Wisconsin CLE Requirements

Required Wisconsin CLE Credits

30.00 Total Credit Hours

every

2 Years

3.00 Ethics/Professional Responsibility (EPR). Must be taken as live programs.

A minimum of 15.00 credit hours must be taken as live programs.

A maximum of 15.00 credit hours may be taken as repeated on-demand programs.

Wisconsin CLE Reporting Deadlines

Deadline to complete CLEs: December 31

Reporting deadline: February 1

Reporting period: 2 Years

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Wisconsin

General Wisconsin Continuing Legal Education Credit Requirements

In Wisconsin, active status attorneys must complete 30.00 CLE credits every 2 years to maintain good standing with the State Bar of Wisconsin.

In addition, Wisconsin attorneys must complete 3.00 ethics/professional responsibility (EPR) credits every reporting period. EPR credits cannot be earned from repeated on-demand CLE courses.

Attorneys can also earn up to 6.00 credits towards their WI CLE requirements in each of the following subject areas (12.00 CLE credits total):

  • Lawyer Awareness and Understanding (LAU): LAU CLE courses focus on attorney wellness, addressing topics of mental health, substance abuse, and dependence disorders, among other related topics.
  • Law Practice Management (LPM): LPM CLE courses focus on topics related to law firm management. Topics include managing client communications, maintaining trust accounts, proper record-keeping practices, etc.

Wisconsin attorneys must complete all 30.00 required credits by December 31 in their reporting year. Attorneys must report their credits by February 1 of the following year to avoid a late fee.

The Wisconsin CLE reporting period is 2 years and ends on December 31 in your reporting year.

There are two reporting groups:

  • Attorneys who were admitted to the State Bar of Wisconsin in an even year report CLEs in even years.
  • Attorneys who were admitted to the State Bar of Wisconsin in an odd year report CLEs in odd years.

Wisconsin attorneys must report their CLEs by filing a CLE Form 1 (available online) with the Wisconsin Board of Bar Examiners. Attorneys can do this online by using the Wisconsin Court System's CLE Reporting System.

Experienced attorneys can fulfill their Wisconsin CLE requirement by completing courses approved and accredited by the Wisconsin Court System. Examples of accepted course formats include:

Live CLE (Minimum 15.00 Hours)

Repeated On-Demand (Maximum 15.00 Hours)

Wisconsin Attorneys may carry over 15.00 CLE credits to the next reporting period. Ethics/Professional Responsibility (EPR) credits cannot be carried over.

Attorneys in Wisconsin can earn a maximum of 15.00 CLE credits with repeated OnDemand courses. Ethics/Professional Responsibility (EPR) credits cannot be earned from repeated OnDemand courses.

No. In-program attendance verification is not required.

Experienced attorneys in Wisconsin can fulfill their CLE requirements by:

  • Attending activities approved by the Board of Bar Examiners.
  • Teaching an approved continuing legal or judicial education activity (2.0 credits for each hour of presentation).
  • Teaching a course, or teaching as a guest presenter in a course, in a law school approved by the American Bar Association (2.0 credits for each hour of presentation).
  • Attending an educational activity approved by the judicial education committee.
  • Completing repeated on-demand programs (maximum of 15.0 credits per reporting period).
  • Service on the office of lawyer regulation preliminary review committee, special preliminary review panel, district committee or as an office of lawyer regulation special investigator (maximum of 3.0 credits per reporting period).
  • Pro bono legal services (1.0 credit for every 5 hours of service, maximum of 6.0 credits per reporting period).
  • Grading the essay portion of the Wisconsin bar exam (maximum of 6.0 credits per examination administration).
  • Publishing legal writing, written in whole or in substantial part by the lawyer, in the form of an article, chapter, book or significant revision. Materials developed and distributed at CLE activities do not qualify.

A lawyer whose practice is principally in another jurisdiction that has mandatory CLE requirements and who is current in meeting those requirements is exempt from the 30-hour Wisconsin attendance requirement. However, the attorney must comply with the reporting requirement to file the CLE Form 1 on or before February 1 following the last day of the reporting period.

Are you newly admitted to the State Bar of Wisconsin? Here’s what you need to know:

Newly admitted attorneys in Wisconsin are exempt from CLE reporting requirements for the remainder of the calendar year in which they are admitted to the bar.

Newly admitted attorneys in Wisconsin are exempt from CLE reporting requirements for the remainder of the calendar year in which they are admitted to the bar. Except for Ethics/Professional Responsibility (EPR) credits, you can carry over up to 15.00 credits that were completed during the calendar year you were admitted to practice law in Wisconsin. Examples of accepted course formats include:

Live CLE (Minimum 15.00 Hours)

Repeated On-Demand (Maximum 15.00 Hours)

Yes. You can carry over up to 15.00 credits that were completed during the calendar year you were admitted to practice law in Wisconsin. Ethics/Professional Responsibility (EPR) credits cannot be carried over.

You are exempt from CLE reporting requirements for the year in which you were admitted to practice law in Wisconsin. Your first reporting period ends on December 31 of the second full calendar year after you were admitted to the bar.

No. There are no special CLE requirements for newly admitted attorneys in Wisconsin.

A newly admitted attorney is an attorney who is in the calendar year of their admission to the practice of law in Wisconsin.

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