27 NCAC 01D .1501. SCOPE, PURPOSE AND DEFINITIONS

(a)  Scope.  Except as provided herein, these rules shall apply to every active member licensed by the North Carolina State Bar.

(b)  Purpose.  The purpose of these continuing legal education rules is to assist lawyers licensed to practice and practicing law in North Carolina in achieving and maintaining professional competence for the benefit of the public whom they serve. The North Carolina State Bar, under Chapter 84 of the General Statutes of North Carolina, is charged with the responsibility of providing rules of professional conduct and with disciplining attorneys who do not comply with such rules.  The Revised Rules of Professional Conduct adopted by the North Carolina State Bar and approved by the Supreme Court of North Carolina require that lawyers adhere to important ethical standards, including that of rendering competent legal services in the representation of their clients.

At a time when all aspects of life and society are changing rapidly or becoming subject to pressures brought about by change, laws and legal principles are also in transition (through additions to the body of law, modifications and amendments) and are increasing in complexity.  One cannot render competent legal services without continuous education and training.  The same changes and complexities, as well as the economic orientation of society, result in confusion about the ethical requirements concerning the practice of law and the relationships it creates.  The data accumulated in the discipline program of the North Carolina State Bar argue persuasively for the establishment of a formal program for continuing and intensive training in professional responsibility and legal ethics.

It has also become clear that in order to render legal services in a professionally responsible manner, a lawyer must be able to manage his or her law practice competently.  Sound management practices enable lawyers to concentrate on their clients' affairs while avoiding the ethical problems which can be caused by disorganization.  It is in response to such considerations that the North Carolina State Bar has adopted these minimum continuing legal education requirements.  The purpose of these minimum continuing legal education requirements is the same as the purpose of the Revised Rules of Professional Conduct themselves to ensure that the public at large is served by lawyers who are competent and maintain high ethical standards.

(c)  Definitions

(1)           "Accredited sponsor" shall mean an organization whose entire continuing legal education program has been accredited by the Board of Continuing Legal Education.

(2)           "Active member" shall include any person who is licensed to practice law in the state of North Carolina and who is an active member of the North Carolina State Bar.

(3)           "Administrative Committee" shall mean the Administrative Committee of the North Carolina State Bar.

(4)           "Approved activity" shall mean a specific, individual legal education activity presented by an accredited sponsor or presented by other than an accredited sponsor if such activity is approved as a legal education activity under these rules by the Board of Continuing Legal Education.

(5)           "Board" means the Board of Continuing Legal Education created by these rules.

(6)           "Continuing legal education" or "CLE" is any legal, judicial or other educational activity accredited by the board.  Generally, CLE will include educational activities designed principally to maintain or advance the professional competence of lawyers and/or to expand an appreciation and understanding of the professional responsibilities of lawyers.

(7)           "Council" shall mean the North Carolina State Bar Council.

(8)           "Credit hour" means an increment of time of 60 minutes which may be divided into segments of 30 minutes or 15 minutes, but no smaller.

(9)           "Inactive member" shall mean a member of the North Carolina State Bar who is on inactive status.

(10)         "In-house continuing legal education" shall mean courses or programs offered or conducted by law firms, either individually or in connection with other law firms, corporate legal departments, or similar entities primarily for the education of their members.  The board may exempt from this definition those programs which it finds

(A)          to be conducted by public or quasi-public organizations or associations for the education of their employees or members;

(B)          to be concerned with areas of legal education not generally offered by sponsors of programs attended by lawyers engaged in the private practice of law.

(11)         A "newly admitted active member" is one who becomes an active member of the North Carolina State Bar for the first time, has been reinstated, or has changed from inactive to active status.

(12)         "Participatory CLE" shall mean courses or segments of courses that encourage the participation of attendees in the educational experience through, for example, the analysis of hypothetical situations, role playing, mock trials, roundtable discussions, or debates.

(13)         "Professional responsibility" shall mean those courses or segments of courses devoted to a) the substance, underlying rationale, and practical application of the Rules of Professional Conduct; b) the professional obligations of the lawyer to the client, the court, the public, and other lawyers; c) moral philosophy and ethical decision-making in the context of the practice of law; and d) the effects of stress, substance abuse and chemical dependency, or debilitating mental conditions on a lawyer's professional responsibilities and the prevention, detection, treatment, and etiology of stress, substance abuse, chemical dependency, and debilitating mental conditions.  This definition shall be interpreted consistent with the provisions of Rule .1501(c)(4) or (6) above.

(14)         "Professionalism" courses are courses or segments of courses devoted to the identification and examination of, and the encouragement of adherence to, non-mandatory aspirational standards of professional conduct which transcend the requirements of the Rules of Professional Conduct.  Such courses address principles of competence and dedication to the service of clients, civility, improvement of the justice system, diversity of the legal profession and clients, advancement of the rule of law, service to the community, and service to the disadvantaged and those unable to pay for legal services.

(15)         "Rules" shall mean the provisions of the continuing legal education rules established by the Supreme Court of North Carolina (Section .1500 of this Subchapter).

(16)         "Sponsor" is any person or entity presenting or offering to present one or more continuing legal education programs, whether or not an accredited sponsor.

(17)         "Year" shall mean calendar year.

 

History Note:        Authority - Order of the North Carolina Supreme Court, October 7, 1987, 318 N.C. 711;

Readopted Effective December 8, 1994;

Amended Eff. August 25, 2011; October 9, 2008; March 8, 2007; March 3, 2005; June 7, 2001; March 3, 1999; December 30, 1998; March 6, 1997.