MyMCLE: Missouri lawyers can now report CLE hours as they go

Missouri lawyers no longer have to guess how many minimum continuing legal education (MCLE) hours they have completed or hold on to old documentation to prove their CLE attendance. Through the bar’s new MyMCLE reporting system, members can report MCLE credits as they are completed, making the process more efficient and user-friendly.

Launched in March 2020, the MyMCLE reporting platform is open all year, allowing lawyers to continuously report their attendance at CLE programs. When lawyers log into MyMCLE, they can see their MCLE progress, including how many hours they have completed, how many they still need to comply with Rule 15, and how many rolled over from the previous reporting period. Members can also report exemptions or other CLE activities, like author or speaker credit, through the online platform.

Previously, the online reporting system opened in the spring and closed after the reporting deadlines. If lawyers took CLE courses while the reporting system was closed, they had to hang on to the CLE attendance certificates and other paperwork until the system opened to report their hours, MCLE Director Shannon Briesacher said.

Since its launch, Briesacher said the MCLE team has received positive feedback from members regarding the reporting system’s convenience and improved functionality.

“The ability to record attendance at CLE programs year-round, as well as the automated tracking of compliance and carryover hours, removes a burden for our members in having to retain documentation and compute credit requirements,” she said.

The department is continuing to look for ways to add features and improve the system to help Missouri lawyers even better serve their clients, Briesacher added.

In order to comply with Supreme Court of Missouri Rule 15, Missouri lawyers must complete a total of 15 hours of CLE programs or activities. At least three of the total 15 credit hours must be devoted exclusively to accredited ethics programs, seminars, and activities, including:

• Professionalism,
• Substance abuse,
• Mental health,
• Legal or judicial ethics,
• Malpractice prevention,
• Explicit or implicit bias,
• Diversity,
• Inclusion, or
• Cultural competency.

At least one of the three ethics credit hours must be devoted exclusively to explicit or implicit bias, diversity, inclusion, or cultural competency. Of the 15 hours, up to six hours may be completed through self-study or on-demand programs; however, a member may not satisfy the ethics or elimination of bias requirements through on-demand or self-study programs.

The 2020-2021 compliance period began Oct. 1, 2020, and ends June 30, with annual reports of compliance due by July 31.