Maine
CLE Requirements: The Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar requires attorneys to complete 12 credits, including 1 live credit of ethics and 1 live, in-person credit of harassment and discrimination every calendar year. Once the live ethics requirement is met, any additional ethics credits earned via any format may be used towards the overall credit requirement. Attorneys are limited to 5 credits of self-study per reporting period. A maximum of 10 credits may be carried over to the next reporting period. For additional information, please see the FAQ page on the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar website.
Effective January 1, 2019, Rule 5(a)(1) has been amended to increase the required annual number of hours of CLE credits from 11 to 12 and to require that at least one live credit hour per year be primarily concerned with ethics and professionalism and one live, in-person credit hour per year be primarily concerned with the recognition and avoidance of harassment and discriminatory conduct or communication related to the practice of law as set out in the Maine Rules of Professional Conduct. This subdivision has also been amended to require attorneys whose required hours are prorated or who register under emeritus status to complete the ethics/professionalism and harassment/discrimination credits. For additional information on the rule change, please refer to Maine Bar Rule 5 on the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar website.
Starting January 1, 2020, and each year thereafter, attorneys shall demonstrate CLE for the prior calendar year. In order to transition from a fiscal year to a calendar year CLE reporting system, attorneys will report for calendar years 2018 (11 credits) and the 2019 CLE requirements (12) credits, for a total of 23 credits beginning January 1, 2020. Attorneys who are deficient in their MCLE requirements at the end of the applicable reporting period shall be considered noncompliant and are entitled to an automatic grace period until the close of business on the last business day of February of the succeeding year to make up their deficiencies.
Coronavirus update: Effective March 13, 2020 and until further order, any in-person participation requirements for continuing legal education, including but not limited to the requirement in M. Bar. R. 5(c)(3), are hereby suspended and participation may be by an electronic medium.
Learn about the specific requirements for newly-admitted Maine attorneys.
Completing Your Maine Requirements with PLI: PLI and SEC Institute's live seminars, live webcasts and co-sponsored locations qualify as "live" credit. There is no limit to the number of credits an attorney can earn via live programs. Ethics credits may only be earned via live programs. Harassment and discrimination credits may only be earned via live, in-person programs. View live CLE programs approved in Maine.
PLI and SEC Institute's on-demand programs, MP3s and MP4s qualify as "self-study" credit. Attorneys are limited to 5 credits of self-study per reporting period. View self-study CLE programs approved in Maine.
PLI is an Approved Sponsor with the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar. Providers are required to submit applications for each program.
Attendance Reporting: PLI reports attendance to the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar.