MCLE program sponsors frequently asked questions

What are the annual MCLE requirements for Missouri lawyers?
Lawyers with an active license in Missouri are required to complete and report at least 15 credit hours of accredited programs, seminars, or activities. At least three of the total 15 credit hours must be devoted exclusively to accredited ethics programs, seminars, and activities to include professionalism, substance abuse, mental health, legal or judicial ethics, malpractice prevention, explicit or implicit bias, diversity, inclusion, or cultural competency. Specifically, at least one of the three ethics credit hours must be devoted exclusively to explicit or implicit bias, diversity, inclusion, or cultural competency.

What requirements must a program meet in order to receive accreditation in Missouri?
A program, seminar, or activity must directly contribute to the professional competency of lawyers or judges and have significant intellectual or practical content related to the development or practice of law, professional responsibility, or law office management. Programs with appropriate content may receive accreditation if they are live and in-person; live and remote by telephone or web broadcast; or previously recorded and available remotely on a designated date with specified starting and ending times, and a qualified instructor or moderator simultaneously present by telephone or chat room to answer questions and interact with attendees. Web broadcasts available on-demand are not accredited in Missouri and may only be utilized by lawyers for self-study.

Should CLE sponsors submit on-demand programs to The Missouri Bar for accreditation?
Sponsors should not seek accreditation for programs that are only offered in a recorded on-demand format that lawyers can view at their convenience, as such programs may only be utilized by lawyers as self-study hours. Up to six self-study hours may be reported by lawyers in one compliance year and may not include ethics or diversity, inclusion, cultural competency or explicit and implicit bias credit. The Missouri Bar does not specifically review or approve the materials that Missouri lawyers may report for self-study credit. Each Missouri lawyer may select the legal materials that will enhance his or her professional competence.

Sponsors should be knowledgeable about the difference between accredited remote programming and on-demand programming. Attendees rely heavily on the advertisement of program sponsors when determining whether to enroll in a program and will be highly dissatisfied to find that a program advertised as accredited may only be reported as self-study.

When must programs be submitted to The Missouri Bar for accreditation?
Regulation 15.04.3(c) provides that a sponsor desiring approval of an individual program must apply for accreditation no later than 60 days prior to the date on which the program is scheduled. Providing complete and accurate information, such as a timed agenda and content description or brochures helps ensure that programs can be reviewed for approval in a timely manner.

How are Missouri MCLE credit hours calculated?
The Missouri Bar accredits programs using a 50-minute credit hour. The number of credit hours earned for attending a particular program is calculated by dividing the total minutes of instruction by 50 and rounding up or down to the nearest 0.1 of an hour. Minutes of instruction do not include time scheduled for introductory or welcome remarks, breaks, or business meetings. A stand-alone program must be at least 50 minutes in length (one credit hour) to receive accreditation.

What types of programs qualify for ethics credit?
Content that qualifies for ethics credit can include professionalism, substance abuse, mental health, legal or judicial ethics, malpractice prevention, explicit or implicit bias, diversity, inclusion, or cultural competency. Eligible ethics programs do not include programs with instruction on topics such as attorney fees, client development, law firm administration, marketing or advertising, law office economics and practice systems unless there is direct and substantial discussion concerning Supreme Court of Missouri Rules 2 and 4, the Model Rules of Professional Conduct or the Code of Judicial Conduct of the American Bar Association.

How is professionalism defined?
Programs, seminars, and activities devoted to professionalism may include legal or judicial ethics; a lawyer’s duties to the judicial system, courts, the public, clients and other lawyers; the concept or history of the profession; rules of professional conduct; comparison of the legal profession in different nations; and jurisprudence of the law.

How is cultural competency, diversity, inclusion, and explicit or implicit bias defined?
Programs, seminars, and activities in the area of explicit or implicit bias, diversity, inclusion, and cultural competency shall focus specifically on issues in the legal profession and in the practice of law. Eligible programs 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.

Are there fees associated with creating a sponsor account or submitting CLE programs to The Missouri Bar for review and accreditation?
No fee is currently charged to sponsors who create a sponsor account. Additionally, at this time, The Missouri Bar does not charge fees to organizations who submit programs for review and accreditation.

How can an organization become a sponsor and submit CLE programs to The Missouri Bar for approval and accreditation?
The MCLE Department of The Missouri Bar utilizes an online platform in which sponsors can create accounts, submit programs for accreditation, and track programming throughout the compliance period. If an organization would like to submit programs for accreditation, they will first need to establish a Sponsor Account at The Missouri Bar’s website. Once a Sponsor Account has been created, a designated representative of the organization will be able to log into the system and submit requests for program accreditation.

The process to request accreditation of specific programs can be completed by following these steps:

1. Go to MoBar.org  website.
2. Go to “MCLE” tab at the top of the page and then select “Program Sponsors” from the drop down list. On the Program Sponsors page, click on the “Request Program Accreditation or Search for Existing Programs” link and log in to your sponsor account in the Missouri Bar’s Portal.
3. Once logged into your sponsor account, you can click on the “Submit New Program” button to open the submission form and then enter and submit information about the program - title, description, date(s), program agenda to include begin/end time(s), number of hours, etc. and attach supporting documentation before hitting the ‘Submit’ button. Only one attachment can be included with a program submission, so multiple documents must be combined into one single attachment. A copy of the complete program agenda should be included in the attached documentation.

Our organization will be sponsoring a CLE program that will be repeated on several occasions. How should the program be submitted to receive accreditation for all of the dates on which the program will be offered?
In order to accredit the program, we need to know the specific date(s) on which live presentation(s) of it will be held. Our office will only accredit live interactive programs with a designated date, start and stop time, and a knowledgeable instructor/mediator available to answer questions from attendees. If this program will be offered live on multiple occasions, then you will need to submit a separate program accreditation request for each date and include a dated agenda with the starting/ending times of that day’s live event.

If the program will only be held in a live format one time and then be available for on-demand viewing in a recorded format, we will only accredit the date of the live broadcast.

How can a sponsor check on the status of CLE programs that have been submitted to The Missouri Bar for review and accreditation or view a list of approved programs?
The designated representative can access the status of submitted programs by logging into their Program Sponsors page and clicking the “Request for Program Accreditation or Search for Existing Programs” link. Programs waiting for approval, denied programs, and approved programs will be listed. Denied and approved programs may be searched using a date range and then sorted by clicking on the Program ID, Program Title, Begin Date, or other criteria in the column headings.

A CLE program submitted to The Missouri Bar for review was denied. Why was it denied and is it possible to receive reconsideration?
A program could be denied for many different reasons such as insufficient information provided, content that is not legal in nature, format that is on-demand, the submission of a duplicate, etc. When a program is denied, an email message noting the reason for the denial will be sent. If this message indicates that more information is needed, there will be a note available on the program submission form listing the missing information. The program can either be revised and resubmitted or the additional information can be submitted in a return email message.

Our organization needs to make a correction to the title, delivery format or date for a program in the online system that has already been approved. What is the process for making changes?
The designated representative should be able to make modifications to your organization’s approved programs if the program has not yet occurred. Log into the Program Sponsors page and access your programs list by clicking on the “Sponsor Request for Program Accreditation or Search for Existing Programs” link. Once the program is located under the list of Approved Programs, click on the underlined Program ID number to open the submission form. You can then make the necessary changes and hit the “Update” button at the bottom to save them.

Are CLE sponsors required to provide attendees with Certificates of Attendance?
Missouri lawyers are not required to submit attendance certificates to The Missouri Bar to document program completion, but they may appreciate receiving a certificate of attendance for record-keeping purposes. A fillable Certificate of Attendance template is available on the MCLE Program Sponsors page here. 

How can CLE sponsors assist Missouri lawyers in reporting program attendance to The Missouri Bar?
Missouri lawyers are responsible for self-reporting their CLE programs and hours, so sponsors are not required to submit attendance lists directly to The Missouri Bar. However, pursuant to Regulation 15.04.4(b), sponsors must maintain program attendance lists on file for at least three years. Sponsors may assist in the reporting process by providing attendees with the Program ID number assigned to the program when it received accreditation. The Program ID number allows lawyers to submit their attendance hours without having to fill out an individual request for accreditation.

What is the difference between a sponsor and an accredited sponsor?
Any provider wishing to offer accredited CLE programming in Missouri may create a sponsor account and submit appropriate programming for review and accreditation. A CLE sponsor having substantial recent experience in offering continuing legal education or a demonstrable ability to organize and effectively present continuing legal education programs and activities may apply for accredited sponsor status. Accredited sponsors must file an annual report with The Missouri Bar and are permitted to submit programming directly to The Missouri Bar’s online programming platform without review for accreditation approval.

How does a provider become an accredited sponsor of MCLE programs?
Upon application by the sponsor, and pursuant to Rule 15.04(a), The Missouri Bar may designate a CLE sponsor as an “accredited sponsor” if the sponsor has substantial recent experience in offering continuing legal education or a demonstrable ability to organize and effectively present continuing legal education programs and activities. Additional information can be found on the "Accredited sponsors/Annual Report" page.