Rule 2-27A. Minimum Continuing Legal Education

(a) On an annual basis, each attorney admitted in Connecticut shall certify, on the registration form required by Section 2-27 (d), that the attorney has completed in the last calendar year no less than twelve credit hours of appropriate continuing legal education, at least two hours of which shall be in ethics/professionalism. The ethics and professionalism components may be integrated with other courses. This rule shall apply to all attorneys except the following:

(1) Judges and senior judges of the Supreme, Appellate or Superior Courts, judge trial referees, family support magistrates, family support magistrate referees, administrative law judges, elected constitutional officers, federal judges, federal magistrate judges, federal administrative law judges or federal bankruptcy judges;

(2) Attorneys who are disbarred, resigned pursuant to Section 2-52, on inactive status pursuant to Section 2-56 et seq., or retired pursuant to Section 2-55 or 2-55A;

(3) Attorneys who are serving on active duty in the armed forces of the United States for more than six months in such year;

(4) Attorneys for the calendar year in which they are admitted;

(5) Attorneys who earn less than $1000 in compensation for the provision of legal services in such year;

(6) Attorneys who, for good cause shown, have been granted temporary or permanent exempt status by the Statewide Grievance Committee.

(b) Attorneys may satisfy the required hours of continuing legal education:

(1) By attending legal education courses provided by any local, state or special interest bar association in this state or regional or national bar associations recognized in this state or another state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia (hereinafter referred to as ''bar association''); any private or government legal employer; any court of this or any other state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia; any organization whose program or course has been reviewed and approved by any bar association or organization that has been established in any state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia to certify and approve continuing legal education courses; and any other nonprofit or for-profit legal education providers, including law schools and other appropriate continuing legal education providers, and including courses remotely presented by video conference, webcasts, webinars, or the like by said providers.

(2) By self-study of appropriate programs or courses directly related to substantive or procedural law or related topics, including professional responsibility, legal ethics, or law office management and prepared by those continuing legal education providers in subsection (b) (1). Said selfstudy may include viewing and listening to all manner of communication, including, but not limited to, video or audio recordings or taking online legal courses. The selection of self-study courses or programs shall be consistent with the objective of this rule, which is to maintain and enhance the skill level, knowledge, ethics and competence of the attorney and shall comply with the minimum quality standards set forth in subsection (c) (6).

(3) By publishing articles in legal publications that have as their primary goal the enhancement of competence in the legal profession, including, without limitation, substantive and procedural law, ethics, law practice management and professionalism.

(4) By teaching legal seminars and courses, including the participation on panel discussions as a speaker or moderator.

(5) By serving as a full-time faculty member at a law school accredited by the American Bar Association or approved by the state bar examining committee, in which case, such attorney will be credited with meeting the minimum continuing legal education requirements set forth herein.

(6) By serving as a part-time or adjunct faculty member at a law school accredited by the American Bar Association or approved by the state bar examining committee, in which case, such attorney will be credited with meeting the minimum continuing legal education requirements set forth herein at the rate of one hour for each hour of classroom instruction and one hour for each two hours of preparation.

(7) By serving as a judge or coach for a moot court or mock trial course or competition that is part of the curriculum at or sanctioned by a law school accredited by the American Bar Association or approved by the state bar examining committee, or a high school or undergraduate mock trial or moot court competition that is sanctioned by a court, bar association or law school accredited by the American Bar Association or approved by the state bar examining committee, and requires the attorney to consider and to apply substantive legal principles, including, but not limited to, rules of evidence, and to provide a critique of the competitors' performance.

(8) By providing pro bono legal services to clients unable to afford counsel through a pro bono program administered by one or more of the following:

(A) Any Connecticut nonprofit organization, including any legal aid organization, that provides legal representation to clients without charge;

(B) Any state, local, or affinity bar association in Connecticut; and

(C) Any state or federal court in Connecticut.

(c) Credit computation:

(1) Credit for any of the above activities shall be based on the actual instruction time, which may include lecture, panel discussion, and question and answer periods. Credit for the activity listed in subsection (b) (7) shall be based upon the actual judging or coaching time, up to four hours for each activity per year, two hours of which may be earned by judging or coaching high school or undergraduate mock trial or moot court competitions. Self-study credit shall be based on the reading time or running time of the selected materials or program.

(2) Credit for attorneys preparing for and presenting legal seminars, courses or programs shall be based on one hour of credit for each two hours of preparation. A maximum of six hours of credit may be credited for preparation of a single program. Credit for presentation shall be on an hour for hour basis. Credit may not be earned more than once for the same course given during a calendar year.

(3) Credit for the writing and publication of articles shall be based on the actual time required for both researching and drafting. Each article may be counted only one time for credit.

(4) Credit for pro bono legal services provided pursuant to subsection (b) (8) shall be based on one hour of credit for each three hours of pro bono legal services. A maximum of six hours may be earned during a calendar year.

(5) Continuing legal education courses ordered pursuant to Section 2-37 (a) (5) or any court order of discipline shall not count as credit toward an attorney's obligation under this section.

(6) Attorneys may carry forward no more than two credit hours in excess of the current annual continuing legal education requirement to be applied to the following year's continuing legal education requirement.

(7) To be eligible for continuing legal education credit, the course or activity must: (A) have significant intellectual or practical content designed to increase or maintain the attorney's professional competence and skills as an attorney; (B) constitute an organized program of learning dealing with matters directly related to legal subjects and the legal profession; and (C) be conducted by an individual or group qualified by practical or academic experience.

(d) Attorneys shall retain records to prove compliance with this rule for a period of seven years. Such records shall be made available to the Statewide Grievance Committee or its counsel, the minimum continuing legal education commission, or the disciplinary counsel upon request.

(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to allow the Statewide Grievance Committee or its counsel, the minimum continuing legal education commission, or the disciplinary counsel to conduct random audits solely to determine whether an attorney is in compliance with this section.

(f) An attorney who fails to comply with the minimum continuing legal education requirement shall be administratively suspended from the practice of law in this state pursuant to Section 2-27B.

(g) A Minimum Continuing Legal Education Commission (commission) shall be established by the Judicial Branch and shall be composed of four Superior Court judges and four attorneys admitted to practice in this state, all of whom shall be appointed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court or his or her designee and who shall serve without compensation. The charge of the commission will be to provide advice regarding the application and interpretation of this rule and to assist with its implementation including, but not limited to, the development of a list of frequently asked questions and other documents to assist the members of the bar to meet the requirements of this rule.

Committee Notes

amended June 15, 2018, to take effect Jan. 1, 2019; amended June 13, 2019, to take effect Oct. 1, 2019; amended June 26, 2020, to take effect Jan. 1, 2021; amended June 11, 2021, to take effect Jan. 1, 2022; amended June 14, 2024, to take effect Jan. 1, 2025; amended June 12, 2025, to take effect Jan. 1, 2026.) COMMENTARY—2017: It is the intention of this rule to provide attorneys with relevant and useful continuing legal education covering the broadest spectrum of substantive, pro- cedural, ethical and professional subject matter at the lowest