What’s the Deal with Your New York CLE Requirement?
Experienced Attorneys
Any attorney who has been admitted to the New York Bar for more than two years is an experienced attorney.
All experienced attorneys must complete a minimum of 24 credit hours each biennial (every two years) reporting cycle. Of the 24 credit hours a minimum of 4 hours of CLE is required in ethics or professionalism, a minimum 1 hour of CLE in Diversity, Inclusion and Elimination of Bias is required, a minimum 1 hour of CLE in Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Protection is required.
You can only count a maximum of 3 credit hours of Cybersecurity Ethics toward your 4 credit hour Ethics and Professionalism requirement.
Once you complete your CLE requirement you will report your compliance on an attorney registration form, which you will receive by mail or email. You must file your attorney registration form and complete your CLE requirements within 30 days after your birthday on alternative years. If you were admitted before January 1, 1982, or in an even-numbered year, then you will register in even-numbered years. If you were admitted in an odd-numbered year after 1982, then you will register in odd-numbered years.
Newly Admitted Attorneys
Attorneys admitted to the New York State Bar two years or less are considered newly admitted attorneys. However, if you were practicing law in another state for at least five of the seven years immediately preceding admission to the NY Bar, you will not be deemed newly admitted for the purposes of CLE and you must comply with the CLE requirement for experienced attorneys.
In your first two years, you must complete a minimum of 32 CLE hours. In year 1 you must complete at least 16 hours, of which a minimum of 7 hours of CLE in law practice management, or areas of professional practice. You must also complete at least 6 CLE hours of Skills and at least 3 hours of Ethics and Professionalism. In year 2 you must complete the same requirement as above. Finally, you must complete at least 1 hour of CLE in Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Protection (you can complete the Cybersecurity requirement in either year 1 or year two as part of the 7-hour section). Again, your total newly admitted CLE requirement is 32 hours.
The major difference between newly admitted and experienced attorneys in New York is the requirement that many of these courses must be taken as live credits. You can take the Areas of Professional Practice or law practice management and the cybersecurity course on demand through Attorney Credits, but not the skills or ethics. This means that you can only take 14 of the 32 credit hours required for newly admitted attorneys with us. On the New York bundle page, look for our 14 credit hour Newly Admitted Bundle.
Attorney Credits is the leading online nationwide CLE provider that you can trust.
Attorney Credits has various affordable NY CLE Compliance Bundles for you to choose from. We even have our own New York FAQ with common questions and answers. Unlimited Credits is very popular with New York attorneys, especially our Lifetime Unlimited Plan and you can always try a Free 7 Day Trial.
If you have any questions about your New York CLE requirements, want to try a free trial, need help making a purchase, or have general questions about your Attorney Credits account or CLE, don’t hesitate to start a chat from our website, or give us a call at 760-434-1885 (Monday – Friday 8 AM PT – 4 PM PT).