Oregon Newly Admitted CLE Requirements for Attorneys

A newly admitted attorney in Oregon is an attorney who was recently admitted to the Oregon State Bar (OSB) and is still within their first reporting period.

Newly admitted attorneys that are admitted to the Oregon State Bar by comity, who have practiced law in another jurisdiction for no less than 24 of the last 48 months, will have a three year initial reporting period that begins May 1 (the year following admission) and ends April 30 (three years later). All subsequent reporting periods will be three years.

Newly admitted attorneys in Oregon are required to complete 15 CLE credits in the following credit categories:

• 2 Ethics - 1 Ethics credit must be devoted to Oregon Ethics and Professionalism
• 9 Practical Skills - 4 Practical Skills credits must be devoted to Oregon practice and procedure.
• A 3-credit OSB-approved introductory course in Access to Justice.
• 1 Substance Abuse & Mental Health

The Practical Skills requirement may be waived for a new admittee who has practiced law in another jurisdiction for three consecutive years immediately prior to being admitted in Oregon. If the Practical Skills requirement is waived, then the Newly Admitted attorney must complete ten CLE hours in other areas.

The Ethics and Practical Skills credit requirements for Newly Admitted Oregon attorneys may be completed via any one of the three CLE Activity categories that the Supreme Court of Oregon has created. Each completion method is assigned a different credit maximum as follows:

Category 1: No Limit.

• Attending CLE Seminars. Some examples include:
  • On Demand CLE courses (video and/or audio)
  • Live, in-person courses
  • Satellite broadcasts
• Attending law school or graduate-level courses
• Participating in the OSB New Lawyer Mentoring Program
• Serving in the Oregon Legislative Assembly

Category 2: Up to 10 credits per short reporting period.

• Teaching CLE
• Teaching Law School
• Performing Legal Research and Writing
• Serving as an Oregon bar examiner
• Volunteering in Oregon’s legal ethics/disciplinary system
• Serving on an OSB jury instructions committee

Category 3: Up to 3 credits per short reporting period.

• Participating in Personal Management Assistance Activities
• Performing other volunteer legal service activities
• Attending courses on business development/marketing

Oregon attorneys earn CLE credit for Category 1 activities as follows:

• Attending CLE seminars. 1 credit is earned for every 60 minutes spent in an OSB-approved CLE program.  Some examples of program formats include:
  • On Demand CLE Courses (video and/or audio)
  • Live in Person Courses
  • Satellite Broadcasts
• Attending certain law school/graduate level courses. Attorneys earn 1 credit for each 60 minutes attending law school or graduate-level courses at at ABA- or AALS-accredited universities but attorneys must apply to OSB for credit and the course must be approved.
• Participating in the OSB New Lawyer Mentoring Program (as either a mentor or as a mentee). Attorneys who act as mentors can earn 6 general credits and 2 ethics credits, while mentees can earn 6 general/practical skill credits to be applied towards their first reporting period. If there are multiple mentors, credits are shared between them.
• Serving in the Oregon Legislative Assembly. Credit is earned at a rate of 1 General credit for each week that the legislature is in session

Oregon attorneys earn CLE credit for Category 2 activities as follows:

• Teaching or preparing written materials for an approved CLE course. Attorneys can earn CLE credit for teaching an approved CLE program. Credit is earned at a rate of 1 credit for each 60 minutes of instruction, plus 1 additional credit for each 60 minutes spent preparing written materials for use in a CLE presentation. For panel presentations, the number of instructional minutes are divided by the number of panelists to determine the credits earned. Unless the program is substantially updated, attorneys cannot earn credit for teaching the same course more than once.
• Teaching law school courses. Attorneys can earn CLE credit for teaching law school courses at ABA- or AALS-accredited institutions, as long as the teaching is not part of the attorney’s primary job. Credit is earned at a rate of 1 credit for each 60 minutes of instruction  and cannot be earned for teaching the same course more than once, unless a substantial update is made to the content.
• Performing legal research and writing. Attorneys can earn CLE credit for performing legal research and publishing legal writing in an approved legal publication, as long as the writing is not part of the attorney’s primary job. Credit is earned at a rate of 1 credit for each 60 minutes of research and writing. Credit cannot be claimed for stylistic editing.
• Serving as an Oregon Bar Examiner. Attorneys in Oregon can earn 3 CLE credits for writing a Bar Exam question, and 3 CLE credits for grading the Bar Exam during their reporting period.
• Volunteering in Oregon’s legal ethics/disciplinary system. Attorneys can earn 2 Ethics CLE credits for each 12 months of volunteer work within Oregon’s legal ethics/disciplinary system.
• Serving on an OSB jury instructions committee. Attorneys can earn 2 CLE credits for each 12 months of service. A minimum of 6 hours of committee meetings is required in the 12 month period to claim CLE credit.

Oregon attorneys earn CLE credit for Category 3 activities as follows:

• Participating in Personal Management Assistance Activities. Attorneys can earn 1 CLE credit for every 60 minutes of instruction.
• Performing other volunteer legal service activities. Attorneys can earn 1 CLE credit for every 2 hours spent teaching paralegals, coaching or judging high school mock trials, providing pro bono representation, teaching legal education to non-lawyers, or other types of volunteer legal service activities.
• Attending courses on business development/marketing. For example, a course designed to teach new lawyers how to establish themselves in the legal profession. Attorneys can earn 1 CLE credit for every 60 minutes of instruction.

Newly admitted attorneys must complete their Oregon CLE requirements by April 30th of the end of their first reporting period.

The first reporting period for Newly Admitted attorneys in Oregon begins on the date of admission and ends on April 30th of the following year.

Yes! Attorneys in OR may carry forward up to 15 CLE credits earned in excess of the minimum to the following reporting period. However, there are some limitations to credit carryover.

• No more than 6 ethics credits can be carried forward to count towards the following reporting period’s ethics requirements.
• Ethics credits in excess of the 6-credit carryover limit may carry forward as general credit.
• Child Abuse Reporting, Elder Abuse Reporting, and Access to Justice credits earned in excess of the minimum may carry over to the next reporting period as general credit. New Child Abuse Reporting, Elder Abuse Reporting, and/or Access to Justice credits must be earned in the reporting period in which they are due to be completed.
• Credits cannot carry forward more than one reporting period.