Back on January 1, 2018, the CLE Board issued two updates to the CLE program rules (22 NYCRR 1500.2) including a new category of credit, “Diversity, Inclusion and Elimination of Bias in Legal Profession.” The CLE Board also made changes to the CLE Program Rule §1500.22 Minimum Requirements which now warrant at least one credit hour in the new category.
Experienced attorneys who are due to re-register on or after July 1st must meet this new requirement. Under the new rule “Categories of CLE Credit as Defined in the Program Rules,” 22 NYCRR 1500.2(c)-(g), diversity, inclusion and elimination of bias courses, programs and activities must relate to the practice of law and may include, among other things, implicit and explicit bias, equal access to justice, serving a diverse population, diversity and inclusion initiatives in the legal profession, and sensitivity to cultural and other differences when interacting with members of the public, judges, jurors, litigants, attorneys and court personnel.
For more information about the new CLE Rules, visit www.nycourts.gov/Attorneys/CLE.