The New Jersey Supreme court issued a press release on December 18, 2009 heralding the adoption of Court Rule 1:42 which sets forth the new mandatory continuing legal education (MCLE) requirement for attorneys in the garden state.
If familiar with neighboring New York’s MCLE Rules and Regulations, then you have a general idea of the new rules. Check out Side by Side Comparison of New Jersey and New York Rules for additional details.
No MCLE links on front page of the NJ Courts Website
Terrific articles and blog posts providing an overview and analysis include Mandatory CLE Going into Effect in New Jersey, and the insightful New Jersey Passes Mandatory CLE Rule on Gina’s CLE Blog.
But how do I get a course accredited in New Jersey? Which forms do I use and where can I find them? What about regulations that clarify and expand on the rules?
There are no regulations. Instead, the court issued administrative determinations
To ensure that the continuing legal education program is operational on January 1, 2010, the Court is establishing a transition period during which the Board on Continuing Legal Education shall have authority to implement the continuing legal education program in the absence of controlling regulations.
The transition period lasts until regulations have been promulgated. How long will that take? A month? Year? There is no indication.
Why the rush? Why not wait until regulations have been issued, processes established and personnel in place to execute them?
During the transition period the Board on Continuing Legal Education is authorized to accredit courses at $25 per application. But only live courses. Online courses which the new rules provide for will not be considered for accreditation until regulations are adopted. The quagmire deepens.
I still want to get a course accredited. Nowhere in the rules or administrative determinations are there instructions on the accreditation process, only that the Board will handle. No phone number, or address, or email.
However, the Supreme Court’s press release did conclude with “The Court Rule and the Administrative Determinations can be found at njcourts.com”. I will surely find guidance there.
NJ Courts Website Failing to Provide Instructions for New MCLE Rules
No I won’t. Nothing! There is a link to the Court Rules, but even there a search must be performed to bring up the new rules. Amid the dizzying array of links on the front page of the NJ Courts website, there is no mention of the new CLE rules, processes or instructions.
And don’t bother hopping over to the New Jersey State Bar Association website. Nada. Not even in the “lastest news” section!
What was so important about January 1, 2010 that the new rules had to take effect without regulations promulgated and procedures or even long term administrative funding in place?
Stay tuned as I inquire about the processes, contact information, forms and other details and bring them to you in a follow-up post.
What a mess!
