Continuing Legal Education - Information for Sponsors

Information For Sponsors

Pursuant to the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education rules and regulations (APR 11 and Appendix APR 11), a sponsoring organization may apply for accreditation of a continuing legal education course or activity by submitting a completed Form 1 to the WSBA MCLE staff, together with payment of the required fee.

The sponsor of each approved program (or each program for which approval is sought) is responsible for reporting lawyers' attendance to the MCLE Board. The sponsor must send a report to the WSBA not later than 30 days after conclusion of the program. The course will then be added to the lawyers' roster with the appropriate number of credits.

For pre-recorded AV programs, the sponsor should also apply for course accreditation. However, the lawyer is responsible for reporting their own completion of the course.

New MCLE Rules and Regulations Effective January 1, 2009

New Washington State MCLE rules and regulations – Admission to Practice (APR) 11 and Appendix APR 11 – went into effect on January 1, 2009. A summary of some of the changes is below.

General – Applies to All Sponsors

* Sponsor's courses should be limited to 8 hours of instruction per day (or an average of no more than 8 hours per day for multi-day courses) because a lawyer can earn no more than 8 credits per day. (Reg 103(c))

* A sponsor may submit duplicate Form 1s for repeat presentations of a course that has already been accredited. This can be done for 12 months from the date of the original accreditation. A duplicate Form 1 must be submitted at least one day prior to the date of a repeated presentation or a $35 late fee will be assessed. (Reg 104(a)(4))

* The sponsor must keep accurate attendance records, retain them for 6 years, and provide them to the MCLE Board upon request. (Reg 102(d))

* The sponsor must retain course evaluation sheets completed by attendees, or a compilation of all numerical ratings and all comments, for two years and provide them to the MCLE Board upon request. (Reg 102(e))

* All presenters and panelists for a CLE program can earn up to 10 hours of presentation time per course, no matter what the length is of the presentation. (Reg 103(d))

Private Law Firm, In-House Legal Department, and Government Agency Sponsors

* Form 1s must be submitted at least 14 days prior to the date of the activity or a late fee will be assessed. (Reg 104(a)(2)(B) and Reg 104(a)(3)(B))

* Any written, electronic, or presentation materials must be available for submission and review upon request by the MCLE Board. However, in the case of government-sponsored, closed seminars, where materials are subject by law to confidentiality rules or regulations, those portions of the materials subject to confidentiality may be redacted from the overall submission, provided that a list of the redacted materials, a general summary of the redacted materials, and the basis for confidentiality, is supplied. (Reg 102(b))

* Government sponsors must state on the Form 1 if a closed course cannot be audited by the MCLE Board or its designees due to confidentiality rules or regulations. (Reg 102(c) and Reg 104((a)(3)(C))

More Information

Other links intended to provide CLE sponsors with the information needed to comply with the MCLE rules and regulations are below:

If a sponsor is interested in applying to be an accredited sponsor, see the information at the links below. A sponsor must present at least 30 unique programs per year (and satisfy other requirements) in order to have an application considered.

For more information, contact the WSBA Service Center at 206-443-9722, 800-945-9722, or questions@wsba.org.