<b>Professional Development University:</b> CLE For The Soul

Pen in hand, I write to report that the 11 years of being my state's compliance maven of CLE have given me an up-close and personal view of attorney-dom that few non-lawyers witness. I am the confidant to lawyer stress, struggle, and reflection on what it means to be a lawyer. This is often spoken in hushed tones, with perhaps a sense that such confession might somehow be disloyal to the proud profession.

With civility and ethics at the top of lawyers' agendas, it at times seems to some to be a fragile balancing act as the need to zealously advocate for one's client and keep the practice profitable in a very populated profession can bring one close to the ethical bright line. In fact, the inception of the continuing legal education mandate in many states came on the heels of ethics breaches that were grievous enough to demand that ethics, professionalism, and general professional development be mandated. Out of crisis did come opportunity.

How to Really Use CLE

So where did that lead us? How and for what do we really use CLE? And can law firms make more out of the mandate than the cardio vascular benefit of the scurry to find credits, any credits just prior to compliance year end?

Did you ever notice that your attorneys are deadline driven? More on that later.

Off you go, heading toward Oz, with the Emerald City sharply in sight. A plan for true professional development that teaches facts, increases skill banks, educates in a scholarly and academic fashion, is infused with collaboration, dressed with wisdom and (drum roll) resonates with the quiet of a moment to ponder the essence of one's life's work.

There it is!

The bonus that is sometimes overlooked. In the background of any profession's education mandate lays a critical ingredient. It requires the brethren to come together usually (one hopes), in a pleasant environment, away from office distractions, away from client pressures, in the company of experts and connect with others who chart the same course. Beyond content, it is a powerful tool for morale, stress reduction, empowerment, and at the risk of sounding Zen-like, building self-worth and pride. Especially, in a profession that gets trashed a lot.

Utopia! Not so fast. Here's the hitch. Back to the deadline driven trait. The challenge for many firms is how to prioritize CLE. The attitude, infrastructure and administrative follow-through, are your keys to getting the best bang for your buck. Whether you are a large or small firm, planning for CLE should get more attention. This is necessary not just for the educational pluses, but because it is only natural that immediate pressures will storm toward the front of the line. And CLE seems easy to put off. Ever see an estate-planning attorney suffer through a course on criminal procedure just to get credit? Trust me, it's not a pretty sight. Not to mention a waste of time and money.

CLE Suggestions

Now it should go without saying that with any group the principles of the bell curve apply. Many attorneys make great use of CLE; always attend the annual conferences in their specialty. Many have practices that more easily allow for advanced planning and fostering a healthy selection of topics that directly benefit them and their clients. These tend to be the same attorneys who blissfully file their compliance reports 6 months early. But there is room for improvement.

Here are some obvious ' and not so obvious ' CLE suggestions to help you along:

• Adopt a CLE positive attitude from the top down. Create a buzz.
• Appoint an administrative person or attorney to be your designated cheerleader/nag.
• Make sure all attorneys know their CLE requirements and have calendared deadlines.
• Assess CLE subject needs once or twice per year. Then research providers to maximize usefulness.
• Update your in-house CLE files quarterly. Have plenty of forms available.
• Circulate CLE announcements and debrief CLE experiences at legal staff meetings and via blast emails to encourage productive use of CLE.
• Create a firm CLE committee to or-ganize in-house training, a major cost savings. Smaller firms and sole practitioners can form a consortium with several other smaller firms.
• Think outside the box ' CLE doesn't have to be talking heads. Book discussion groups, distance learning, video conferencing, associate mentoring, authorship, legal debate squads, team exercises (think fabulous T-shirts) can make CLE fun … and can't we all use a little more of that?
• Invite outside counsel to attend your programs. Mix it up. Create a flow. A sort of Feng Shui of CLE.
• Keep in good contact with your bar association and be sure to read the CLE rules and regulations at the beginning of each year to be sure you haven't missed any changes.
• Make sure your address is up to date with the CLE compliance office and CLE sponsors.
• Make the most out of each CLE course: shut off your phone, sit with new people, breathe.
• Offer a seminar (it markets your firm as well).

Well Worth It

By now you're thinking I should get a life. Well as corny as it will seem, I dig this! And I am impressed daily by the level of commitment, strength of character, gladiator diligence and tender compassion I witness in lawyers. And when I hear them captivated by a speaker and refreshed by a day out of the rat race, it confirms what CLE is doing for the profession and the professional. It is well worth the trip.

And as for me, I'm happy to think I have earned the nickname given to me by a past bar president. Signed, Glinda

Pen in hand, I write to report that the 11 years of being my state's compliance maven of CLE have given me an up-close and personal view of attorney-dom that few non-lawyers witness. I am the confidant to lawyer stress, struggle, and reflection on what it means to be a lawyer. This is often spoken in hushed tones, with perhaps a sense that such confession might somehow be disloyal to the proud profession.

With civility and ethics at the top of lawyers' agendas, it at times seems to some to be a fragile balancing act as the need to zealously advocate for one's client and keep the practice profitable in a very populated profession can bring one close to the ethical bright line. In fact, the inception of the continuing legal education mandate in many states came on the heels of ethics breaches that were grievous enough to demand that ethics, professionalism, and general professional development be mandated. Out of crisis did come opportunity.

How to Really Use CLE

So where did that lead us? How and for what do we really use CLE? And can law firms make more out of the mandate than the cardio vascular benefit of the scurry to find credits, any credits just prior to compliance year end?

Did you ever notice that your attorneys are deadline driven? More on that later.

Off you go, heading toward Oz, with the Emerald City sharply in sight. A plan for true professional development that teaches facts, increases skill banks, educates in a scholarly and academic fashion, is infused with collaboration, dressed with wisdom and (drum roll) resonates with the quiet of a moment to ponder the essence of one's life's work.

There it is!

The bonus that is sometimes overlooked. In the background of any profession's education mandate lays a critical ingredient. It requires the brethren to come together usually (one hopes), in a pleasant environment, away from office distractions, away from client pressures, in the company of experts and connect with others who chart the same course. Beyond content, it is a powerful tool for morale, stress reduction, empowerment, and at the risk of sounding Zen-like, building self-worth and pride. Especially, in a profession that gets trashed a lot.

Utopia! Not so fast. Here's the hitch. Back to the deadline driven trait. The challenge for many firms is how to prioritize CLE. The attitude, infrastructure and administrative follow-through, are your keys to getting the best bang for your buck. Whether you are a large or small firm, planning for CLE should get more attention. This is necessary not just for the educational pluses, but because it is only natural that immediate pressures will storm toward the front of the line. And CLE seems easy to put off. Ever see an estate-planning attorney suffer through a course on criminal procedure just to get credit? Trust me, it's not a pretty sight. Not to mention a waste of time and money.

CLE Suggestions

Now it should go without saying that with any group the principles of the bell curve apply. Many attorneys make great use of CLE; always attend the annual conferences in their specialty. Many have practices that more easily allow for advanced planning and fostering a healthy selection of topics that directly benefit them and their clients. These tend to be the same attorneys who blissfully file their compliance reports 6 months early. But there is room for improvement.

Here are some obvious ' and not so obvious ' CLE suggestions to help you along:

• Adopt a CLE positive attitude from the top down. Create a buzz.
• Appoint an administrative person or attorney to be your designated cheerleader/nag.
• Make sure all attorneys know their CLE requirements and have calendared deadlines.
• Assess CLE subject needs once or twice per year. Then research providers to maximize usefulness.
• Update your in-house CLE files quarterly. Have plenty of forms available.
• Circulate CLE announcements and debrief CLE experiences at legal staff meetings and via blast emails to encourage productive use of CLE.
• Create a firm CLE committee to or-ganize in-house training, a major cost savings. Smaller firms and sole practitioners can form a consortium with several other smaller firms.
• Think outside the box ' CLE doesn't have to be talking heads. Book discussion groups, distance learning, video conferencing, associate mentoring, authorship, legal debate squads, team exercises (think fabulous T-shirts) can make CLE fun … and can't we all use a little more of that?
• Invite outside counsel to attend your programs. Mix it up. Create a flow. A sort of Feng Shui of CLE.
• Keep in good contact with your bar association and be sure to read the CLE rules and regulations at the beginning of each year to be sure you haven't missed any changes.
• Make sure your address is up to date with the CLE compliance office and CLE sponsors.
• Make the most out of each CLE course: shut off your phone, sit with new people, breathe.
• Offer a seminar (it markets your firm as well).

Well Worth It

By now you're thinking I should get a life. Well as corny as it will seem, I dig this! And I am impressed daily by the level of commitment, strength of character, gladiator diligence and tender compassion I witness in lawyers. And when I hear them captivated by a speaker and refreshed by a day out of the rat race, it confirms what CLE is doing for the profession and the professional. It is well worth the trip.

And as for me, I'm happy to think I have earned the nickname given to me by a past bar president. Signed, Glinda