Vt. MCLE Rule 4

To be approved for credit, Continuing Legal Education Programs must meet the following

standards:

(A) The program must have significant intellectual or practical content and be designed for

an attorney audience. Its primary objective must be to increase the attendee’s professional

competence and skills as an attorney and to improve the quality of legal services rendered to

the public. Programs designed for judicial officers generally do not qualify.

(B) The program must pertain to a recognized legal subject or other subject matter which

integrally relates to the practice of law, diversity and inclusion issues, attorney wellness, or the

ethical obligations of attorneys. Provided the program satisfies the other accreditation

requirements, CLE Programs that address any of the following will qualify for MCLE credit:

(1) Substantive Law Programming

(2) Legal and Practice-Oriented Skills Programming

(3) Specialty Programming (see Rule 3(A)(4))

(4) New Attorney Programming (see Rule 1(O))

(5) Law Practice Programming (see Rule 1(L))

(6) Technology Programming (see Rule 1(U))

(7) Interdisciplinary Programming (see Rule 1(K))

(8) Attorney Wellness Programming (see Rule 1(A))

(C) The program must be delivered as Moderated Programming, Non-Moderated

Programming with Interactivity as a Key Component, or Non-Moderated Programming Without

Interactivity. The Sponsor must have a system which allows certification of attendance to be

controlled by the Sponsor and which permits the Sponsor to verify the date and time of

attendance.

(D) Thorough, high-quality instructional written materials which appropriately cover the

subject matter must be distributed to all attendees in paper or electronic format during or prior

to the program.

(E) Each program must be presented by a faculty member or members qualified by academic

or practical experience to teach the topics covered, whether they are attorneys or have other

subject matter expertise.

(F) Credit will not be given for coffee breaks, keynote speeches, business meetings, and

speeches presented at and attendance at luncheons and banquets.

Board’s Notes—2025 Amendment

Rule 4(A) is amended to clarify that educational programs

designed for judicial officers generally do not qualify for credit as

continuing legal education for lawyers.

This rule, adopted in full from the Model Rule, replaces the prior

rules § 5(a), (b)(1)-(6), although the new MCLE-qualifying program

standards are generally consistent with those from the prior rules.

The new rule makes explicit that certain types of programming,

such as Law Practice Programming, Technology Programming,

Interdisciplinary Programing, and Attorney Wellness Programming,

are accreditable.