State Bar’s Largest-Ever MCLE Audit May Apply to You

If you’re a California attorney with a last name beginning with A through G, you may have recently received a surprise in the mail. That’s because the California State Bar is launching the Bar’s “largest-ever compliance audit for Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE), taking a look at 4,700 attorneys whose last names begin with the letters A through G to ensure they have met their requirements.” The Bar reports that the audit letters went out on July 9, 2013. According to the Bar, the 4,700 attorneys who received audit letters were randomly selected.

What to do if you received an audit letter from the Bar? Don’t panic, but don’t ignore it. According to the Bar, “[t]hose selected will have until Aug. 23 to submit proof of compliance. Attorneys who did not complete the required 25 hours of coursework will be subject to a $75 penalty. If they still have not met the requirement by Nov. 21, they will be placed on administrative inactive status and will not be eligible to practice law. False declarations of compliance will be reported to the Office of Chief Trial Counsel for further investigation and potential discipline.”

In other words, you have plenty of time to provide the Bar with proof of compliance. The process includes filling out an online course log and submitting your MCLE certificates either by mail or email. Following is a link to the California Bar Journal article, with some helpful FAQs to answer all your questions:

http://www.calbarjournal.com/July2013/TopHeadlines/TH2.aspx

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Alison Buchanan represents lawyers and law firms on issues of professional responsibility, including providing advice and counsel on ethics issues and defending legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty claims.

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This communiqué is provided as an educational service by Hoge Fenton’s Ethics and Professional Liability Group for clients and friends of the firm. This communiqué is an overview only, and should not be construed as legal advice or advice to take any specific action.