HAVE YOU LEARNED ANYTHING NEW LATELY?

HAVE YOU LEARNED ANYTHING NEW LATELY?

As lawyers we are granted a license to practice law after completion of a course of study at an accredited law school and then passage of a bar examination. The bar exam tests knowledge in a multitude of subjects, most of which are covered to some degree in course offerings during law school. However, no student can take every law school course and the bar examination usually covers areas of the law in which the applicant has not received any formal education or training. Most applicants sitting for the bar exam, prepare by taking a bar preparation course either in person, by video or video conference that covers some of the areas not covered during the formal legal education. Despite all of this education, the practice of law is so complex that it is difficult to fathom a recent graduate having adequate knowledge to practice law at a level that will ensure that clients receive the best representation.

So once the bar exam has been passed, why isn’t there a requirement in Connecticut that a lawyer take continuing education courses? Regardless of the field of practice, there are continuous developments in the law. The legislature and the courts are constantly changing both the substantive law and court procedure. Lawyers can stay abreast of many of these changes by almost constantly reading various publications such as the “Connecticut Law Journal”, “Superior Court Reports” and the “Connecticut Law Tribune”. But that is not enough.

Can a real estate lawyer stay on top of his or her game without attending a continuing legal education course (“CLE”)? Can a transactions lawyer? Can a lawyer practice family law without the benefit of CLE? How can a tax lawyer know all of the recent developments in the tax code without taking courses?

I ask some of these questions rhetorically because I don’t practice in those areas of the law and I actually have little information about the availability or the need for CLE in those fields. I do practice in the area of personal injury, medical malpractice and workers’ compensation law. I need to know the substantive law in these areas. I need to know the rules of procedure in both the state and federal courts in order to properly handle trial and appeals involving different aspects of medicine, science, physics, human factors, economics and vocational issues. I need to know the rules involving operation of different types of vehicles. I need to know the rules implicated in truck accidents; medical accidents, accidents involving defective machines and other products. I need to know about the latest scientific innovations or at the very least where to go to learn this information. I need to know the latest trial techniques to give my clients the very best representation possible.

To accomplish all of these things, I spend countless hours each week reading about the law, science and medicine. I routinely attend CLE classes each year, some of which I teach. I probably spend more than twenty hours a year in CLE courses, often traveling outside of Connecticut. But there is no mandatory CLE in Connecticut. In New York, where I am also licensed, there is mandatory continuing legal education. The requirement for CLE is only an average of 16 hours every two years for a newly admitted lawyer and an average of 12 hours per year for all lawyers other than newly admitted lawyers. The CLE categories are broken down to include “ethics and professionalism, law office management, skills and areas of professional practice. Here at Casper & de Toledo, despite the absence of any Connecticut requirement for CLE, all of our attorneys regularly participate in a wide variety of educational programs.

It is interesting that the CLE law in New York provides in relevant part:
It is of utmost importance to members of the Bar and to the public that attorneys maintain their professional competence by continuing their legal education throughout the period of their active practice of law. This Program establishes the minimum requirements for continuing legal education for attorneys ….

These same policy considerations should apply no less in Connecticut. I cannot imagine practicing law without the benefit of CLE. And for the life of me, I cannot understand why the Judges in Connecticut have not issued a Rule of Practice, making CLE mandatory. Don’t we owe it to the public that lawyers are required to maintain a level of competence?

Stewart M. Casper
Casper & de Toledo LLC
1458 Bedord St.
Stamford, CT 06905

http://www.casperdetoledo.com/