Supreme Court Rules - Rule 15 - Rules Governing the Missouri Bar and the Judiciary

Clerk Handbooks

Supreme Court Rules

		Section/Rule:	15.01
Subject:	Rule 15 - Rules Governing the Missouri Bar and the Judiciary - Continuing Legal Education	Publication / Adopted Date:	December 2, 1986
Topic:	Definitions	Revised / Effective Date:	March 23, 2020

15.01. Definitions

As used in this Rule 15 the following terms mean:

(

)

Accredited program or activity

, a program or activity accredited by The Missouri Bar;

(

)

Board

, the Board of Governors of The Missouri Bar;

(

)

Credit hour

, at least 50 minutes of instruction or the equivalent;

(

)

Lawyer

a member of The Missouri Bar;

(

)

Reporting year

, the 12 months between July 1st of one year and June 30th of the following year.

(Adopted Dec. 3, 1986, eff. Jan. 1, 1987. Amended Jan. 22, 1988, eff. July 1, 1988; Oct. 18, 1988, eff. Nov. 1, 1988; June 21, 2005, eff. Jan. 1, 2006; Nov. 16, 2009, eff. Jan. 1, 2010.)

Regulation 15.01. Definitions

As used in Rules 15.01 through 15.06 and Regulations 15.01 through 15.06:

1. Accredited programs, seminars, or activities include:

(a)

programs, seminars, or activities offered by an accredited sponsor;

(b)

programs, seminars, or activities offered by an identified sponsor;

(c)

programs, seminars, or activities approved by The Missouri Bar pursuant to

Regulation 15.04.3(c)

;

(d)

self-study pursuant to

Regulation 15.04.5

;

(e)

speaker or author credit pursuant to

Regulation 15.05.1

;

(f)

programs, seminars, or activities approved as an alternative method of meeting the requirements of Rule

pursuant to

Regulation 15.05.3

; or

(g)

programs, seminars, or activities for which a lawyer may receive credit pursuant to

Regulations 15.05.4

and

15.05.5

2. Minutes of instruction or the equivalent do not include introductory remarks, coffee or meal breaks or business meetings.

3. The number of credit hours of continuing legal education completed in any approved program, seminar, or activity by a lawyer shall be computed by determining the total minutes of instruction or the equivalent; dividing the total by 50; and rounding the quotient up or down to the nearest one-tenth of an hour.

4. An accredited sponsor is a sponsor all of whose programs, seminars, or activities are accredited.

5. An identified sponsor is a sponsor approved to offer a single accredited program, seminar, or activity.

6. Professionalism Programs, Seminars, or Activities.
Programs, seminars, and activities devoted to professionalism include, but are not limited to programs, seminars, and activities or designated portions thereof with instruction concerning legal or judicial ethics; the duties of attorneys to the judicial system, courts, public, clients, and other attorneys; the concept of a profession; history of the legal profession; rules of professional conduct; comparison of the legal professions in different nations; and jurisprudence and philosophy of law.

7. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Programs, Seminars, or Activities.
Programs, seminars, and activities devoted to substance abuse and mental health include programs, seminars, and activities or designated portions thereof with instruction concerning substance abuse and mental health issues in the legal profession. Topics may include, but are not limited, to, the prevention, detection, and response to substance abuse and mental health issues in the legal profession, including available lawyers' assistance programs.

8. Legal or Judicial Ethics Programs, Seminars, or Activities.
(a) Programs, seminars, and activities devoted to legal or judicial ethics include, but are not limited to, programs, seminars, or activities or designated portions thereof with instruction concerning Rules 2 and 4 of the Supreme Court Rules and the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct and Code of Judicial Conduct.

(b) Legal or judicial ethics programs, seminars, or activities do not include programs, seminars, or activities or designated portions thereof with instruction on topics such as attorney fees, client development, law firm administration, marketing or advertising, law office economics, and practice systems except to the extent that the topics set forth in (a) above are directly and substantially discussed in relationship with such topics.

9. Malpractice Prevention Programs, Seminars, and Activities.
Programs, seminars, and activities devoted to malpractice prevention include, but are not limited to, programs, seminars, or activities or designated portions thereof with instruction concerning law office systems and procedures that reduce the possibility of professional errors and omissions and instruction concerning the malpractice potential in substantive areas of law.

10. Explicit or Implicit Bias, Diversity, Inclusion, and Cultural Competency Programs, Seminars, or Activities.
Programs, seminars, and activities in the area of explicit or implicit bias, diversity, inclusion, and cultural competency shall focus on issues in the legal profession and in the practice of law. Such programs, seminars, and activities shall not include the substantive law of illegal discrimination except to the extent that the topics set forth above are directly and substantially discussed in relationship with such topics.

11. An accredited program, seminar, or activity is not required to have a designated portion or portions devoted exclusively to professionalism, substance abuse, mental health, legal or judicial ethics, malpractice prevention, explicit or implicit bias, diversity, inclusion, and or cultural competency. An accredited program, seminar, or activity devoted exclusively to professionalism, substance abuse, mental health, legal or judicial ethics, malpractice prevention, explicit or implicit bias, diversity, inclusion, or cultural competency must include at least 50 minutes of instruction or the equivalent, as required by Regulation 15.04.1(d). If an accredited program, seminar, or activity is not devoted exclusively to professionalism, substance abuse, mental health, legal or judicial ethics, malpractice prevention, explicit or implicit bias, diversity, inclusion, or cultural competency, the designated portion or portions of an accredited program, seminar, or activity devoted to such topics must include at least 25 minutes of instruction or the equivalent to qualify for any credit under Rule 15.05(a)(1).

12. A lawyer may satisfy the requirements of Rule 15.05(a)(1) by completion of accredited programs, seminars, or activities or designated portions thereof devoted exclusively to professionalism, substance abuse, mental health, legal or judicial ethics, malpractice prevention, explicit or implicit bias, diversity, inclusion, or cultural competency as designated by The Missouri Bar or an accredited sponsor. When applying for accreditation of a program, seminar, or activity pursuant to Regulation 15.04.3, any lawyer or any sponsor not accredited pursuant to Regulations 15.04.2 or 15.04.3 (a) may seek designation of a program, seminar, or activity or portion thereof as satisfying the requirements of Rule 15.05(a)(1).

13. Completion of the requirements established by subdivisions (a)(1) and (a)(2) of Rule 15.05 shall be reported to The Missouri Bar on the written affidavit required under Regulation 15.06.1 by July 31 immediately following each reporting year.

14. COVID-19 Extension of Reporting Year.

As a result of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the reporting year for 2019-2020 will be for the 15 months between July 1, 2019, and September 30, 2020. Any extra credit hours earned during the 2019-2020 reporting year may be carried over as prescribed in Regulation 15.05.5.

(Approved eff. July 1, 1988. Amended eff. July 1, 1990; July 1, 1992; Nov. 1, 2009; May 17, 2018, eff. July 1, 2018; June 30, 2019, eff. July 1, 2019; Nov. 15, 2019; Mar. 23, 2020.)