1. Am I required to attend continuing legal education programs in the substantive areas on which I was tested or in my specialty area?
No. Your continuing legal education may be in any substantive area, regardless of what you chose as your test area or what specialty you might hold.
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2. Does it matter that all my continuing education credits are earned by one method? For example, may they all be earned by writing articles?
There is no restriction on how credit may be acquired, except that credit for teaching the same course on a continuing basis is only eligible for CLE credit once during each five-year period.
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3. My firm wants to send me to a seminar on managing a small law office. Will this qualify for credit?
Yes and no. Credit for attending events in areas other than substantive law is limited to 10 hours in any five year period. If you have not yet reached the maximum 10 hours then yes, the seminar will qualify for credit. If you have already received the maximum 10 hours, we would be unable to record credit for the seminar.
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4. I recently submitted a request for credit for attendance at a seminar for healthcare practitioners, but did not receive any credit for this program. Why not?
The legal assistant education requirements to maintain the CLA/CP credential are designed to ensure CLA/CPs are keeping up with current law and procedures relevant to their work as legal assistants. For the Certifying Board to consider requests for participation in seminars outside the paralegal field, the seminar must include a review of the current law, and then only those portions of the seminar relevant to the law are eligible for credit.
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5. I took a college course, for credit, on the topic of business English. Would this qualify?
Unfortunately, no. Again, the purpose of CLE credit is to educate the CLA/CP on legal topics. While the business English course may be helpful, it cannot be considered for continuing legal education credit.
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6. What is considered a "relevant" topic?
This is a tough question. If a course or seminar deals with any of the substantive law areas such as litigation, probate, etc., it would generally be considered relevant. Any topics not directly dealing with substantive law areas would be considered by the Certifying Board on an individual basis, and employer attestation as to relevance may be requested.
The legal assistant education requirements to maintain the CLA/CP credential are designed to ensure CLA/CPs are keeping up with current law and procedures relevant to their work as legal assistants. For the Certifying Board to consider requests for participation in seminars outside the paralegal field, the seminar must include a review of the current law, and then only those portions of the seminar relevant to the law are eligible for credit.
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7. I am active in our association and have made several presentations to the members about NALA and its activities. Will this qualify for credit?
While your efforts in sharing information about NALA are certainly appreciated, credit cannot be recorded for this type of event. The Certifying Board can only consider requests for credit in connection with attendance at continuing legal education seminars covering topics related to one's work as a legal assistant or under the special experience category for projects outside of employment such as teaching in a legal assistant program or preparation of an article which results in publication, dealing with a substantive law topic.
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8. Will computer courses, including Westlaw and Lexis, qualify for CLAE credit?
Yes and no, again. These courses qualify in the non-substantive area. Remember you are limited to 10 hours (one unit) of non-substantive credit each five-year period.
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