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California attorneys must complete a minimum of 25 credit hours of approved continuing legal education activities every 3 years including at least 4 hours of Ethics, 1 hour of Substance Abuse Prevention and 2 hours of Elimination of Bias. Additionally, at least one of the hours in Elimination of Bias must be an approved Implicit Bias program.
At least 12.5 of the credit hours must be in a "Participatory" format. The remaining hours can be in a self-study format.
**The State Bar of California is implementing changes to the MCLE course requirements effective October 1, 2023. Beginning with the compliance period ending March 29, 2025, licensees will be required to also complete and report compliance on the following new subfields:
Technology in the Practice of Law (one credit)
Civility in the Legal Profession (one credit)
Competence (Increased from one credit to two)
California attorneys may earn all 25 hours with the United Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Our Online and iOS/Android App platforms are automatically deemed participatory and our MP3/MP4 downloaded courses may also be taken in participatory form as well.
California MCLE rules do not allow carryover. Credit for participating in a CLE activity may not be earned forward from one compliance period to another.
Members are required to comply online under “My State Bar Profile” www.calbar.ca.gov by attesting under penalty of perjury that the member has complied with the education requirement or is exempt and the nature of the exemption. Attorneys who are unable to comply online must contact the State Bar’s Member Services Center 888-800-3400.
State Bar of California
180 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94105-1639
(t) 415-538-2100
(f) 415-538-2180 mcle.calbar.ca.gov
Trust Yourself: A Basic Guide to Using Trust Accounts for Legal Fees
United Institute for Continuing Legal Education is a CLE provider accredited by the California State Bar, Provider #15390.
To view our full accreditation details please .
Ethics Credits
1
$34
All Courses Available iOS/Android Web
About This Course
High volume practices, particularly those who accept smaller, flat fees for cases, will often choose to avoid depositing upfront fees into their trust accounts. Intended as a primer for newer practitioners, this CLE course will cover the basics if using trust accounts for legal fees and explain when and how unearned fees can be deposited into trust account when paid upfront. The course will explain the pros and cons of this practice and where to find additional rules and applicable information regarding legal fees and trust accounting.