By June 30, 2018, lawyers in Missouri and Kansas are required to have reported their Continuing Legal Education Hours to The Missouri Bar and the Kansas CLE Commission, respectively. Failure to comply with the reporting requirements can have a severely detrimental effect on a lawyer’s practice. Recently, a Kentucky lawyer who failed to complete that state’s CLE requirements was suspended for 180 days and ordered to properly report that fact to his clients, per Kentucky Rules. The lawyer not only failed to do that, he continued to represent clients during the suspension. When this came to light in a later disciplinary hearing, the Kentucky Supreme Court ordered the attorney to be suspended for an additional year, to run consecutively with the prior 180 day suspension. Kentucky Bar Association v. Poteat, 511 S.W. 3d 909 (Ky. 2017).
Have a CLE Bank: All lawyers plan to comply with the reporting requirements, but sometimes life gets in the way. Practice conflicts, illness, personal issues, all can cause the best laid CLE compliance plan to go awry. That’s why, even if a lawyer already has satisfied this year’s reporting requirements, it is basic Risk Management to develop a bank of carryover CLE hours that can be used in case of emergency. The requirements for use of carryover Credit Hours in Missouri can be found in Rule 15.05(6) and in Kansas in Rule 803(b).
To assist lawyers in developing a “bank” The Bar Plan Foundation is presenting not only its’ traditional two-hour ethics CLE program at 24 On-site Presentations in Missouri and Kansas and four 2-hour webinars, but also a 9-Hour webinar. Held on June 26, 2018, this program is a convenient method for meeting current reporting requirements or picking up additional hours to be cashed-in next year if an emergency arises. The format allows attendees to participate in all of the presentations or just a few throughout the day as time and interest permit. You can register for any of our 2018 CLE Seminar Series presentations, by clicking here.