How hard is it to do CLE?

IL reporter Rebecca Berfanger contributed today’s blog post.

Do you recognize anyone you know on this list?

It’s the annual order of suspension of attorneys who haven’t paid their registration fees on time and/or they haven’t completed the required number of CLE hours.

The full list of 256 suspended attorneys licensed to practice in Indiana was issued May 14 and posted online today.

While looking at the list as a staff, we noticed attorneys who’ve been in the news recently for good and bad reasons, at least one judge, and 112 attorneys with out of state addresses.

As for the 144 attorneys listed with Indiana addresses: 105 lawyers were behind on registration fees, and 67 didn’t meet CLE requirements. Mixed in with those two groups were 28 lawyers who didn’t do either.

These numbers do not include the attorneys who have asked for and have been granted extensions to fulfill these requirements, according to the order.

Every year I wonder how so many attorneys slip by without meeting these seemingly simple requirements.

Even as a non-attorney I often see notices about CLE courses: I hear about pro bono districts that provide free CLE in exchange for taking on a case or participating in a Talk to a Lawyer Today program; county bar association newsletters include prominently placed CLE calendars; the law school events calendars I check for story ideas often offer CLE credits for specialized topics; and of course ICLEF’s website has links to CLE events.

And just in case you missed it, IL daily has a link to our CLE calendar at the bottom of every e-mail we send.

I also often hear from sources that CLE is expensive and not always easy to fit into one’s schedule of trials and client meetings, but I’ve yet to hear a source tell me there’s any reason they do not do it.

If your name is on here – what’s your excuse?