Are You Still WFH? Now is the Time to Fulfill CLE Credits

Posted on 10/06/20 By Lorman Team

Many of us are still working from home with anticipated returns to the office not for happening for weeks or months. Working from home certainly has its downsides in terms of lack of socialization and, for some people, a difficulty ending the work day. Other professionals are struggling to work from home and monitor children engaged in virtual learning.

However, there is a silver lining: we are no longer wasting time on frustrating commutes, spending less money on expensive coffee, and freeing up chunks of our day for more important activities. 

For legal professionals, this may be the perfect time to complete their CLE credits for the year. Online CLE training is now available for pretty much all requirements and depending on when your credits expire, which can vary by state, now is the time to ensure that you are up-to-date on your requirements and get ahead of the rush.

Fulfilling CLE Credits While Working from Home

The consequences of ignoring CLE requirements can be severe, but online CLE training can help you get everything together and meet your requirements early. 

So why should you complete your CLE now while working from home? There are a few good reasons:

1. There are usually fewer distractions at home

While this is not the case for everyone, many of us are finding we have fewer distractions at home. Chatty coworkers are not stopping by our office at random times, there is no noise from other people's offices, and many practices are cutting down on meetings. Staying at home also saves small amounts of time that rapidly add up: commutes, stepping out for lunch, and going to and from meetings both on and off site.

This means that you can focus on your training without worrying as much about distractions. In some industries, you may also have less work as people avoid situations which might require them to go to an office or a courthouse.

2. Some states have eased up their 2020 requirements 

In some states, courts have eased some of the CLE rules to allow for more courses to take place online and on-demand, so you may not have to schedule courses only when they are available live.

The goal of the relaxation is to ensure that attorneys are not going to large in-person meetings, many of which have been canceled or postponed. The side effect, however, is a relaxation of the pressure on professionals to schedule courses at specific times, potentially with travel, and greater freedom to complete your credits on your own time and at your own pace.

As more of your CLE can be completed online, you have the ability to set your own schedule and complete credits when it is convenient for you.

3. Making time now means less rush later

For many professionals, CLE credits expire at the end of the calendar year, which can cause issues. The temptation to wait until the last minute is high, which often intertwines with personal and professional demands of the holiday season.

By doing your courses early you can spread them out over time, avoid rushing, and take a lot of the pressure off yourself. Again, taking advantage of increased flexibility to do courses on-demand can help. 

Keep in mind: any courses which still have to be taken live will still need to be scheduled, of course, but those are currently in a minority. If you are finding yourself having more downtime, this is absolutely the time to do on-demand courses and get as many of them done as possible so you can relax and not worry about completing your CLE credits later.

Key Takeaways

Handling your CLE training from your home office has a number of advantages, including setting your own pace and schedule, being able to easily re-watch videos and study other course materials, and fitting in training in time that was previously spent doing other things.

But make sure to choose the right provider; remember, courses still need to be properly accredited by the right agency for your state and industry.

Lorman Education Services meets the requirements of nearly 100 accreditation agencies, including CLE. Our platform works on computers and mobile devices, so you can learn wherever you are and whenever you want. 

Browse CLE courses in our Learning Library