Newly Admitted New York Attorneys (Transitional)

CLE Requirements: Newly admitted attorneys must complete at least 16 transitional CLE credits (3 ethics and professionalism, 6 skills and 7 professional practice or law practice management) in both of the first two years of admission to the Bar. PLI's Bridge-the-Gap programs fulfill the ethics and skills portions of the requirement. Newly admitted attorneys may carry over 8 credits from the first year to the second year. Ethics credits cannot be carried over. Once the second-year requirement is complete, 6 additional credits may be applied toward the next reporting cycle. Newly admitted attorneys may not earn diversity, inclusion and elimination of bias credit. Learn more about newly admitted requirements. View our New York Bridge-the-Gap program FAQs.

Update, September 2024: Effective March 11, 2020, through June 30, 2025, the New York State CLE Board permits newly admitted attorneys to participate in Skills CLE courses by either individual (self-study) or group participation in the following live, nontraditional formats, where questions are allowed during the program. See the announcement from the NYS CLE Board.  Newly admitted New York attorneys may earn skills credits via PLI’s live webcasts and live groupcasts.

Beginning on July 1, 2023, newly admitted attorneys will need to comply with the 1-credit requirement in the Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Protection category of CLE credit. Newly admitted attorneys whose admission to the New York Bar is on or after July 1, 2023 must complete at least 1 CLE credit hour in Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Protection as part of their newly admitted CLE requirement. Please see the CLE Program Rules at 22 NYCRR 1500.12(a). 

As of January 1, 2016, NY newly admitted attorneys can earn credit via the following formats:

• Professional Practice and Law Practice Management credits may be earned through any format, including on-demand web programs and web segments.
• Ethics credits may be earned through "simultaneous transmission with synchronous interactivity," including PLI's live seminars, live webcasts, and live groupcasts.
• Skills credits may only be earned through PLI's live seminars.

Newly admitted attorneys based in law offices outside of the U.S. may fulfill up to 16 credits in any approved format, per NY Regulation 2(F)(1). The remaining credits must be completed in a format permissible for the category of credit. All programs must be transitional.

Please see Cybersecurity General and Ethics programs for NY admitted attorneys. 

Providers may issue New York CLE credit in Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Protection to attorneys who complete courses in this new category on or after January 1, 2023.

To assist New York attorneys meet this new CLE requirement, New York CLE Board has prepared Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Protection FAQs.