Continuing Legal Education Requirements

For newly admitted attorneys, "Bridge the Gap" or "Transitional" CLE requirements apply. These regulations specify that 32 hours (16 hours per year) of CLE credits must be completed during the first two years of admission to the bar. The 16 hours each year must include 3 hours of ethics and professionalism credits, 6 hours of skills, and 7 hours of practice management or areas of professional practice. The courses taken by newly admitted attorneys must be designated as "transitional" or "bridge the gap". For those who have graduated from law school but not yet been admitted to the bar, up to 16 CLE credit hours earned between graduation and admission may be applied to the 32 hour requirement.

For those admitted for more than two years ("Experienced Attorneys"), 24 CLE credits must be completed during each biennial bar registration cycle. The 24 hours must include four hours of ethics and professionalism, with the remaining 20 hours in any CLE category. Click here to link to the Unified Court System's website for the full text of all New York State Continuing Legal Education regulations.