 
800-204-2222 (ext. 1806) 
512-463-1475 
mcle@texasbar.com 
http://www.texasbar.com/

Lawline.com Sponsor Number: 10147

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