Vt. MCLE Rule 3

(A) Requirements.

(1) All attorneys who are licensed to practice law in Vermont and on active status must

earn at least twenty-four MCLE Credit Hours per two-year reporting period established by these

Rules.

(2) At least twelve of the twenty-four Credit Hours required by Rule 3(A)(1) must be

programs delivered either as Moderated Programming or Non-Moderated Programming with

Interactivity as a Key Component.

(3) No more than six of the twenty-four Credit Hours required by Rule 3(A)(1) can be

programs delivered as Non-Moderated Programming Without Interactivity.

(4) As part of the required Credit Hours referenced in Rule 3(A)(1), attorneys must earn

Credit Hours in each of the following areas:

(a) Ethics Programming (at least two Credit Hours per reporting period);

(b) Attorney Wellness Programming (at least one Credit Hour per reporting period);

and

(c) Diversity and Inclusion Programming (at least one Credit Hour per reporting

period).

(B) Additional Provisions.

(1) Approval of Alternate Plans. If unusual circumstances render it a hardship for an

attorney to fulfill the requirements of Rule 3(A), the attorney may submit an alternate plan for

continuing legal education to the Board in writing. The Board, in its discretion, may approve

such a plan if the Board finds that the plan satisfies the purpose of these Rules.

(2) Carry Over of Excess Credit Hours. If an attorney has completed more than twenty-four

MCLE Credit Hours in a reporting period ending after the effective date of these rules, any

excess Credit Hours earned during the second year of the reporting period may be used to

fulfill the requirements of Rule 3(A) for the reporting period immediately following. Ethics,

Attorney Wellness, and Diversity and Inclusion Programming Credit Hours may be brought

forward to meet the corresponding requirement only when not utilized to meet any minimum

requirement in the reporting period earned.

(3) First-Year CLE Requirement. Any CLE Credit Hours earned to satisfy the first-year CLE

requirements for newly admitted attorneys, including those earned prior to admission to the

Vermont bar, may be used to fulfill the requirements of Rule 3(A) for the attorney’s first

reporting period.

(4) Pro Bono Emeritus Attorneys. A licensed attorney on pro bono emeritus status is subject

to the requirements of Rule 3(A) except that the attorney must only complete at least eight

MCLE Credit Hours per two-year reporting period established by these Rules, including at least

one Credit Hour of Ethics Programming. At least four of the eight Credit Hours must be

programs delivered either as Moderated Programming or Non-Moderated Programming with

Interactivity as a Key Component, and no more than two of the eight Credit Hours can be

programs delivered as Non-Moderated Programming Without Interactivity.

This rule is drawn from the prior rules §§ 4(a), 4(b), 5(c), and

6(b), with the following significant changes.

The total number of credit hours required per reporting period

has been increased from twenty to twenty-four. Rule 3(A)(1).

The prior distinction between live and self-study programming

has been replaced with a distinction between three types of

programming: Moderated Programming, Non-Moderated

Programming with Interactivity as a Key Component, and Non-Moderated Programming Without Interactivity. Of the twenty-four

required credit hours, twelve must be programs delivered either

as Moderated Programming or Non-Moderated Programming with

Interactivity as a Key Component (Rule 3(A)(2)), with the number

of credit hours for programs delivered as Non-Moderated

Programming Without Interactivity (previously, self-study) now

capped at six (Rule 3(A)(3)).

In addition to the prior ethics requirement, attorneys must now

complete at least one credit hour of both attorney wellness

programming (Rule 3(A)(4)(b)) and diversity and inclusion

programming (Rule 3(A)(4)(c)) per reporting period.

A carryover provision has been added (Rule 3(B)(2)) to allow

excess credit earned in the second year of the reporting period to

be carried over to the next reporting period.

A specific provision laying out the details of the MCLE

requirements for attorneys on pro bono emeritus status (Rule

3(B)(4)) has been added.