The CLE Rule
- Admission and Discipline Rule 29 outlines lawyer requirements for continuing education.
Approved Courses
Attorneys will only receive credit for attending accredited courses, which have been approved by the Commission for CLE.
In addition to approving courses, the Commission also approves sponsors. These are typically organizations that host a significant number of approved CLE courses each year.
Find an approved course Find an approved sponsor
Mandatory CLE for new lawyers. New attorneys admitted by examination are required to complete a 6-hour applied professionalism course.
Apply for accreditation and report attendance
If the course you attended or wish to attend is not already approved, you may apply for accreditation and report attendance using the Indiana Courts Portal. If you need to report attendance for an approved course because you checked with the sponsor, and they will not report attendance for you, you may report your attendance online using the Portal. All submissions that do not come through the Portal will be rejected.
Apply for accreditation or report attendance online
Sign in, then in the “My Continuing Education” section, click “Report legal education credits” to get started.
Attorney specialization
An attorney in Indiana may be certified as a specialist by a Commission-accredited certifying organization. In order to be certified, an attorney must attain a demonstrated proficiency.
Deadlines & fees
To be considered timely, your completed application for accreditation:
- of a traditional course must be received prior to the course date or up to 30 days after the course
- of an in-house must be received at least 30 days prior to the course
To be considered timely, proof of attendance:
- must be received no later than 30 days after the course
| Timely Application | Late Application | Timely Attendance | Late Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana attorney | $0 | $25 | $0 | $25 |
| Foreign attorney * | $25 | $50 | $0 | $0 |
* An attorney not admitted in Indiana
Types of credit
Continuing education credit for attorneys can be labeled in four ways:
- Applied professionalism credit
- Ethics credit
- Non-legal subject credit
- All other education
Applied professionalism credit is for newly-admitted attorneys. For more information, see Mandatory CLE for new lawyers.
Ethics credit, or any ethics portion of a course, shall be directed to the ethics of attorneys as opposed to the ethical or moral behavior of other professionals or of people in general. Such courses shall include instruction focusing on the Rules of Professional Responsibility as they relate to law firm management, malpractice avoidance, attorney fees, legal ethics, and the duties of attorneys to the judicial system, the public, clients and other attorneys.
Although ethics can be integrated into the program (as opposed to a freestanding, single-issue program), it still must appear as a separate agenda item and must be at least thirty minutes in duration to be given credit.
Attorneys may have up to 12 hours of Non-legal subject (NLS) credit per three-year educational period. NLS credit may now be reported to the Commission on the same form as CLE and ethics credit.
When all other education credits or courses are not labeled as applied professionalism, ethics, or non-legal subject matter, they may be referred to on our forms as “general CLE” or “regular CLE.”
Course delivery methods
Traditional education
Generally, traditional courses have faculty in the room. For traditional presentation methods, the course must provide a discussion leader or two-way communication, a classroom setting away from attorneys’ offices, an opportunity to ask questions, and attendance must be monitored at the attendance site. Generally, distance, live webcasts, and in-house education are not traditional courses. Self-study courses will not be approved.
Distance education
Distance education courses do not require attorneys to be in the same room as the speaker. However, the courses must be interactive, and the sponsor must be able to verify continuing attendance of the attorney through such means as random prompts, polling or quizzes during the course. Self-study courses, including downloads, will not be approved. Attorneys cannot receive credit for non-legal subject matter through distance or in-house education.
In-house education
In-house programs include those primarily designed for the exclusive benefit of attorneys employed by a private organization or law firm. In-house courses cannot offer non-legal subject matter credits and may not be offered in a distance education setting. Applications for in-house education must be submitted at least 30 days prior to the course date. Governmental and academic attorneys may receive unlimited in-house credits. Nongovernmental or non-academic attorneys may receive a maximum of 3 in-house hours per 3-year educational period.
Scholarships
The Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum (ICLEF) has a scholarship fund to help attorneys with financial need fulfill their CLE requirements. For information about applying, contact Marie Wilmer at ar@iclef.org or 317-637-9102, ext. 236. The Commission for CLE has no role in awarding scholarships.